Tag: ontario

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Featured Righteous Defiance

Canadian Church that Faces $50,000,000 in Fines is Still Locked Out of their Building

As you go to church this morning, please keep Trinity Bible Chapel (TBC) in your prayers. The Waterloo-based Church has been locked out of their building since late April, despite the fact that their province has, as of two days ago, allowed churches to finally start having indoor church at capacity, so long as they socially distance and maintain two meters.

In TBC’s case, the judge on Friday overseeing their case has not yet released his decision over whether or not they can have access to their building again, reserving his decision and saying “I will release something when it is released.” This capriciously punitive decision means that the church will continue having outdoor services, under threat of further fines or even possible jail if they dare access their church before the judge gives the go-ahead.

In many ways, Trinity Bible Chapel has faced the most opposition and steepest price out of any church in North America for being open. GraceLife Church in Alberta had their pastor James Coates arrested and spend over a month in jail. Fairview Baptist Church also had their church building taken away, and their pastor Tim Stephens serve nearly 3 weeks in prison, but TBC has endured absolutely brutal, punishing, unending fines for being open.

They’re facing 50 million dollars in potential fines right now. 50 million. And while the large multi-million dollar fines might possibly be appealed if granted – some of their large fines like the $83,000 given for a single service cannot be waived, removed, or appealed. These crushing tickets are not just to the Church entity, but parishioner after parishioner is being handed crushing fines for daring to attend.

These are crippling numbers, but they have not bent the will of the church.

Thankfully, Pastor Jacob Reaume, the elders, and the congregants at Trinity have continued to serve faithfully in this trying time and have been a shining example in Canada and all throughout the world.

We honor them for it.

We thank God for them.

And we lift our voices in prayer.

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Breaking Drive-In Church Featured In-person Church Righteous Defiance

Video! Police Fine 47 Congregants $880 EACH for Attending Church Service

Police in the small town of Aylmer, Ontario have been going door-to-door out in the cover of night and handing out fines for $880 to any congregants who attended an in-person church service last week, an act deemed illegal by the conservative government.

In all, 47 fines were given out, totalling $41,360.

Footage from the ticketing was uploaded by Herbert Hildebrandt, the son of the Aylmer Church of God Pastor Henry Hildebrandt, the church at the center of the controversy.

We featured this church back in May 2020, where at the time the government was refusing to let them gather for a drive-in service, where all the windows would be rolled up and the sermon would be piped through their FM station.

On their Facebook Page, Aylmer police say that the fines were given not only to those inside the church but outside the church as well, possibly in their vehicles.

In Ontario, the tyrannical Premier Doug Ford who was elected on a populist, man-of-the-people, the right-wing conservative platform has made it illegal to gather in groups of more than 10 people for “non-essential” activities like Church.

The province of 15 million people has been on lockdown for nearly a month and has had 6072 COVID deaths in the last 11 months. Of those, all but 230 occurred in those ages 60 and up, and those almost all exclusively in long-term care homes.



Categories
Drive-In Church In-person Church Righteous Defiance

Police and Politicians ‘There is a Plan in Place’ to Prevent Defiant Church from Gathering

A church in Canada that has continued to gather for services in defiance of lockdown orders and despite the pastor and elder team being handed tens of thousands of dollars in fines, and whose church faces $10,000,000 in fines for being opened, may have their congregating come to an end, as police and politicians publicly state there is a plan in place to prevent them from gathering.

Premier Doug Ford, the Conservative Premier of Ontario was asked about what he thinks should be done with Trinity Baptist Church, one of a handful of churches in a province of 15 million who are continuing to open their doors for worship. Presently gatherings of more than 10 people are prohibited, irrespective of the size of the church and its capacity to safely hold them.

I think it’s careless and irresponsible for them to host this, especially when we are in the situation we are in right now…I’d really encourage them not to do this. They aren’t being responsible. I discourage this 100 percent…Please don’t continue doing this. There will be consequences…

The Solicitor General Sylvia Jones said, “all options are on the table” in regards to the church gatherings and Waterloo Regional Police Chief Bryan Larkin made the most ominous threat of them all, explaining that they have something up their sleeve and that there will be a plan in place to prevent the church from furthering gathering.

Larkin has been criticized by many for being TOO SOFT on the church, with many demanding that his officers enter the sanctuary and break up the service. While he has demurred from that up to this point, suggesting that dispersing several hundred people would be a health risk to his officers, that may be back on the table. He explains:

We will develop a plan to ensure and prevent any further services from happening…I feel very confident that to prevent any further gatherings and to ensure the community that all of the approaches we’ve been taking has been strategic, it’s been well planned, well co-ordinated…But we do intend to take action.

Suggested action would likely be to fine every church member and visitor seeking to attend the service $1000 if they refuse to stay away, barricading the roads to physically prevent vehicles from entering the parking lot, or arresting the pastor, elders, and wayward congregation members if they don’t leave the church.

There has been no comment from Trinity Church yet about the newest threats.