Screenshot of Master’s Seminary Founder John MacArthur. Coates is a graduate (he holds both master’s and doctoral degrees), as are associate pastor Jacob Spenst and Mike Hovland, pastor of a “plant” church in La Crete, a hamlet 600 km north of Edmonton. Unlike more mainline protestant denominations and some evangelical groups, GraceLife and its associated churches believe that the human authors of the Bible received direct, divine guidance, and that, through a “literal grammatical-historical” analysis, a believer can discern a passage’s “one true interpretation.”Ī significant part of GraceLife’s theological foundation was laid at The Master’s Seminary, a theological school in Los Angeles, California. GraceLife is formally non-denominational and adheres to a literal interpretation of the Bible, which its roughly 400 congregants believe is “the authoritative, inerrant, infallible, and supremely sufficient Word of God.” GraceLife, as the church has been known since 2012, was formally incorporated in November 2005 as Grace Reformed Baptist Church of Edmonton. The church’s chairman and founder, Paul Claassen, is a retired RCMP officer who worked as a sergeant in the Edmonton-based technological crimes section. GraceLife Church sits a few minutes west of Edmonton on a plot of land in Parkland County, across a field from a corn maze and down the road from an RV storage facility. This story attempts to answer those questions. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.How did GraceLife - a once little-known church on the outskirts of Edmonton - become such a flashpoint in Alberta’s battle against COVID-19? And how did authorities decide - after months of waiting - to finally take such dramatic action? Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. ![]() Deena Hinshaw, the province’s chief medical officer of health, said the majority of Albertans were following the rules and that there had been consequences for Coates and the church for violating public health orders. The health authority said it hopes to meet with Coates soon.Īsked Monday about whether they were worried other faith groups would follow GraceLife’s lead, Dr. Photo by Greg Southam/PostmediaĪn AHS spokesperson told the National Post that inspectors were “denied entry to the church, but noted what appeared to be breaches of the current health restrictions related to capacity, physical distancing and masking.” RCMP officers speak to people on Sunday, Maas Pastor James Coates returns to Gracelife Church after spending 33 days in jail for disobeying public health orders. According to local media reports, RCMP and Alberta Health staff were nearby. On Sunday, Coates spoke prior to the sermon, saying he felt blessed to be back among his followers. ![]() “It would amount to fearing man instead of fearing God, or choosing to disobey God by complying with the commend (sic) of an earthly authority that is in opposition to the commandments of God,” Erin Coates writes. The GraceLife case attracted protests and galvanized other church groups to hold services in violation of COVID-19 rules in solidarity with Coates, who maintained his devotion to Christ required violating provincial health orders.Įrin Coates, in an affidavit filed in court, said her husband’s “sincerely held religious belief is that only the Lord Jesus Christ has the authority to prescribe the terms of worship at GraceLife, not any other authority,” and that following COVID restrictions would be disobeying Christ. ![]() He plans to challenge the constitutionality of the public health orders that led to the ticket. Coates, meanwhile, will go back to court in May to fight a ticket received in December for holding over-capacity worship services. Last Monday, Coates was released from jail after pleading guilty to breaching a court undertaking. 16 and March 22, he was held in the Edmonton Remand Centre. Since he refused to abide by the conditions of his release, between Feb. Coates was released on bail, but then was re-arrested for holding further services in violation of the health orders.
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