Monday, April 12, 2021

The Underground Church Coming to America Soon

Over 200 law enforcement officers in dozens of police vehicles blocked entrances to the parking lot of GraceLife Church in Edmonton, Canada, on Wednesday morning, April 7, 2021, building a fence around the building. The congregation has met normally since summer 2020, despite requirements that church gatherings limit capacity, require masks, and practice social distancing.

Over the last eleven months, the Canadian provincial health department conducted 18 inspections and fined the church dozens of times for their refusal to comply with various government orders, including limited seating and no singing. Pastor James Coates was arrested and spent a month in jail. He steadfastly refused to sign a document stating he would obey the government's compulsory health regulations.

The church has issued a statement giving its rationale for disobeying the government:
"We are gravely concerned that COVID-19 is being used to fundamentally alter society and strip us all of our civil liberties. By the time the so-called “pandemic” is over, if it is ever permitted to be over, Albertans will be utterly reliant on government, instead of free, prosperous, and independent. As such, we believe love for our neighbor demands that we exercise our civil liberties... Many Albertans are afraid and are convinced of the efficacy of government lockdowns for two reasons: misinformation and fearmongering. The media has so pounded the COVID-19 drum since the “pandemic” began, almost exclusively emphasizing caseload and deaths, that people are fearful. So fearful, in fact, they have been convinced that yielding up their civil liberties to the government is in their best interests. It is difficult to have not lost confidence in the mainstream media. It would seem as though journalism is on life-support in our province. The media should be made up of the most thorough, discerning, and investigative people in our society. Instead, many of them seem to be serving an ideological agenda. Now more than ever, it is vital that Albertans exercise discernment when listening to the mainstream media.

What do we believe people should do? We believe they should responsibly return to their lives. Churches should open, businesses should open, families and friends should come together around meals, and people should begin to exercise their civil liberties again. Otherwise, we may not get them back. In fact, some say we are on the cusp of reaching the point of no return. Protect the vulnerable, exercise reasonable precautions, but begin to live your lives again."

Regardless of one's agreement with the position of the church, every single Christian should be concerned over the heavy-handedness of the Canadian government. 

The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, which represents GraceLife and its pastor James Coates, said the move to barricade private church property prevents citizens from “exercising their Charter freedoms of peaceful assembly, association, and worship.”

If Americans don't sit up and pay attention to what is happening to our neighbors to the north, we may end up finding ourselves worshiping in the underground church in the United States sooner than we could ever imagine.

The video below is last Sunday's message from Pastor Coates. He preached in an undisclosed location and streamed it LIVE with 'faces in the congregation blurred out' to keep them from being identified by the state police. 

This is happening in Canada. Hard...for...me...to...believe.

61 comments:

Rex Ray said...

Wade,

Just read your post “Underground Church Coming to America”, and heard Pastor James Coates sermon.

I noticed your post referred to the mainstream media five times. Is the world’s laws shaped by them? Many times, President Trump referred to some as “fake news”.

I thought this persecution could only be done by Communist, but for Canada to do it is almost unbelievable. (I’ll bet CHRISTIANE is in shock.)

Is America next?

Rex Ray said...

Wade,

Edmonton is the capitol of Canada with a population of 981,280.

I’m stating this because when the devil strikes, he doesn’t start at the ‘bottom’ but the ‘top’. For proof, look at our Government today.

I’d been married about a month when our car broke down going to Alaska. I hitchhiked a hundred miles to Edmonton to get car parts.

Christiane said...

Hello REX RAY,

No, I'm not shocked. I think Alberta, Canada, has chosen to enforce some standard health guidelines to protect its most vulnerable citizens, which seems to me to be something that is dear to the heart of Our Lord. I reference Wade's link to CT below:

" . . . As a Christian, I call on fellow believers to be guided by the principle of the sanctity of human life in how we act during this pandemic. COVID-19 has claimed millions of lives around the world, including the lives of more than 1800 Albertans, despite extraordinary efforts to limit viral spread. The vast majority of those whose lives have been threatened or lost are amongst the most vulnerable, such as the very elderly and frail. The Psalmist writes, “blessed are those who have regard for the weak.” We all share a responsibility to protect the weak. In the context of this pandemic, that means limiting our interactions with other people to contain and reduce viral spread. That is why we have put in place capacity limits and masking requirements for congregational worship, particularly given several viral outbreaks that occurred last year at worship services, many of which led directly to lives lost.

Unlike other jurisdictions, Alberta has sought to do this in a way that constitutes a minimal impairment of freedom of worship. unfortunately, despite the best efforts of almost all congregations to worship in a careful way that protects vulnerable lives, one or two congregations have chosen flagrantly to violate all public health guidelines. In doing so, they are risking viral transmission that could cost vulnerable lives.

