“A group of pastors and protesters gathered around the Calgary Remand Centre in Alberta to support Pastor Tim Stephens, who was jailed earlier this month after a police helicopter found where his congregation was meeting outside. Heavy police presence hovered over the gathering, according to video of the event from Rebel News, but the demonstration remained peaceful despite many of the participants expressing disgust toward the Alberta government for how they are treating Stephens and other pastors. Among the participants in the protest was Pastor James Coates of GraceLife Church in Edmonton, who drew international attention earlier this year when he spent more than a month in maximum-security prison for continuing to hold church services in defiance of the Alberta Public Health Act. After he was released, Alberta Health Services (AHS) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) raided his church in the early morning and barricaded it behind three layers of fence, forcing the congregation to meet in secret. ‘This country, the whole Western Civilization as we know it, is being systematically altered,’ Coates told the crowd. ‘And all we’re going to do in the mean time is proclaim the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.’ Another person who spoke at the event was Pastor Trevor Stephens, who is Tim Stephens’ brother and associate pastor of Victory Baptist Church near Edmonton. ‘What’s happened here is reprehensible,’ Stephens said. ‘Jailing a pastor for being obedient to God for an injunction that really doesn’t apply to him.’ Stephens also warned that the way government is overreaching during the COVID-19 pandemic will not stop with the virus.”
“Protesters Gather,” The Daily Wire, June 22, 2021