Pastor James Coates of Grace Life Church, near Edmonton, Alberta, is being held without bond on criminal charges stemming from failure to limit his congregants to 15% of fire code capacity and practice social distancing. Pastor Coates was taken into custody on February 16 and will likely be kept in prison at least until his trial in May.
When the Alberta Government first imposed various restrictions on churches and gatherings in the spring of 2020, Grace Life suspended in-person worship services and streamed services online.
Grace Life resumed in-person worship in June of last year, when it became clear that the Government’s initial dire predictions regarding the Wuhan Flu had been based on grossly inaccurate modelling. All the available data show that the main factor in Covid fatality risk is advanced age and nursing home residency. For those under 60, the overwhelming majority of the population, Covid is more or less like a bad flu season.
“Even in the summer of 2020 it had become apparent to congregants of Grace Life that government lockdowns cause far more self-imposed harm than the natural harm of Covid,” stated James Kitchen, a lawyer with the Justice Centre, which is representing Pastor Coates and Grace Life Church.
In a public statement, the church leadership states:
“We believe [people] should responsibly return to their lives. Churches should open, businesses should open, families and friends should come together around meals, and people should begin to exercise their civil liberties again. Otherwise, we may not get them back. In fact, some say we are on the cusp of reaching the point of no return. Protect the vulnerable, exercise reasonable precautions, but begin to live your lives again… Living life comes with risks. Every time we get behind the wheel of a car, we are assuming a degree of risk. We accept that risk due to the benefits of driving. Yes, though vastly overblown, there are associated risks with Covid, as there are with other infections. Human life, though precious, is fragile. As such, death looms over all of us. That is why we need a message of hope.”
Restrictions imposed in November and December by Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, limit Christian congregations to only 15% of sanctuary capacity and demand that all worshipers wear masks and socially distance from each other. These restrictions interfere with the ability of the congregants to worship as their consciences direct, and are a violation of their constitutional rights to freedom of religion, expression, peaceful assembly and association as protected by section 2 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Grace Life has nearly 400 members, not one of whom has been lost to Covid, but sadly one congregant did die prematurely because he could not get the cancer treatment he needed because of Government restrictions.
In November, Alberta Health Services (AHS) officials began to show up and inspect the Church weekly. Each Sunday morning—during the worship service—an AHS inspector, often accompanied by law enforcement, demanded entry to the building, went into the sanctuary, and recorded the number of people present and whether they were masked and distanced. This occurred almost every Sunday for three months, with no regard to how disruptive it was to the congregants trying to worship. The Grace Life congregants view these weekly intrusions as a criminal offense under § 176(2) of the Criminal Code of Canada, which prohibits interrupting or disturbing a religious worship service.
On December 17, 2020, AHS inspector Janine Hanrahan issued an order against Grace Life Church, publicly posting it on the internet, in which she proscribed sitting together, playing instruments, and singing. “These Orders are reminiscent of what one encounters in dystopian novels such as George Orwell’s 1984,” stated Kitchen.
On January 21, 2021, AHS applied for a court order to jail Pastor Coates if there were further violations of the December 17 order. Although painfully aware of the potential consequences, Grace Life church congregants and Pastor Coates continue to congregate normally for in-person worship services.
On January 29, AHS issued a Closure Order, purporting to entirely close down Grace Life and prevent anyone from congregating for worship services. Grace Life and Pastor Coates continued to act according to their conscience and beliefs, and gather each Sunday for normal, in-person worship.
On Sunday, February 7, after the morning worship service, two Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers (the “Mounties”) met with Pastor Coates and told him that he would be arrested unless he complied with the closure order. Pastor Coates 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. The officers left without arresting him.
Grace Life gathered for worship on Sunday, February 14, and again an AHS inspector entered the Church. The Mounties notified Pastor Coates that they planned to arrest him on Tuesday, February 16. Pastor Coates turned himself in. He was offered bail on condition that he not hold church services again. He refused as a matter of conscience.
Coates issued this statement about the history of the controversy. Among other things, he states that:
“The science being used to justify lockdown measures is both suspect and selective. In fact, there is no empirical evidence that lockdowns are effective in mitigating the spread of the virus. We are gravely concerned that COVID-19 is being used to fundamentally alter society and strip us all of our civil liberties. By the time the so-called “pandemic” is over, if it is ever permitted to be over, Albertans will be utterly reliant on government, instead of free, prosperous, and independent.”
Coates’ attorney, James Kitchen issued the following statement:
“The congregants of Grace Life refuse to accept the Alberta Government’s dystopian ‘new normal.’ Their first loyalty is to obey their God, not government. They are committed to gathering, as they always have, for in-person worship services. They will challenge this excessive and unlawful government oppression rather than turn their back on their beliefs. They also believe they are lawfully exercising their Charter-protected freedoms and that the Government’s restrictions are not justifiable.”
“Governments never destroy civil liberties without pointing to some reason that sounds good, such as ‘safety’ or ‘equality.’ The very reason certain rights and freedoms are protected by the Charter is so that government cannot simply ignore those rights by merely asserting its actions are for a good cause. By continuing to exercise their Charter rights, despite the potentially dramatic consequences, Grace Life and Pastor Coates and bringing democratic accountability to bear on a government that appears indifferent to the societal harms of lockdowns and the dismantling of civil liberties.”
On Friday, March 5th, a judge denied Coates’ appeal. Queen’s Bench Justice Peter Michalyshyn said in his decision that public health laws remain valid, and Pastor Coates will stay in jail for eight more weeks until his trial begins in May.
Coates’ wife, Erin, is not being allowed in-person visitation with Pastor Coates. She reports that James is allowed out of his cell only twice a day, and only for 15 to 20 minutes, during which time he has to do various chores like shower and put in a brief call to Erin.
Alberta’s Premier (governor) Jason Kinney, who passes for a conservative in Canada’s Left-leaning political spectrum, has stated that Alberta respects freedom of religion:
“Anybody in Alberta can preach their faith and religious communities are encouraged to gather in congregational worship within the safe guidelines laid out by Alberta Health.”
But saying “churches are encouraged to gather” while restricting occupancy to 15% is like saying “everyone is encouraged to fly commercial” while grounding 85% of commercial airliners. It is just political double-talk.
John MacArthur talks briefly about James Coates, calling him “one of our graduates,” meaning that Coates is a graduate of Master’s Seminary, MacArthur’s seminary in California.
Two Arizona pastors discuss the arrest of James Coates:
Here is an interview of Erin Coates done just a few days after Pastor Coates was arrested:
Here is a panel discussion among three pastors in Grand Rapids,, Michigan:
In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 1 Tim. 3:12-13.