That is why I renew my call for all faith communities to responsibly exercise their freedom of worship in a way that shows love for our neighbours and regard for the weak and the vulnerable. . . . " (from statement by Alberta Premier Kenney)
https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2021/february/canada-pastor-jail-arrest-gracelife-church-covid-order.html

If nothing more, the vulnerable aged and helpless of Alberta will be protected which Premier Kenney has voiced as a humane reason for holding people accountable to health regulations. In Premier Kenney's voicing of a humane reason for this decision, I don't see his action as a 'political' decision, no, but a moral one in line with his conscience.

People see things differently and hopefully will act accordingly upon honor and conscience. So has the pastor and so has the premier in Alberta. I have no problem with this, but I do most sincerely hope that all people think deeply about protecting the innocent and the most vulnerable above all. No one is expendable. All are needed. All are important in the eyes of God.

People must determine for themselves what is their path, hopefully upon honor and conscience, and accept consequences for important decisions, especially when their decisions impact the lives of others who are dependent on the consideration of others.
People see things differently and act accordingly. So I am not 'shocked', no.

Rex Ray said...

CHRISTIANE,

Sounds like you’d think the man was crazy that said, “Give me liberty or give me death.”

Scott Shaver said...

Rex:

Our friend Christianne uses the term "vulnable" more than Sheila Jackson Lee, whose district in Houston has streets that look like land mines created the pot holes๐Ÿ˜Ž

Scott Shaver said...

Christianne:

Respectfully...define "honor" just so we know whether or not we are on the same page.

Scott Shaver said...

Christianne:

Do you actually think that humans at any level control the course or outcome of this virus?

Scott Shaver said...

Rex:

Man...the days of hitchhiking like that are a speck in the rearview mirror of nostalgia, huh?

Bene said...

Canadian here.

First off, Ezra Levant started the 200 Mounties were present at the church.
Consider the source.
Where did you get that figure?
Looking at copious videos of the protest, counting in roadblocks, traffic control and the chopper, not even close.

At a protest to Coates being in prison, every fringe group with a beef came out.
Likewise at the church protest.

Where did you get GraceLife has had dozens of fines?
Alberta Health order violations are public.
The church has a fine, Coates had a fine.

The PR sent out by the lawyers stated no congregants were involved.
That is incorrect.
There were some, they were identified by locals and identified themselves.

GraceLife is not winning hearts and minds in their community or in the Christian community in Canada.
15% of capacity of that church is 94 people.
They can meet outdoors, drive in or wear masks and social distance indoors.
GraceLife has chosen a Charter challenge. JCCF lost in BC, and will lose this case and appeals all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Rex Roy: Is your comment that Edmonton is the capital of Canada a joke?
Try heading 3500 kilometers east.

RCMP are not 'the state police.' The US has states and state police forces.
RCMP are a federal force which contracts out to provinces, territories and municipalities without their own law enforcement. Law enforcement is a branch of the 'state', if that's what you meant.

GraceLife has made a pandemic and response a political issue.
I strongly disagree with their stand, their behavior and their rhetoric.

Christianne - it's worse in Alberta than vulnerable populations. Alberta has all 3 variants and the 18-50 age group is being hit hard.GraceLife defiance mirrors John MacArthur of course. All we can hope is the approximately 400 members don't start a super spreader.











Gerry Milligan said...

Wade,
I question pastor Coates motivation for his refusal to follow health guidelines. Our church has virtual services on Sunday. He could have done that instead of continual disobedience.

Rex Ray said...

Scott Shaver,

Yeah, ‘hitchhiking’ gives a hint how old I am. ๐Ÿ˜Š

I was in the Air Force at Amarillo. Instead of driving my old car, I’d hitchhike 326 miles to Denton because it was faster. (I was dating Judy at the time.)

One time, I rode with some friends. We left late one very dark night and took turns driving. At three A.M., they said it was my turn, but when stopping, to put it in neutral and pump the gas because if it died, it wouldn’t start until the engine cooled off.

I came up to a flashing red-light. The gear indicator light was burned out, and I pushed it into reverse:

WHAM! I was stepping on the brakes, and thought the brakes had ‘grabbed’. I started pumping the gas, and the red-light zoomed away. I couldn’t believe my eyes! I was going 30 mph in reverse before I realized my mistake.

Bene,

I stand corrected. Edmonton; capital of Alberta.

Lissa Roberson said...

Rex Ray,

I too, listened to the sermon late last night. The message was spot-on for our times. Governmental authorities are not going to become any friendlier toward Christians because our moral standard (the Word) is anathema to leftist causes. Believers will become more and more marginalized.

Here are my personal thoughts. Right now, COVID is a great tool to use for limiting public gatherings, and for reasons beyond public health. We need to look beyond the public health argument and see that COVID-protection was used as a "weapon" to detain and incarcerate a Christian pastor. He practiced civil disobedience, believing that assembling to practice your faith is as essential to public health as keeping the liquor store open.

