While Pastor James Coates and GraceLife Church continue to fight for their right to congregate, other groups are cheering city authorities in their move against to totally shut down the church.
Protestia, a media outreach of Fellowship Baptist Church in Sidney, Montana, reports that "reverend" Gregg Latz, indicated in the press release as minister at Knox United Church, commented that it took long for the Alberta Health Service to enforce restriction orders on GraceLife.
"It took nearly four months for AHS to enforce orders that have been flagrantly, arrogantly, and repeatedly ignored by the church. This delay put hundreds if not thousands of lives at risk," he wrote.
Latz states in his argument that GraceLife Church has used "religious freedom" to exempt itself from public health regulations and even went to the extent of ignoring the "biblical imperative to obey governing authority."
In an interview, Latz said that it's important to cooperate with the government and to follow its public health orders.
"I think that when a church takes an anti-government stance or an anti-science stance or an anti-medicine stance, it's really putting its own members at risk and it's putting order in society at risk as well," he told CTV News.
Also displeased with the Knox United minister for expressing glee at GraceLife Church's closure, Protestia dug what they can about Latz and his church.
In Knox United's website, it described the church as an "affirming congregation in the United Church of Canada." The "affirming" means they celebrate people who are lesbian, gay, bi, trans, two-spirited, queer, and/or straight. The church's Twitter account also highlighted ''affirming" as its primary hashtag.
Protestia claims that Latz and the members of his church "hate God, hate Christ, and hate the bible."
"Any press release they issue condemning a faithful, biblical Church like GraceLife will simply heap more condemnation upon them," said its correspondent.
Protestia also noted how Knox United Church proudly uses a "gay unicorn" for its logo.
The church media outlet had also been covering news about discriminations on Christian churches. In a separate report, Protestia questioned the police and Alberta Health Services' partiality in their restriction orders when it comes to the Islamic community.
"Despite the prohibition on Christian Churches, these mosques have gone unmolested by police despite so many congregants. The person filming even notes that the place is "packed packed packed" and that there are school busses there, which they use to bus in participants and those who can't make it on their own," reports the outlet.
The embattled GraceLife Church continues to hold worship services according to several reports. The location was not disclosed for their protection.
But while the members congregate somewhere safe, a large group of people expressed their support. On Sunday, around 400 individuals gathered outside the church's property to protest the deemed tyranny. Many of them came from out of town with some from as far away as Grande Prairie and Lethbridge, reports Edmonton Journal.
"Grace Life Church appreciates the public outpouring of support to fully open churches in Alberta," said Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedom on behalf of their client.
