After weeks of defying Ontario’s emergency public health orders, the Church of God Restoration in Aylmer is being locked up.
Superior Court Justice Bruce Thomas ordered the exterior doors of the John Street North church be locked in a decision delivered in St. Thomas court on Friday.
Thomas stressed an example needed to be made of the church to deter others across the province from breaking COVID-19 regulations set out by the Ontario government. On at least half a dozen occasions, the church has hosted large services in violation of pandemic rules that limit religious gatherings to ten people. That includes a service held on May 2 in which Aylmer police counted 166 people entering the church and another on May 9 that saw 222 people go inside.
“This location has been the crucible of the contemptuous activity and to ignore that would simply be unacceptable,” said Thomas. “I acknowledge that this building is the centre of the community for this congregation. It is far more than just a place to come on Sundays. It is part of the fabric of their lives. However, these regulations and the state of emergency were put in place to protect the health of the community and to save lives at a time of soaring infection rates and overflowing hospitals.”
In addition, Thomas fined the church corporation $35,000, church pastor Henry Hildebrandt $10,000, and assistant pastor Peter Wall $3,000 for civil contempt convictions related to a large April 25 gathering.
The church and its leadership were found guilty of contempt on April 30 for disobeying a court order to stop holding in-person services in violation of pandemic restrictions. A cease and desist letter had been sent to the church by the Ministry of the Attorney General in February. Despite that, parishioners continued to gather indoors and in large numbers with no one wearing face coverings or physical distancing. The services were livestreamed on Hildebrandt's YouTube channel.
Thomas referred to Hildebrandt as the “directing mind of the continuing contempt” at the church and suggested he alone could have made the congregation fall inline with provincial orders.
“Henry Hildebrandt as pastor of this church is the leading force and unapologetic spokesperson for this offending activity,” said Thomas. “The evidence makes it clear that pastor Hildebrandt has the spiritual control over his congregation that would allow the breaching conduct to stop if he chose to do so.”
Thomas listed comments made by Hildebrandt during Sunday services that were also livestreamed as aggravating factors in his decision. The comments included those making light of the many tickets the church had received for violations and suggesting the church is in the midst of a war.
Thomas noted that assistant pastor Wall was a young man with a young family who was "no doubt" following the example and direction of his pastor.
The church and its pastors have been given 90 days to pay the fines. They are also on the hook for $69,000 in legal fees.
In response to Friday's court decision, Hildebrandt posted a seven minute video filmed inside of the church where dozens of members had again gathered.
"In one way we greatly rejoice that we are counted worthy to suffer a little bit of what those who have gone on before us have suffered. In another way, it is very sad to see a country that calls itself a Christian country would reach a level so low as what we are seeing this morning.. This is the price you pay when you leave God... Our forefathers were well aware, we must have God on our side. But our kings, our prime ministers, our premiers have forgotten,” said Hildebrandt.
He went on to state that the order to lock the church doors should be a "wake-up call" to Canadians and vowed nothing will "deter" or "stop the people of God."
"Our government is allowing unelected health officials to push our judges to make criminals out of law-abiding citizens.. This is not the end. This is the beginning of where things are going. By the grace of God, we will stand and stand firm," Hildebrandt concluded.
The church doors, which are expected to be locked before the end of the day Friday, will remain sealed until religious gathering restrictions in Ontario are eased to allow for 30 per cent capacity.
The Church of God in Aylmer is not the first Ontario church to face such a penalty for violating COVID-19 rules. The Trinity Bible Chapel in Waterloo also saw its doors sealed at the end of April for similar defiance. The two churches, along with a third from Welland, are challenging the constitutionality of public health orders that prohibit gatherings. That case will be heard in St. Thomas in October.