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There are about 3,100 churches in Alberta and pretty much the only ones we hear about are the two that have repeatedly defied public health orders.
First, there was Edmonton-area GraceLife Church. Its pastor, James Coates, was eventually arrested and jailed for refusing to adhere to COVID-19 health measures. The measures required that no more than 15 per cent of the building’s capacity be filled with people and everyone is to be masked. Eventually, authorities were forced to put up an unscalable fence around the Spruce Grove building to prevent the defiance from taking place. Neighbours of the church say they were being verbally accosted by the parishioners.
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There’s something about this pandemic that’s causing a disturbing rise in anti-Semitic hate crimes.
That’s one of the reasons the Calgary Council of Christians and Jews is holding a free online event entitled Combating Anti-Semitism, with guest speaker Avi Benlolo, an internationally renowned expert in Holocaust studies and anti-Semitism.
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Rev. Ray Matheson, president of the Calgary Council of Christians and Jews, says dangerous lies and conspiracy theories blaming Jewish people for COVID-19 are growing online and attacks against Jewish places of worship have been increasing in the U.S. and Canada.