A lot has been said this week about Street Church and the abhorrent behaviour of Art and his followers. At this Sunday’s church service, after threatening AHS off the property, there was a celebratory dance. Listen closely to the lyric: “you were born for this.”
@JaneQCitizen

The lyric is a reference to Esther 4:14: "For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?"

Esther was being counselled that her new royal privileges granted her a unique opportunity to prevent her people from being wiped out, even though it could come at great personal cost.

As the story has been appropriated and altered by some Christian groups, the message has been changed and adapted to any circumstance where one is standing up for their 'righteous' principles against intense opposition. To Art & co, this is their time to 'prove their mettle'.

Art has been raving for a year+ that the church is being persecuted, and refuses to even acknowledge that a world-changing illness is threatening even those in his church. His parishioners are quick to keep the echo chamber going.

Art, Dawid, and KJJ have made a sport of abusing the @AHS_media inspectors who come to ensure that those inside the church are safe. They have screamed racist insults, misogyny, and threats, all while using their manufactured outrage for personal fame and political clout.

In fact, Art if being so persecuted right now, he barely had time to make the threats he screamed at @AHS_media inspectors a few weeks ago into t-shirts. Seriously. People very likely got COVID from Street Church, and all they got was this lousy t-shirt.

I talked last week about the importance of the persecution narrative for some western churches, and why Street Church, among others, insists on marinating in it. https://twitter.com/coandmorbid/status/1384231259992297476?s=19

This dance occurred minutes after AHS was chased off. These people are literally getting off right now on the idea that they were put on this earth by 'god' in this moment to fight against pandemic restrictions. This is beyond denial of reality, this is rejection of it.

@JaneQCitizen did an excellent thread on this morning's service and the flagrant abuse of @AHS_media by people who have been far too emboldened. https://twitter.com/JaneQCitizen/status/1386058809588682752?s=19

This afternoon, Art was looking a little run down (perhaps unwell?) and was given a gift by his adoring fans, illustrating just how seriously he takes the "persecution".

Tagging in a constitutional lawyer, @Dave_Khan, do these laws really give clergy carte blanche to say and do whatever with impunity and nor interruptions? Do pastors really have 'diplomatic immunity?'

@cityofcalgary please address why Street Church is permitted to host events at Olympic Park 4 days a week, a privilege not given to other religious and non-religious groups? Has there not been ample evidence of this group's disregard for Calgary as a whole community?

The situation has grown more urgent in the last few days, as Kevin J Johnston, Derek Storie, Logan Murphy and other close contacts of churchgoers are now ill, denying testing and treatment, and still insistent on travelling throughout the province and hosting public events.

Please share the thread below widely, @ARCCollective has made the case for how urgently @AHS_media and @ableg must deal with this issue! https://twitter.com/ARCCollective/status/1386122130559967232?s=19