Should our society follow suit with our neighbors to the north (Canada) and the Far East (China), church worship will drastically change. It will be pared down in the essentials of singing, prayer, the Word, and fellowship. It might take place in one's basement or in the back room of a business with only a handful of families. It may take place without a seminary-trained pastor, and the Lord's Supper might include unleavened bread baked at home. Of course I'm making reference to the house church worship that we practiced as missionaries and trained new Chinese believers to practice. It can be done here in the USA...and it just might.

Christiane said...

Just a thought:
that Canada has not been afflicted with the mind-set that "the virus is a HOAX designed to get Trump out of the White House", so it has been able to face the virus differently, without the political divides that we have suffered in our own land.

I am certain that the Canadian people are sensible, have a strong work ethic, and are respectful of the science that advises their medical people and political leaders on how to handle public health matters.

In this country, we are in a different situation. Canada is not in the same boat.
Canada has been attacked by one political party as have been many of our allies and also the existence of NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. So for our nation, we have political entities who wish to present Canada in a negative light and who are connected with those who among us who also agree with the goals of Vladimir Putin, one of which is to see NATO disbanded. The wider picture is an even uglier story, yes.










Christiane said...

Hey, REX RAY

It's the 'Give me liberty' I am in agreement with. It's just that in this pandemic, we have choices and some of those choices might lead not only to our own infection, but also to the infection of 'others'. It's the impact on 'the others' that's at issue.


It's not our way to demand liberties that knowingly endanger other VULNERABLE people, so we are called by the Christian faith to the kind of 'love' that wants the best for 'the other' without thought to our own benefit or reward.

People see things differently. That is not a bad thing. But sometimes, they disagree and there are consequences that follow.
The one think I know is this: that IF we have a choice and yet knowingly and consciously (willfully) act in ways that we know will bring harm on innocent people,
THEN we must answer to God for our own actions.

I think a person must listen to his or her conscience in these matters, REX RAY, in such a way that the person lives in obedience to Christ as He taught us when He was among us, in how He Himself showed love for us.
That is a hard thing and most of us will fail at times.
But we are obligated to keep trying.
There will be times when we will be humble enough to receive the grace to make a difference, and these differences are what we call 'witnessing' to Christ.

Rex Ray said...

Lissa Roberson,
"Believes will become more and more marginalized.”

“If the world hates you, remember it hated me first.” (John 15:18 NLT)

The reason the world hates Christians, is not because Christians think we are better than them, but because they know Christians are better than them.

CHRISTIANE,
Guess I want to be picky, but ‘witnessing’ to Christ would be more correct by saying, ‘witnessing for Christ’ because Christ doesn’t need to be witnessed to.

RB Kuter said...

"Our church has virtual services on Sunday. He could have done that instead of continual disobedience."

All churches can choose to shut their doors and insist that their members watch TV evangelists or their pastor preaching from a studio. What's the difference? At least you are obeying the government policies for mitigation.

The frog sat in the pot of nice warm water but began feeling uncomfortable. "Hey! What's up with the temperature!?! Is someone turning that burner up?!"

RB Kuter said...

Wade, thank you for bringing this to our attention. I can imagine how our northern neighbors must be embarrassed by the proposition that their government is infringing upon the rights of people to have free worship and instead insisting that it is a matter of public health.

I've mentioned this previously but will point it out again. While living in the socialist nation of Zambia in the 1980s the ruling dictator, Kenneth Kaunda, continually warned the nation of an impending attack from the white-supremacist, apartheid nation of South Africa.

There was never any genuine threat of such an invasion, but it was critical that "His Excellency, President Kenneth Kaunda" fabricate a common enemy in order to promote his government as being the protector of the people. There was a continuing effort to create a blanket of fear upon the Zambian populace so as to elevate Kaunda's position as the savior and defender of the people. This served to increase his unchallenged power and eliminate any opposition to his extremely corrupt policies that were destroying the basic infrastructure of his own nation.

This is a very common tactic of all totalitarian regimes.

Rex Ray said...

Daunte Wright police shooting: Body-cam; Taser; Brooklyn Center (usatoday.com)

“An officer threatened to tase him, shouting, "Taser!" at least three times before shooting Wright, then saying, "Oh (expletive), I just shot him."
“The car drove away, traveling several blocks before hitting another vehicle.”


CHRISTIANE,

The car didn’t drive away by itself. How bad was Daute Wright hurt if he had a wreck in which another person was killed?

Rex Ray said...

opts,

https://www.google.com/search?q=daute+wright+drives+away+after+being+shot&source=hp&ei=B2N2YNKHN4q1tgWTwZ7gAw&iflsig=AINFCbYAAAAAYHZxFwFyWIqD4DBGl0RFsv_KlAcoeU3p&oq=Daute+Wright+drives+away+after+bei&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAEYADIFCCEQoAEyBQghEKABMgUIIRCrAjIFCCEQqwIyBQghEKsCOgQIABADOgsILhCxAxDHARCjAjoCCAA6CAgAELEDEIMBOgUIABCxAzoICC4QsQMQgwE6AgguOggILhDHARCvAToGCAAQChADOgQILhAKOgQIABAKOgoILhCxAxAKEJMCOgcIABCxAxAKOgcIABDEAhAKOgUIABDEAjoKCC4QsQMQDRCTAjoECAAQDToHCAAQsQMQDToECC4QDToKCAAQsQMQgwEQDToGCAAQDRAKOgcIIRAKEKABOggIIRAWEB0QHlDlaViMgANg1KIDaAFwAHgAgAGRAYgByhiSAQUyMi4xM5gBAKABAaoBB2d3cy13aXo&sclient=gws-wiz

Christiane said...

