CONTACT YOUR MP: Free Pastor Coates and protect people of faith! Contact your MP, here.
EDMONTON, Alberta, March 2, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) — Lawyers for jailed Canadian Pastor James Coates tomorrow will appeal the bail conditions that block the pastor’s release unless he agrees to not hold church services amid severe coronavirus lockdowns.
Coates and his Grace Life Church in Spruce Grove, Alberta, are being represented by the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF).
Last week, an Alberta judge set May 3–5 as trial dates for Coates, meaning that he could remain behind bars for two months while awaiting trial, which his legal team said was unacceptable. Last Wednesday, the JCCF announced it would appeal his bail conditions, confirming last Friday that an appeal hearing date for March 3 has been set.
“A trial set eight weeks down the road is too long for an innocent Pastor to be in jail. Pastor Coates is a peaceful Christian minister. The Justice of the Peace should not have required him to violate his conscience and effectively stop pastoring his church as a condition to be released. This is a miscarriage of justice,” said John Carpay, president of the JCCF in a press release last Friday.
JCCF lawyer James Kitchen told LifeSiteNews last week that if his organization is successful in appealing Coates’ bail conditions, he can leave jail “without violating his conscience.”
On Sunday, February 14, Coates held a church service in violation of a January 29 order by Alberta Health Services (AHS) demanding that the church doors remain shut.
Coates was later jailed for ministering to his congregation. He has been detained at the Edmonton Remand Centre, awaiting trial since February 16, after refusing to agree to bail conditions that he promise not to hold any more church services that violate government COVID-19 restrictions.
Current Alberta COVID rules state that churches and other places of worship can operate at no more than 15 percent of the capacity allowed by the building fire code. Masks are mandatory, as are the sanitation of hands and keeping away from other people.
Overall, the current restrictions were minimally relaxed yesterday. At the same time, the rules applying to church attendance were left in place.
Coates’ wife speaks out on her husband’s jailing and the negative effect it has had on their family
In a sworn affidavit, Coates’ wife said that her husband could not “in good conscience” agree to bail conditions. “My husband has dedicated his life to obeying his Lord, Jesus Christ by spreading the gospel message and ministering to his congregants,” wrote Erin Coates.
“My husband could not, in good conscience, agree to such a condition. James did not agree to and did not sign the undertaking. James explained to the officers that he could not do that because to do so would violate his conscience and prevent him from fulfilling his duty as a minister to lead his congregation in worship.”
Erin wrote in her affidavit that she and James “sincerely believe” that to comply with the orders of Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Deena Hinshaw, which restrict religious services, “is an act of disobedience to Christ, the Head of the Christian church.”
“James must, as the lead pastor of Grace Life Church, care for the whole health of his congregants: physical, spiritual, mental, and relational; the restrictions imposed by the CMOH orders are hurting Grace Life congregants far more than COVID ever could,” stated Erin.
“James ought to minister to the congregants through worship services that are not restricted to a small size or interfered with by compelled masking and compelled avoidance of physical interaction.”
Erin also laid out the negative health consequences currently affecting her husband in jail, as well as herself and children. She wrote that her husband has lost weight, has experienced hunger, and is only “permitted out of his cell for 15 to 20 minutes at a time and only twice a day.”
“My phone calls with James have been short, sometimes lasting only a couple minutes, because he has such little time out of his cell and has to use that time to do things like take a shower,” wrote Erin.
Erin said the entire ordeal has been stressful on their two sons, aged 11 and 18. “They have barely been able to speak with their father and the brief calls have always ended with James saying hurriedly, ‘I gotta go’. With James not at home, the boys are not receiving the love, care, wisdom, and school help they rely on James for,” wrote Erin.
“My oldest son turned 18 years old on February 25. James is not his biological father but has been the only father that has cared for him since he was 2 years old. My son has waited years with great anticipation for his 18th birthday so he could legally change his name to his father's name. My son was heartbroken that his dad was not here to do it with him.”
Erin also wrote of her personal struggles of sleeping and eating as a result of her husband being behind bars. “James is my best friend, the person I go to more than any other to help me through life. The role I have is very difficult and he carries the burden I have. I have several medical problems and tests that I have had to go to alone. I have not even been able to share with him my tests results because our time on the phone has been too short,” wrote Erin.
Last week, Coates’ wife told a crowd gathered at the jail where her husband is being held that the best way to protest his incarceration is to “open your churches.”
At the protest, Erin Coates also encouraged the crowd to listen to her jailed husband’s last sermon.
Support for Coates has come from fellow pastors in Alberta and nationwide.
A growing number of churches have declared they must gather for in person worship, “with or without the permission of the civil authorities.”
In solidarity with Coates, faith leaders such as Tim Stephens, who serves as senior pastor of Fairview Baptist Church in Calgary, have been defying COVID rules restricting service sizes.
“We understand the dangers of COVID-19, but we also understand the dangers of policies that seek to reduce the spread of the virus. All must admit that the lockdowns and restrictions have been damaging,” said Stephens.
Stephens has been joined by other churches in Alberta, such as Heights Baptist Church in Medicine Hat, who have stood in support of Coates, and have vowed to continue to worship even if it means breaking COVID rules.
LifeSiteNews asks its readers to take the time to defend the religious liberty of Canadians by filling out our VoterVoice Alert to free Pastor Coates.
Contact:
Premier of Alberta Jason Kenney
Office of the Premier
307 Legislature Building
10800 – 97 Avenue
Edmonton, Alberta T5K 2B6
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 780-427-2251
To contact your local MLA, visit the link below:
https://www.assembly.ab.ca/members/members-of-the-legislative-assembly