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March 1, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) – A freedom coalition group that called for an end to COVID lockdowns invited all Christian churches in Canada to a “week of prayer and fasting” from February 28 to March 6.
The “Week of Sacred Assembly: Prayer and Fasting for our Nation” is spearheaded by The Liberty Coalition Canada (LCC).
“Liberty Coalition Canada is calling on all Christian Churches in Canada to hold a week of prayer and fasting for our nation from February 28 to March 6. Please consider joining in,” reads the webpage promoting the week.
“You can join the Prayer & Fasting Facebook group to let everyone know your church is joining, to share ideas, and to encourage one another.”
Michael Thiessen, campaign manager for LCC, told LifeSiteNews that the idea for prayer and fasting was formulated when the group realized there was an an “overwhelming need to seek the Lord God Almighty.”
“Medical professionals are acting as if they truly believe they can manage a virus by locking healthy people away. Our provincial politicians allow themselves to be bullied to follow one single narrative about the lockdown situation,” Thiessen told LifeSiteNews.
“Police are charging and now arresting church goers and business owners. Our seniors are isolated like prisoners. Our youth are struggling with stress, depression, and heavy levels of anxiety and, we rob from our grandchildren to pay the bill so that these measures can still feel comfortable to us.”
The webpage for the prayer and fasting week lists activities surrounding faith churches can do to stay active during the week, such as “Circuit prayer stations in the church building to cover topics like: Responding to the Names of God, Worshipping through the Attributes of God, Prayers of Repentance, and Prayers for the Nation.”
Also listed as ideas are a “24/7 continuous prayer divided up into hour time slots,” a “church-wide day of fasting,” prayer walks, and extra worship and prayer services.
LCC says everyone is “free to share” their promotional image of the prayer and fasting week on their respective social media channels to help promote the event.
The group’s Facebook page for the event is open to the public and as of press time listed more than 230 members from various churches across Canada.
One of the churches partaking in the prayer and fasting week is the Aylmer, Ontario, Church of God under Pastor Henry Hildebrandt.
He has been a vocal opponent to government-imposed COVID-19 lockdown measures and, along with others from his congregation, received fines for defying the local health orders.
On Twitter, Hildebrandt called on everyone to join him and others to join in the week of prayer and fasting.
Hildebrandt recently made the trip to Edmonton, Alberta to be at a protest in support of jailed Pastor James Coates of Grace Life Church.
He told all of his followers on Twitter that he was “happy” to see “so many Christian freedom fighters come to the maximum security Remand Centre today,” to fight for religious freedom.
Coates was jailed for ministering to his congregation in a manner that violated COVID rules limiting church size and mandatory mask wearing.
Coates is awaiting a trial date of May 3-5. He and Grace Life are being represented by the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF).
JCCF lawyer James Kitchen told LifeSiteNews that the plan is to appeal Coates’ bail conditions in the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench in hopes that he can be freed before his trial date. A trial date of March 3 has been set for his bail hearing appeal.
LCC lists itself as “a national network of clergymen, elected officials, small business owners, legal experts and other concerned citizens,” started with the effort to “reopen Ontario Churches.”
In addition to the week of prayer and fasting, LCC has also led a declaration called The Church Must Gather, which demands that with or without the “permission of the civil authorities,” places of worship be allowed to gather “in-person.”
LCC is also behind the “End the Lockdowns National Caucus,” which is a non-partisan group of current and former elected politicians with the common aim to end all “lockdowns” in Canada.
Readers are invited to take the time to defend the religious liberty of Canadians by filling out our VoterVoice Alert to free Pastor Coates.