Supporters of Pastor Tim Stephens held a peaceful protest outside the Calgary Remand Centre where he is currently detained following his arrest for holding an outdoor worship service after authorities locked his church.
Protesters, including his congregants and other pastors, gathered outside the prison, calling for the minister's release, Faithwire reported.
Pastor James Coates of GraceLife Church, who was also charged and jailed for holding worship gatherings, attended the protest.
Coates urged the individuals who joined the event to continue sharing the Word of God even at the midst of the nation's shift from its previously known democratic system.
"This country - the whole Western civilization as we know it - is being systematically altered. And all we're going to do in the meantime is proclaim the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The whole thing is going to come down, and we are going to claim Christ all the way to the grave," he said.
He added that they will also preach the Gospel even to the individuals who hate God and Christians, hoping that these very people who persecute them will be reconciled with the Lord as well.
Stephens' brother, Trevor, a pastor at Victory Baptist Church, also made a statement during the protest. He shared that the police officer who arrested Tim "dared to cite Scripture to a pastor to defend their actions." The minister revealed that the officer twisted the passage in Mark 12:17 by quoting only the first half of the verse which tells about rendering things that of Caesar's.
"Part of the passage he was quoting was the response from Jesus [to someone] who brought Him a coin, tempting Him. Jesus asked the question, 'Whose is this image and superscription?'"" Pastor Trevor said.
"To which they replied, 'It was Caesar's,'" he continued, recalling his brother's encounter. "Jesus then answered and said - and this is the full verse - 'Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.'"
Pastor Trevor denounced the local government's actions against his brother and other church leaders, calling it "reprehensible."
"Jailing a pastor for being obedient to God for an injunction that really doesn't apply to him," he further said.
Stephens was arrested on June 14 for conducting an outdoor worship service on June 6 with about 200 members of the Fairview Baptist Church. He was charged under Section 127 of Canada's Criminal Code, alleging noncompliance of a Court of Queen's Bench Order.
In May, the pastor was also arrested for the same violation.
But the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedom (JCCF), the legal organization that represents Stephens, said that the arrests were illegal since the order that was used against the minister does not apply to him. The firm stated that the May 13 Order of Associate Chief Justice Rooke only applies to Whistle Stop Café and its stakeholders but not to Stephens.
Jay Cameron, the JCCF litigation director, declared that the pastor's arrest is an act of "public deception and abuse of authority" by the Alberta Health Services (AHS).
"It is our position that AHS is engaged in an intentional act of public deception and abuse of authority in arresting Pastor Stephens and others. Further, it appears that Premier Kenney's Government is targeting its enemies, those who are speaking out against lockdown restrictions and for Charter freedoms," Cameron said.