Sharing:
some good people who witness to Christ by really caring about the VULNERABLE:
http://bergenvolunteers.galaxydigital.com/agency/detail/?agency_id=45603

Rex Ray said...

CHRISTIANE,

After ‘more looking’, I’m wrong on what I wrote; as the link below points out.

Daunte Wright's parents speak out after shooting in ABC News exclusive: 'He's never coming back' - ABC News (go.com)

Daunte Wright's mother, Katie Wright, told ABC News that her son had called her during the traffic stop. She said he told her that police had pulled him over due to air fresheners hanging in his rear-view mirror.

She told him to take them down and to let her speak with police over the phone if they ask for his car insurance so she could give them the information.

That's when she heard police ask her son to step out of the vehicle. I know my son was scared. He's afraid of the police, and I just seen and heard the fear in his voice.

"Daunte said, 'For what, am I in trouble?' I heard the phone getting put down pretty hard," Katie Wright said on "GMA" during Tuesday's exclusive interview.

"And then I heard scuffling and the girl that was with him screaming, and I heard an officer ask for them to hang up the phone and then I didn't hear anything else."

CHRISTIANE,
So it was the girl in the car that drove several blocks before having a wreck.

Christiane said...

I am very grateful to the good people who watch over the residents at Eastern Christian Children's Retreat in Wyckoff NJ.

When I was raising my son, we encountered many good people and also some people who were made uncomfortable around 'challenged' vulnerable persons. Sometimes this discomfort presented itself as contempt or in 'making fun' of the vulnerable;
but we understood that this reaction came out of discomfort and lack of understanding, so it was always forgiven.

So, in hope of sharing how some really fine people who are Christian care for the 'vulnerable', here is a website where their efforts witness to their faith in Christ:
https://eccretreat.org/

Rex Ray said...

CHRISTIANE,

You said, “When I was raising my son…”

I believe Daute Wright’s race had nothing to do with his death, and he’d be alive today, if you’d raised him.

Christiane said...

REX RAY,
that's a very kind thing to say

I did 'mother' some boys who were very troubled when I worked for the Diocese of Paterson at Straight and Narrow, a drug rehab facility run by the diocese. I was a teacher at a school for the boys who were between fourteen and seventeen years old.
I remember how sometimes one of them would have a bad day and how I responded to them as I would have done with my own child. I often wonder if they 'survived' that intensely hostile environment that awaited them when they were older in those streets and neighborhoods, and I always wanted the best for them and prayed accordingly. It was and remains, one of the best years I worked professionally as a teacher.

More than one of these boys had bullet and knife scars and having been using drugs for some time, many had teeth that needed care. My husband and I left the area and I ceased working there, but the memories are dear to me because those boys were so basically like any other teens, just boys, who had got into some trouble, and for whom Ms. Carole (my co-teacher) and I cared, for a time in those days. I never stopped praying for them, like a mom would want good for her children.
Best year I ever worked was with those boys, REX RAY. Thank you for reminding me of that in your kind comment. May God give rest to that boy who died. Only twenty years old. May God have mercy on us all.

Rex Ray said...

CHRISTIANE,
Thank you for saying thank you.
I’ve told this before, but I like telling it again. Wonder why? ๐Ÿ˜Š

FATHER ALMOST DROWN
When I was 15, there were a lot of us swimming in Red River. Our father had returned from being a Chaplain in World War II. He stayed on the front the whole war and never lost in wrestling. His 210 pounds was solid muscle and he was strong as an ox. He was our hero.

I crossed the river where it was deep, narrow, and fast. I swam with the current and it was easy. Our father decided to join me but tried to swim upstream. The river got wide, and the current took him farther away.

I followed on the bank. We were about 200 yards from the others. I was admiring how he could swim so long and hard until he yelled, “HELP ME”. He was exhausted. No one could hear him but me. I ran upstream to where the current would take me to him. He thought I was running away. He called: “PLEASE HELP ME”

The current took me to him in a few seconds. He kept his hand on my shoulder. He could have sunk me like a bug, but he didn’t apply much pressure. I started angling downstream to the bank a hundred yards away. In a panic, he yelled. “GO TO THE BANK” (It was 50 feet upstream.) I yelled, “I AM”

When we got to the bank, he laid on the sand a long time. Finally, he said. “I wouldn’t have made it without you.”

Rex Ray said...

Is there a first time for everything?

This morning, I mailed a check; paying a bill from a dead man.

