Let's be clear, no pastor or priest in Canada is being arrested or harassed by police for "holding a church service". There is no law against worshipping together. There are laws against gathering of certain sizes under certain conditions to prevent the spread of a deadly virus

If I filled my church's centre aisle with chairs to cram more people in Christmas Eve and police said "Fire and safety laws won't permit that" I can't go to the media and claim "The government hates Baby Jesus". No, we can celebrate Christmas but not by putting people at risk.

If I were to hold a service outside in our cemetery and wanted to set off fireworks to celebrate "the fire of Pentecost" and did so without the proper licenses, that service would be shut down. It's because I put people at risk, not because "Christians are being persecuted."

So these pastors in Calgary AB and elsewhere insisting on ignoring restrictions applied equally to all religious gatherings, ignoring other means of gathering for worship that keep people safe, and claiming to be martyrs for religious freedom are spinning a false narrative.

They are not worried about being true to the dictates of scripture "not to neglect to meet together'. They are worried about church offerings going down. They are worried about not looking like the top authority to their congregations. They are worried about personal freedom.

They are not worried about honouring Christ if they are not loving their neighbour.

Putting their own members and the wider community at risk of Covid is not loving.