Aylmer, Ont., church sticks to drive-in service after weeks of defiance

Aftertwo weeks in defiance ofOntario's emergency orders, achurch in Aylmer, Ont., said it'sextending an "olive branch" Sunday and kept its service to a drive-in format instead of allowing parishioners to gather indoors.

About 50 vehicles attended theChurch of God's Sunday service, honking their horns as the church leaderaffirmed their freedom to gather for religious purposes and called the restriction of solely allowing drive-in services "unconstitutional." At one point during the service, several people stepped out of their vehiclesbriefly, but never enteredthe church itself.

"Thisdrive-inservice this morning is a gesture of conciliation, not an act of consent," said Pastor Henry Hildebrandt, who leadthe service from an outdoor stage."This service is an olive branch. It is not consent."

"So according to the law in Canada, in Ontario, I welcome you, everyone that's on this parking lot, to act like you are at Costco or Walmart. So we will not gather. We will not form a gathering, but you are not a prisoner to your car."

Past events

For the past two Sundays, the church has been holding indoorservices, allowing dozens to gather and sing inside the church with no physical distancing or masksdespite provincial gathering limits to curb the spread of COVID-19.

The indoor gatherings have resulted in charges to several congregants alongside a church leader and the church corporation itself under the Reopening Ontario Act.

On Thursday, the Ministry of the Attorney General issued a cease and desist orderrequesting the church provide a formal pledge saying itwould comply with provincial orders and not hold indoor gatherings of more than 10 people.

On Friday evening, after the church missed its deadline to indicate whether they'd comply with requirements or not, the ministry was granted an interim court order restraining the church from contravening the Reopening Ontario Act.

"That escalates thingsnow," said Lisa Bildy, a lawyer with theJustice Centre for Constitutional Freedomswho is representing the church."If they breach it, not only do they get charges which are bad enough, but now they also face contempt of court proceedings."

"The church is taking the position that they are because they know they have the constitutional protection for peaceful assembly, for conscience, for religion ...Now, of course, restrictions are permissible in certain circumstances, but the onus is on the government to prove that those those violations of our freedoms are justified," Bildy added.

Sunday's hour-long service went peacefully with congregants following orders and staying in their vehicles.

AylmerPolice Service also made an appearance Sundaywith a cruiser passing by.

The church will be back in court on Friday when a judge will determine if the court order is permanent. At that point, Bildy said, she will be raising some constitutional arguments.

"We will pray for next Friday as the judges convene again. Let's pray that somebody in there would wake up and recognize, 'what are we doing with our charter?'"Hildebrandtsaidat the end of theservice.