Canadian Church Facing $60 Million in Fines Remains Locked Down by Govt, Building Seized
Despite the Ontario government finally allowing churches in the province to have indoor services, with restrictions, Trinity Bible Chapel in Waterloo, Ontario, has been locked out of their building since April the 3rd, being ordered by a court to stay shuttered until they provide the government with a COVID safety plan, something on principle the churches says they should not have to do.
I’m of the belief that this church, our church, does not belong to the crown. It doesn’t belong to me. It belongs to Jesus and he doesn’t turn people away that come to seek him, and so I don’t want to turn people away from the church. He needs to have crown rights over His church and we want to uphold that.
The faithful church has fought tooth and nail the government’s attempts to shut them down and regulate the way they have service and have received crushing fines for it. In an interview with Rebel News, pastor Jacob Reaume explains the current totals:
If I get my maximum sentence, I mean I don’t know how it’s gonna end up, but if I got my maximum sentence I think I’m up for a maximum $1.1 million dollars and 11 years in jail is the max. The church itself is $60 million dollars and each elder within the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
It was a month ago that churches were allowed to gather with no capacity limits, yet indoor mask mandates are still in place, as well as physical distancing limits. Under the reopening act, the church must provide the government with a COVID-19 safety plan, which includes the following:
- Describe measures and procedures that have been or will be implemented in the business, place, facility or establishment to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
- Include measures for screening, physical distancing, masks or face coverings, cleaning and disinfecting of surfaces and objects, the wearing of personal protective equipment (PPE) and preventing and controlling crowding.
- Be in writing and made available to any person for review, on request.
- Be posted in a visible place to come to the attention of those working or attending the location.
The church has resisted on principle, explaining that Christ is head of the church not government, and they don’t get to dictate what congregants must wear, or where they must stand, or who may attend, in order to be given the privilege of worshiping Jesus as part of their service.
He continues:
It really bothers me when people are saying the government has our best interest in mind, because if you talk to people, if you observe the various data that’s been put up there, this is not in the best interest of the people.
They’ve reduced people, at least convinced people that they’ve reduced them to biological units, whereby our only purpose in life is to avoid contracting and spreading a sickness. That’s enslavement! Life is full-orbed, it’s meant to be lived in a multi-dimensional way.
Pastor Reaume concludes:
One of the things that I’ve told our people is Caesar can steal our building but he can’t steal the church. The church is the people of God. The church is where the people gather and the people sing God’s praises and that where the living God dwells. The building is a wonderful asset to have. It’s a tool in our hands at our disposal, but Caesar will not have the people of God and we’re not going to let him have the people of God.
For those who want to show support, click on their gofundme page
About Author
Lord rescue the righteous from the hands of the wicked! In Christ , Amen