{"id":397587,"date":"2021-04-07T19:28:45","date_gmt":"2021-04-07T23:28:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=397587"},"modified":"2021-04-07T19:28:49","modified_gmt":"2021-04-07T23:28:49","slug":"police-shut-down-church-of-alberta-pastor-who-was-imprisoned-for-holding-church-services","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/police-shut-down-church-of-alberta-pastor-who-was-imprisoned-for-holding-church-services\/","title":{"rendered":"Police Shut Down Church Of Alberta Pastor Who Was Imprisoned For Holding Church Services"},"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\">28<\/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%2Fpolice-shut-down-church-of-alberta-pastor-who-was-imprisoned-for-holding-church-services%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=397587&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\/04\/fb_image-839.jpeg?w=1200&amp;h=800&amp;ixlib=react-9.0.3\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p>The church in Alberta, Canada, whose pastor was imprisoned for more than a month after holding church services in defiance of Alberta\u2019s Public Health Act was raided at dawn on Wednesday and shut down by government order.<\/p>\n<p>GraceLife Church&nbsp;in Parkland County, west of Edmonton, was \u201cphysically closed\u201d by Alberta Health Services following repeated complaints, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/canada\/edmonton\/gracelife-church-edmonton-covid-1.5977931\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">CBC<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>As the outlet reported:<\/p>\n<blockquote readability=\"17\">\n<p><em>In an emailed statement to CBC News Wednesday morning, RCMP confirmed they were on scene, assisting&nbsp;AHS as they closed the church under Section 62.1 of the Alberta Public Health Act.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>As of 8:30 a.m., police vehicles and unmarked SUVs&nbsp;were blocking entrances to the church parking lot.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>In a media statement, AHS said it \u201cphysically closed\u201d the church and has prevented access until the church \u201ccan demonstrate the ability to comply with Alberta\u2019s Chief Medical Officer of Health\u2019s restrictions.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>WATCH:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\" readability=\"11.579831932773\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I count thirteen vehicles as part of this police raid on a church. They\u2019re erecting steel fences around it. Like China does when they uncover an illegal \u201chouse church\u201d. Except this is in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The same church whose pastor was thrown in prison for 35 days. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/qJlnHHGGdV\">pic.twitter.com\/qJlnHHGGdV<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Ezra Levant \ud83c\udf41 (@ezralevant) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ezralevant\/status\/1379804106324389899?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 7, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>GraceLife Church\u2019s pastor, James Coates, was recently imprisoned for holding church services. As The Daily Wire <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/canadian-pastor-held-in-solitary-confinement-after-defying-covid-19-order\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">reported<\/a> regarding his ordeal:<\/p>\n<blockquote readability=\"10\">\n<p><em>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.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>In an interview given shortly after his release from prison, Coates explained how many of the prisoners came to him seeking spiritual advice. As The Daily Wire <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/it-was-precious-to-me-canadian-pastor-jailed-for-holding-church-services-recounts-touching-moment-he-was-freed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">reported<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote readability=\"23.744378698225\">\n<p><em>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<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>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<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\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>GraceLife Church did not respond to The Daily Wire\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Related<\/strong>: <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/it-was-precious-to-me-canadian-pastor-jailed-for-holding-church-services-recounts-touching-moment-he-was-freed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u2018It Was Precious To Me\u2019: Canadian Pastor Jailed For Holding Church Services Recounts Touching Moment He Was Freed<\/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 church in Alberta, Canada, whose pastor was imprisoned for more than a month after holding church services in defiance of Alberta\u2019s Public Health Act was raided at dawn on &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2311836,"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\/04\/fb_image-839.jpeg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"Police Shut Down Church Of Alberta Pastor Who Was Imprisoned For Holding Church Services","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-397587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/fb_image-839.jpeg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"Police Shut Down Church Of Alberta Pastor Who Was Imprisoned For Holding Church Services","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397587","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=397587"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397587\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2311836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=397587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=397587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=397587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}