I received a call cancelling my appointment to a 74-year-old-doctor because he’d died from a heart attack.

He lived at Randolph, Texas. (13 miles from here.) I told his nurse that once I was at a bicycle-rest-stop there.

An old man learned I was Rex Ray, and asked if I knew a Dave Ray.
“He’s, my father.’
“He was principal when I was in the first grade. Last day of school, he brought a bushel of eggs for an egg fight. Happiest day of my life.”

I’d given this doctor my brother’s book. I’d like to think the doc has talked with him.

Christiane said...

beautiful stories, REX RAY

you make me proud to be a member of this great country whose people have 'heart' and 'soul'


I am thinking that were it not for the Word of God, there would be only the darkness.

For the people of this Earth who have suffered and died, that is not the last Word, for 'their souls that this world left so wounded will be healed in the Light of Christ' Who gave them life, sustained that life, and Who, in His great mercy, receives them back into His care when their time on this Earth has ended.

https://vimeo.com/439795406

Rex Ray said...

CHRISTIANE,

Wonder if the Lord would like for you to be a preacher?

Christiane said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Rex Ray said...

CHRISTIANE,

Would you have allowed your 13-year-old son to run around with a man who had a warrant for his arrest? They were in a dark alley at 2 A.M. where shots were fired. A policeman saw the boy with a gun in his hand, but didn’t know he’d dropped it when he turned around to face the policeman. Policeman shot and killed him. Video:

Adam Toledo: Chicago police release video of officer shooting boy - BBC News

Rex Ray said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Christiane said...

Hello out there, REX RAY

By mistake, I think Wade (or 'blog administrator') erased your warning instead of that bad blog you were warning him about. Try again.

REX RAY, I hope your is neck feeling better. Neck and back troubles sometimes take time to recover. That kind of pain is very stressful, I know.





Rex Ray said...

CHRISTIANE,

All’s well that ends well. ๐Ÿ˜Š

Christiane said...

REX RAY
that's a great quote for a beautiful Sunday morning


from Shakespeare's Macbeth, I'll add this blessing:

" "God's benison go with you and with those ·
That would make good of bad and friends of foes" " (Act. 2, Scene 4)

Rex Ray said...

CHRISTIANE,

I’ve learned that Abraham Zapruder sold the movie he took of JFK being killed to Life Magazine. He gave $25,000 of it to the widow of Dallas police officer J.D. Tippit.

The Dallas VA gave “Diclofenac Sodium Topical Gel” that has my neck a lot better.

A woman said, “If you were my husband, I’d give you poison!”

Who replied? “If you were my wife, I’d take it!”

Rex Ray said...

Hey! The same man said this:

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/my-dear-you-are-ugly-tomorrow-i-shall-be-sober-and-you-will-still-be-ugly-winston-churchill-tops-poll-history-s-funniest-insults-8878622.html

Rex Ray said...

Because my doctor died from a heart attack, this is on my mind. Heart attacks are caused by cholesterol clogging arteries.

Did God make our bodies to manufacture cholesterol (which it does) in order to clog our arteries?

NO! But why do people die because their arteries are clogged with cholesterol?

It’s like this: a ‘scratch’ is healed by the body making a ‘scab’, but the ‘scab’ didn’t cause the scratch!

The body uses cholesterol to heal a ‘raw spots’ inside of arteries, but cholesterol didn’t cause the ‘raw spots’.

In 1900, heart attacks were rare and wasn’t in the six leading causes of death, but by 1950 it became the number one killer. (Homogenized milk started in America in 1932.)

Drs. Kurt A. Oster, and Nicholas Sampsidis wrote books that explain ‘raw spots’ are caused by Homogenized milk.

Cow’s milk ‘fat’ or cream has a substance called xanthine oxidase (XO). It’s digested by the body with no harm if it’s NOT homogenized.

Homogenizing is the process of passing milk through a fine filter at a pressure of 2,500 psi. The cream molecules are small enough to pass through walls of the intestine and into the circulation. Gradually, artery walls thicken to obstruction the flow of blood. High blood pressure is a symptom caused by XO.

Dr. Oster got statistics from 13 countries in 1967:

1. Death rate per 100,000 from heart attacks.
2. How much milk per person in pounds.
3. How much milk was homogenized.

1. America: 211.8 Japan 39.1
2. America: 273 Japan 48
3. America: 95% Japan 5%

Judy and I drink Almon milk.

Lissa Roberson said...

Published Sunday, April 18 in the Christian Post: Court grants Alberta's request not to show evidence for health order at Pastor James Coates' trial

https://www.christianpost.com/news/james-coates-trial-alberta-granted-request-not-to-show-evidence-health-order.html

According to this article, the government in Alberta does not need to produce any scientific evidence supporting a public health order behind the lockdown of Pastor James Coates' GraceLife church, along with his subsequent arrest and detainment.

