![]() L-R, Stephen Wile, CEO of the Mustard Seed and Pastor James Paton from the First Alliance Church as they have set up beds in the Church to help in social distancing in Calgary on Monday, March 23, 2020. To show more care to those men, the church spent $85,000 putting in more showers and bathrooms. Matheson said that First Alliance Church - a large congregation with a campus just off Deerfoot and Barlow trails and another at Glenmore Christian Academy - were given the opportunity to house some of the male clients of the Mustard Seed at the Deerfoot building, to allow for social distancing, showing that the pandemic opens up opportunities to show people love in different ways. Health restrictions placed upon us still allow us to worship God and follow all the essentials of our faith.” “This, however, has not been the case in the current situation. “If the authorities were asking us to deny our faith or to go against the principles of Scripture, we would need to obey God rather than the government,” said Matheson. did as he led the civil rights movement or how William Wilberforce did in his long fight to abolish the slave trade in the British Empire. He was quick to point out that there are times when the church must rebel against the authorities - just as the Rev. ![]() “They need to be honoured rather than maligned.” “Our police officers risk their own lives for our safety,” added Matheson with his gentle voice. Paul’s letter to the Romans, he wrote: “Everyone must submit to the governing authorities.” I think it gives Christianity a bad name,” said Matheson, a now officially retired but still very active pastor at First Alliance Church. “I feel very sad about what these pastors are doing. Ray Matheson - the most Jesus-like person I have ever known - and asked him for his opinion of these defiant church leaders. Most of us fall far short, but we are called to try to be like Jesus. That is what Christians are called to be like. He showed grace, love and forgiveness to them. Jesus didn’t curse his tormentors who mocked him and cast lots for his garments while he was dying. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. When he was whipped and then nailed to a Roman cross - a form of torture that is the root of the word excruciating - he didn’t call his torturers names, instead, he said: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” When Jesus was put on trial and went before Pontius Pilate and King Herod, he didn’t hurl abuse at them. ![]() ![]() To call people just trying to do their job some of the worst slurs possible throws the church into disrepute. There is no evidence that the mild-mannered male and female Calgary officers who showed up at the building where Pawlowski holds church services are Nazis. Photo by Screenshot of GraceLife Church videoįirst of all, what Pawlowski said is not only wrong and unChristian, it’s not true. In short, I think their harsh and allegedly illegal behaviour is blasphemous against Jesus and damages the church far more than any COVID restrictions ever could. I’ve been asked a lot lately what I think about these pastors being arrested and dragged off to jail. ![]() Manage Print Subscription / Tax Receipt.Hinshaw and AHS to implement safety precautions “because they want to take care of their congregations. “The reason we’ve had our cases come down… is because Albertans have followed the public health measures, and that includes our faith communities,” Shandro said, adding that many groups worked with Dr. The health minister was asked what message it sends if a pastor who has stated he’ll continue holding large services in violation of health rules is released and charges against him are dropped. In rare cases, when businesses or groups “flagrantly” continue to disregard public health measures, they’ve been shut down or fined, he said. Shandro said, in most cases, public health inspectors have worked with establishments to educate and implement public health guidelines. We have to leave that to independent third parties, whether that’s our police, our prosecutors, our public health inspectors.” “We have to leave the decisions about prosecution up to - and not have it be micromanaged and influenced by politicians. ![]()
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