A Canadian pastor has been arrested after his church held an outdoor worship service at an undisclosed location after the local government ordered the church building to be closed.
Tim Stephens, who serves as pastor of Fairview Baptist Church in Calgary, Alberta, was arrested Monday after refusing to abide by the order from Alberta Health Services to refrain from holding worship services that don’t comply with the provincial COVID-19 rules.
Stephens shared on his Twitter account that “I just got a tip that the police may be on their way to arrest me.”
Shortly after that, police showed up and arrested the pastor in front of his eight children, who tearfully told him goodbye.
A reporter for Rebel News asked the police if they wanted to comment on “Why Jason Kenney gets a free pass and you’re arresting pastors across the province.” The comment was a reference to Alberta Premier Jason Kenney’s June 1 dinner with cabinet members that did not comply with the province’s public health restrictions.
Early Tuesday morning, Stephens’ wife, Raquel, posted an update announcing that “Tim was arrested again for holding an outdoor service in violation of Alberta’s health orders.”
“He went before a Justice of the Peace [Monday] evening and refused the bail condition, so he’ll remain in custody until his next court date June 28,” she wrote.
Meanwhile Fairview Baptist Church remains closed by government order.