Not only this, but 20,000 surgeries have been cancelled, businesses were forced to close, resulting in bankruptcies, and Alberta is entering its third provincial lockdown -- all at the behest of the government that simultaneously declares itself incapable of producing medical and scientific evidence of such a necessity.

It's hard to read this and not feel that COVID is being used for opportunistic purposes, as a weapon for social control.

Christiane said...

Lissa, I believe the goal is to co-ordinate the easing of restrictions to follow a plan that honors lower levels of hospitalization and of declining cases. It seems that the government is working with the Health system in Alberta in order to protect the population from harm through temporary measures co-ordinated with results. The people of Canada are also engaged in a full vaccination program similar to that of our own country but with Astra Zeneca, I believe.


Steps based on hospitalization benchmarks and declining cases
STEP 1
<600 hospitalizations and declining cases
STEP 2
<450 hospitalizations and declining cases
STEP 3
<300 hospitalizations and declining cases
STEP 4
<150 hospitalizations and declining cases


Step 1: Restrictions eased in these areas:

Indoor fitness
Youth and collegiate sport, performance and recreation activities



Step 2: Potential easing in these areas:

Further easing of indoor fitness activities
Restaurants
Libraries
Banquet halls, community halls, conference centres and hotels
Performance activities
Retail



Step 3: Potential easing in these areas:

Adult team sports
Casinos, racing centres and bingo halls
Further easing of youth sport and recreation activities
Indoor social gatherings, with restrictions
Indoor seated events (movie theatres and auditoria)
Museums, art galleries, zoos, interpretive centres
PLACES OF WORSHIP



Step 4: Potential easing in these areas:

Amusement parks
Concerts (indoor)
Festivals (indoor and outdoor)
Funeral receptions
Indoor entertainment centres and play centres
Performance activities (singing, dancing and wind instruments)
Sporting events (indoor and outdoor)
Tradeshows, conferences and exhibiting events
Wedding ceremonies and receptions
Workplaces (lift working from home)
Day and overnight camps

https://www.alberta.ca/enhanced-public-health-measures.aspx

RB Kuter said...

"It's hard to read this and not feel that COVID is being used for opportunistic purposes, as a weapon for social control."

You hit the nail on the head!

The entire episode of COVID has been so politicized and used as leverage by first one and then the other so as to undermine the credibility of any claims made by the establishment.

Reading reports in the media today claiming the on-going ravages of COVID and the desperate conditions caused by its on-going escalation seems to be another ploy to maintain the panic and fear necessary to keep the governments in control of civil liberties once thought impossible. It is curious to see such a huge portion of the population following the Piper and surrendering their ability to have their own broad, objective, assessment of the situation by using the very apparent contradictions and unsubstantiated claims of the establishment bent on maintaining control.

I would never advise anyone to not take the vaccinations if they feel so inclined, but personally, the methods and apparent underlying motivations of the establishment cause me to be very cynical as to its reliability and safety.

Rex Ray said...

Lissa Roberson,

You said, “…COVID is being used…”

I didn’t quote everything you said, (which was very good) to make a point off subject but very important:

The scare of COVID set up ‘mail-in-ballots’ that I believe cheated Trump from being elected as President, regardless of massive objections that mail-in-ballots didn’t.

That’s my belief, and I’m sticking to it.

On another subject, I want to substitute CHRISTIANE in for George Floyd.

Police would have searched you for more counterfeit and upon finding none, they’d asked you to come to the police station and explain how you got the bad bill.

George Floyd And Derek Chauvin Were Once Co-Workers, Report Says : NPR

“Maya Santamaria, former owner of El Nuevo Rodeo, said that both Floyd and Chauvin worked security at the club…Santamaria also told the TV station that Chauvin "had a real short fuse," adding that he often pulled out mace and pepper spray when she thought it was unwarranted.”

Other sources stated Chauvin and Floyd ‘bumped heads’. (I believe because the size of Floyd that Chauvin got the worst of it, and knelling on Floyd’s neck was ‘pay-back’.)

Well, the trial’s over except for the jurors’ decision.

Christiane said...

"FOR THEIR DEEDS FOLLOW THEM"

The Judaic tradition of 'tikkun olam' (repairing the world), not on its own merits, but in connection to Rev. 14:13 in how our meaningful compassionate human labors will follow us into eternity as Lord Christ 'makes all things new':

"13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying,
“Write this: Blessed are the dead who from now on die in the Lord.”
“Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them.” "
(Rev. 14:13)

It is a mark of Christian WITNESS that Christ-followers honor Him by seeking the good of others "for the sake of the others" without thought of personal gain.






Christiane said...

