An imprisoned Canadian pastor who has refused a bail agreement that would forbid him from preaching has sent a letter to his church.
James Coates, a minister at GraceLife Church in Edmonton, Alberta, has been behind bars since mid-February, when he was arrested by law enforcement officers for holding in-person worship services without limiting the church’s capacity to just 15% of the facility’s total occupancy.
In his letter, which was read aloud this past Sunday by Pastor Jacob Spenst, Coates urged the GraceLife congregation to continue to pray for his release from jail, where he has been for a month, and thanked those who have cared for his family and sent him letters of encouragement.
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“Thank you for the way you have cared for my family in my absence,” he wrote. “I truly cannot thank you enough for that. Thank you for the many letters of encouragement you have sent; they are critical to my joy and perseverance. Some have moved me to tears.”
“Pray for my release,” the pastor continued, “but also that I would be given the opportunity and boldness to proclaim the blessed Gospel, making it clear to the hearers.”
He went on to encourage Spenst directly, telling him “to preach the Word with great patience and instruction” and to “reprove, rebuke, and exhort with all authority. Let no one disregard you.”
“I, James, write this in my own hand,” Coates concluded. “I love you and miss you dearly. And now may the God of all grace minister to every need, that you would be continually sanctified unto the fullness of the stature of Christ. To Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”
Coates’ wife, Erin, told Faithwire last week that her husband was quarantined alone for two weeks upon his incarceration. During that time, he had only two 15-minute blocks outside his jail cell.
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He has since been moved to general population and gets “about three hours out, in one-hour chunks” each day. The pastor’s wife said she is unable to visit her husband, though, due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Earlier this month, Alberta Court of Queens Bench Justice Peter Michalyshyn denied bail to Coates, claiming the Christian preacher’s imprisonment is “justified” and “necessary” because he is “bound by the rule of law” and his “refusal to the condition of release and multiple noncompliance with the stated intent to continue concerns public safety.”
GraceLife Church has released a statement, arguing the continued government lockdown measures are causing “negative effects” that “far surpass the effects of COVID-19.”
“The science being used to justify lockdown measures is both suspect and selective,” the church stated. “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.”
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