The charges do not include GraceLife Church’s gathering they held this past Sunday March 7, 2021. Two worship services that took place without their Pastor James Coates, who remains in jail for disobeying government mandated COVID-19 orders. The charges were specifically for worship gatherings they help on Februand February 28, 2021. GraceLife Church has been charged because they did not adhere to the 15% maximum allowed capacity for indoor gatherings. In a news release, Police revealed GraceLife Church’s legal counsel had been served on Mawith a summons to appear in Stony Plain Provincial Court on May 5, 2021.
#PASTOR JAMES COATES IN JAIL UPDATE#
Update (3-11-2021) The Edmonton Journal reported yesterday that GraceLife Church has been charged for continuing to ignore government mandated health orders relating to the COVID-19 virus.
#PASTOR JAMES COATES IN JAIL TRIAL#
The court said Pastor Coates’ case is planned to be heard on Monday, which will hopefully lead to his release until the trial date but will keep in jail for at least another weekend. The hopes of GraceLife Church’s pastor being back in the pulpit this Sunday were crushed on Thursday after the court said, “Contrary to reports that have been circulated by parties involved in the case, there will be no court proceedings involving James Coates on March 19, 2021.” This news came after the JCCF said they had reached an agreement with the Crown to withdraw one of the charges for violating COVID-19 restriction orders that the pastor faces. Update (3-19-2021) Representing GraceLife Church‘s Pastor James Coates, the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) released a statement on Wednesday Mathat said they expected the release of Pastor Coates this week. Pastor Coates will appear in court on May 3, 2021 to fight a ticket he was issued in December for exceeding the 15 percent capacity rules currently set in place because of COVID-19 public health orders. The Edmonton Journal reported that Pastor Coates will not be under any court-ordered conditions following his release on Monday. I am simply here in obedience with Jesus Christ it is this obedience that put me at odds with the law.” Repeating what the Coates family and their representation have been saying since the pastor was removed from the community and placed behind bars, James Coates told the court, “I am not a political revolutionary.
He’s in jail because he obeyed the Lord Jesus Christ and His headship over the church and did not restrict the gathering to anybody.”
His wife Erin shared recently in an interview, “I do want to make it clear, he’s not in jail because he didn’t obey the restrictions. The husband to wife Erin and father to their two sons told the court on Monday that he was not making a statement by remaining in jail despite having the option to be freed earlier if he would have chosen to adhere to the government’s COVID-19 health mandates. But according to the Edmonton Journal, Judge Champion voiced his concern with the message the court could be sending to others who might be looking to disobey public health orders if a lesser fine would have been accepted. Pastor Coates’ lawyers proposed a lesser fine.
Coates was jailed because he preached at his GraceLife Church‘s worship gatherings and refused to place capacity and social distancing restrictions upon the congregants.Īppearing virtually before Stony Plain court’s Provincial Judge Jeffrey Champion while dressed in an orange and black jumpsuit, Pastor Coates was fined $1,500 and received a stern reprimand from the judge: “Your decision could have been of danger to the health and safety of those in the community.” Update (3-23-2021) After spending almost five weeks behind the bars of the Edmonton Remand Centre for violating public health mandates, Pastor James Coates was released yesterday (March 22, 2021).
0 kommentar(er)