Good Morning REX RAY

you might be right about the 'profiling' of George Floyd and how he was treated, but we all saw him murdered and we can't unsee it, as once a suspect is safely in custody, his well-being then becomes the duty of the arresting officer(s). . . we shall see what happens maybe today, if the jury is finished deliberating (?)

as to you devotion to Trump, if you are at peace with that, so be it;

but know that our court systems wouldn't play along with Trump because he had no credible evidence; not even the Supreme Court would play the game

my concern with the whole Trump thing goes way back to his Russian collusion and focuses on one name, a Russian spy, Konstantin Kilimnick
https://www.justsecurity.org/75766/us-treasury-provides-missing-link-manaforts-partner-gave-campaign-polling-data-to-kremlin-in-2016/

without doubt, pre, during, and post Trump, Russian security forces have interfered in our politics to benefit Trump . . . all the while it remained that Russia's government under Putin is a sworn enemy of our own nation and of our allies.

Everyone has their own opinion, but in the end, it was the LAW that mattered

Hope your neck is better today. I will be watching the news today also.

Scott Shaver said...

Christianne: I don't adhere to the Judaic tradition of "tikkun olam".

Why? I see no biblical mandate to "repair the world". I do see a mandate to proclaim the Gospel.

Scott Shaver said...

Hey Christianne:

I don't see an "easing" coming out of Canadian authorities. Especially in light of the fact that they don't even have to exhibit proof of their rationale for enforcing lockdowns.

I don't see a whole lot of "responsible" folks behind this.

Scott Shaver said...

I saw hm resisting arrest, heavily under the influence and tragically expiring under constraint as a result of refusal to comply.

The car seat he was originally sitting behind was no more cramped or claustrophobia-inducing than the back of the police car he refused to climb into.

Scott Shaver said...

Christianne:

What "LAW" mattered?

Christiane said...

"What do we believe people should do? We believe they should responsibly return to their lives. Churches should open, businesses should open, families and friends should come together around meals, and people should begin to exercise their civil liberties again. Otherwise, we may not get them back. In fact, some say we are on the cusp of reaching the point of no return. Protect the vulnerable, exercise reasonable precautions, but begin to live your lives again.""

Hello WADE,

I believe that out in the whole country, people will begin to re-engage with normal life gradually as more and more people are vaccinated and realize that they can be with others in their family without worrying about anyone falling sick. In July, my son comes home from duty in Alaska and we will have a gathering at my house for family members who will all be vaccinated except for the little newborn daughter of my nephew.
I am so looking forward to this, as it has been too long a time gone by without a chance to 'celebrate' in a way that we have previously taken for granted in days gone by.

In time, maybe more and more people will 'emerge' from 'sheltering' once they are vaccinated and some confidence returns in the country's growing resistance to infection, God willing.

The last thing I would ever hope to see is some type of isolation of those in our country who refuse to be vaccinated. In the days of diseases like leprosy and the Black Death, people were kept 'apart'. But these days, the carriers of the virus strains 'walk invisible', so most of the nation cannot know if they are 'safe' from these unvaccinated carriers unless they themselves are vaccinated. Maybe then, people will come to accept the possibility of some kind of 'herd immunity'. Right now, the world seems much on edge, except for certain countries like Brazil, where Bolsonaro will not order 'shutdowns' and the virus is running rampant. So we wait and hope that the vaccinations will restore confidence in our ability to safely rejoin 'community' as a country, hopefully this fall. (?)

Rex Ray said...

CHRISTIANE,

Steele Dossier Revelation: Vox Throws Hillary Under the Bus | Newsbusters

Scott Shaver said...

Christianne:

Are those of us refusing the vaccine self-centered and uncaring...yea even less than Christian in our position?

Christiane said...

REX RAY, thanks for the link

yes, I remember when all that came out in 2017

RB Kuter said...


EXCLUSIVE - Former Pfizer VP: ‘Your government is lying to you in a way that could lead to your death.’

"Dr. Michael Yeadon, Pfizer's former Vice President and Chief Scientist for Allergy & Respiratory who spent 32 years in the industry-leading new medicines research and retired from the pharmaceutical giant with “the most senior research position” in his field, spoke with LifeSiteNews in a telephone interview

He addressed the “demonstrably false” propaganda from governments in response to COVID-19, including the “lie” of dangerous variants, the totalitarian potential for “vaccine passports,” and the strong possibility we are dealing with a “conspiracy” which could lead to something far beyond the carnage experienced in the wars and massacres of the 20th century.

3. Pharmaceutical companies have already begun to develop unneeded “top-up” (“booster”) vaccines for the “variants.” The companies are planning to manufacture billions of vials, in addition to the current experimental COVID-19 “vaccine” campaign.
4. Regulatory agencies like the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency, have announced that since these “top-up” vaccines will be so similar to the prior injections which were approved for emergency use authorization, drug companies will not be required to “perform any clinical safety studies.”
5. Thus, this virtually means that design and implementation of repeated and coerced mRNA vaccines “go from the computer screen of a pharmaceutical company into the arms of hundreds of millions of people, [injecting] some superfluous genetic sequence for which there is absolutely no need or justification.”
6. Why are they doing this? Since no benign reason is apparent, the use of vaccine passports along with a “banking reset” could issue in a totalitarianism unlike the world has ever seen. Recalling the evil of Stalin, Mao, and Hitler, “mass depopulation” remains a logical outcome."

