James Coates, pastor at Grace Life Church outside of Edmonton, Alberta, gives his testimony of the events that occurred at the onset and during the COVID pandemic. Originally following all government health guidelines, there came a time, Pastor Coates said, when the church officials and members had to choose following the government or following Christ, "the government oppression, the intensity that we were experiencing on a, basically, daily basis was out of this world. I mean, our nerves were shot by the end of all of that. It was exhausting, but it was necessary because we believe there’s a cost in following Christ and our desire is to bring honour and glory to His name."
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Brandon Pringle relates the struggles his family endured as a result of the pandemic. He is a grocery store worker who was refused a mask exemption in spite of his years long suffering with migraines. Brandon and his wife missed seeing their first grandson for the first six months of his life, his church became divided and he experienced public shaming for his “Unvaxxed” choice.
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Rev. Banks is a pastor in a small Midwestern Ontario rural church. A pastoral caregiver which includes hospital visitation, long-term care visitation, and home visits for people who are housebound. He explains how difficult it was to do his job during the pandemic and the poor service he felt he was giving, especially when he was ministering dying people.
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Dr. Mack has been involved with three large churches and one a mega-church and is fairly involved nationally in the “church scene”. Prior to the pandemic they were usually filled to capacity. A church is a fellowship of believers that come together for a common cause – desire to learn, spiritual nourishment, community outreach. This plays a significant role in the communities they are developed in. Over two years Ontario had some of the harshest, longest lockdowns in the world, closing churches and forbidding Easter and Christmas worship.
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