{"id":363448,"date":"2021-03-31T23:00:44","date_gmt":"2021-04-01T03:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=363448"},"modified":"2021-03-31T23:00:51","modified_gmt":"2021-04-01T03:00:51","slug":"it-was-precious-to-me-canadian-pastor-jailed-for-holding-church-services-recounts-touching-moment-he-was-freed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/it-was-precious-to-me-canadian-pastor-jailed-for-holding-church-services-recounts-touching-moment-he-was-freed\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018It Was Precious To Me\u2019: Canadian Pastor Jailed For Holding Church Services Recounts Touching Moment He Was Freed"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">36<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fit-was-precious-to-me-canadian-pastor-jailed-for-holding-church-services-recounts-touching-moment-he-was-freed%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=363448&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/fb_image-4949.jpeg?w=1200&amp;h=800&amp;ixlib=react-9.0.3\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p>The Canadian pastor who was jailed for more than a month after holding church services in defiance of Alberta\u2019s Public Health Act recently recounted how he was able to share the gospel with his fellow inmates during his imprisonment and how they cheered his freedom.<\/p>\n<p>Pastor James Coates, who pastors GraceLife Church in the Edmonton area, was first arrested in February after the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) repeatedly flagged his church for not abiding by public health orders that capped attendance at 15 percent capacity. The RCMP later slapped the church with more charges when they continued to hold services while their pastor was imprisoned.<\/p>\n<p>WATCH:<\/p>\n<p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"EXCLUSIVE: Pastor James Coates sits down with Rebel for first interview after release from jail\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/dplkJiPmwOo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/p>\n<p>As highlighted by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.faithwire.com\/2021\/03\/30\/canadian-pastor-james-coates-reveals-powerful-moment-when-he-was-released-from-jail\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">FaithWire<\/a>, Coates remembered of when he left the prison: \u201cJust to kind of show the affection that we had for each other, in the moment I was leaving, I turned around \u2026 and I lifted up my hand to wave, and the doors of the pod began to shake as the men in their cells just banged on their doors as a sign of support, love, [and] affection.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Explaining how he is still in touch with the the prison\u2019s chaplain, Coates said, \u201cHe\u2019s emailed me since then and shared with me that he\u2019ll never forget that moment. It was precious to me as well. That just gives you a little picture of how they thought toward me and treated me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After he spent his requisite two weeks in quarantine, Coates said inmates would seek him out for spiritual help during his incarceration. \u201cOnce I got into [general population], I would have guys often come to my door and want to speak with me and would share difficulties in their life with me, and I would share the gospel with them. We\u2019d be talking through a door to each other, but I would share the gospel with them. That happened often, where guys would just come to me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Before he was released, Coates was brought before provincial court Judge Jeffrey Champion&nbsp;in an orange-and-black jumpsuit. He emphasized during his statement that he had no intention of being \u201ca political revolutionary\u201d and that he was simply trying to obey Jesus.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI realized that\u2019s the way society is going to perceive what\u2019s happening here,\u201d Coates said. \u201c[But] I\u2019m simply here in obedience to Jesus Christ, and it\u2019s my obedience to Christ that has put me at odds with the law.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite his release, Coates still faces financial burdens, for which reason a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/gofundme-to-pay-legal-fees-of-pastor-jailed-for-alleged-covid-19-violation-tops-45k\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">recent GoFundMe<\/a> raised more than $45,000.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking recently with Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who described Coates\u2019 situation as \u201cobvious tyranny,\u201d James\u2019 wife Erin lamented that&nbsp;she no longer recognizes her native Canada, where she claims rights have been stripped from citizens so gradually that it no longer bothers most of them. Unwilling to claim outright that government authorities were targeting her husband for his religion, she <i>did<\/i> note that spiritual forces of evil often work through them.<\/p>\n<p>WATCH:<\/p>\n<p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Wife of pastor jailed for preaching speaks out on &#039;Tucker Carlson Tonight&#039;\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0ywfs4rQipQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>Related<\/strong>: <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/judge-releases-canadian-pastor-jailed-for-alleged-health-order-violation-suggests-he-shepherds-his-church-poorly\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Judge Releases Canadian Pastor Jailed For Alleged Health Order Violation, Suggests He Shepherds His Church Poorly<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><i>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\"><i>member<\/i><\/a><i>.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Canadian pastor who was jailed for more than a month after holding church services in defiance of Alberta\u2019s Public Health Act recently recounted how he was able to share &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2311488,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/fb_image-4949.jpeg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"\u2018It Was Precious To Me\u2019: Canadian Pastor Jailed For Holding Church Services Recounts Touching Moment He Was Freed","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-363448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/fb_image-4949.jpeg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"\u2018It Was Precious To Me\u2019: Canadian Pastor Jailed For Holding Church Services Recounts Touching Moment He Was Freed","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=363448"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363448\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2311488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=363448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=363448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=363448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}