(https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/exclusive-former-pfizer-vp-your-government-is-lying-to-you-in-a-way-that-could-lead-to-your-death)

Lissa Roberson said...

RB Kuter, I'm with you. If it's true that each "booster" dose results in worsening side effects as we are seeing with our current Moderna and Pfizer vaccine sequences, it's quite possible that every additional booster will produce even more severe side effects. After all, the body is engaging in autoimmune warfare each time it is injected with this still-unapproved mRNA experimental genetic treatment. Add new booster, add new and worse physiological effects from the last time.

I am very leery of this latest pronouncement that a third Pfizer dose might be required. When will it ever be enough? What rationale are they providing us as to the necessity of yet another needle in the arm? Did you notice how carefully the language has been selected? All we've heard so far is there may ("may" - not absolutely) be the potential ("potential" - open to debate) need for a third Pfizer vaccine. Reason - not stated. This defies basic common sense to the average critical thinker.

RB Kuter said...

Lisa, the above information comes from a former Vice President and Chief Scientist for Allergy and Respiratory who was there for 32 years. There are others who are equally qualified to speak to these issues who do so from the same premises. They have been doing so since this COVID crisis surfaced yet are ignored with attempts to discredit them in spite of their credentials. A number of them have been in much better situations than Fauci and all the rest of those experts upon which government politicians have been quoting and cow-towing to.

Like Dr. Michael Yeadon, the question of "Why?" there is a "global" attempt to direct the world's population to submit to having this vaccination when the risks are all too apparent. "Why?" are the global health organizations and governments refusing to seriously consider the voices of those experts shouting warnings of alarm that the paths being taken are all the wrong approach?

This, along with the apparent efforts consistent with the aggressive mind-control with all of the CRT and Woke propaganda and domination of media and academia,should cause any clear-thinking, objective person to question the validity and motives of those power players orchestrating it all. And this is ALL happening on a "global" scale. Call it "conspiracy theory" if you like, but I, and apparently a lot of experts much more qualified to know, question the genuine intent for what is taking place.

Christiane said...

Hello Mr. Kuter,

THIS is the kind of article which causes me concern about Epoch Times as a resource:


"Hurley said Falun Gong practitioners saw communism everywhere: former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, movie star Jackie Chan and former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan were all considered to have sold themselves out to the Chinese government, Hurley said.

This kind of coverage foreshadowed the news organization’s embrace of conspiracy theories like QAnon, the overarching theory that there is an evil cabal of “deep state” operators and child predators out to take down the president.

“It is so rabidly pro-Trump,” Hurley said, referring to The Epoch Times. Devout practitioners of Falun Gong “believe that Trump was sent by heaven to destroy the Communist Party.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/trump-qanon-impending-judgment-day-behind-facebook-fueled-rise-epoch-n1044121

Scott Shaver said...

Christianne:

I tend to think that Trump was sent by God to take up permanent residence in your head.

RB Kuter said...

Christiane, you sound much like the folks on CNN and other sources in sync with the propaganda forces at play. Any opposing views, no matter what the credibility of the source, is discarded as raving lunatics even when having extremely credible premise for their statements. We went though that exact same argument during the entirety of the former Administration. It is so predictable as to completely undermine the credibility of the response in the debate.

The basis of this assessment on my part is the consistency of the response no matter what credentials are displayed in support of the view that opposes that of the leftist-Marxist-establishment;i.e., the credentials of this scientist/former VP of Pfizer, along with many others that argue the same proposition, all discarded by the leftists.

Your opposing premises is made all the more "lame" by the fact that you immediately begin by attacking the assumed source as being the dreaded "The Epoch Times" even though this report comes from another source.

It is not a matter of the credibility of "The Epoch Times" (which is one of the few remaining opposing media sources to that of the left) or other source. This report is confirmed by numerous other credible sources giving the very same account on the interview. Again, the tendency of those holding your views portray "symbolism with zero substance" by addressing opposing views with emotions and empty accusations and charges that have no credibility. This is the predictable trend and response that we have witnessed throughout the past 5 years or so.

Must be frustrating.

Rex Ray said...

Scott Shaver,

“I tend to think that Trump was sent by God to take up permanent residence in your head.”


BINGO

Christiane said...

for those of you who cared who do not know of her passing, this:
https://www.tributearchive.com/obituaries/19902355/Lydia-Jeannette-Altes/wall

Rex Ray said...

CHRISTIANE,

I didn’t learn much from your link.

Christiane said...

Hello REX RAY,

I know. The written obituary is not up yet, and I do not know why. Some people here may remember her from Wartburg Watch, as she frequently blogged there, but I'm not sure about who or how many.

She is someone people cared about in her struggles with health and finances. We prayed for her a lot. I hope for her that she rests in peace now and I believe she was a person of faith.

Just letting folks know who might have known her. I came upon the news through different channels and wanted to be sure it was known in the community who had prayed for her.