These are strange times we live in, when two good ol’ fashioned Patriots attending the Church of God’s morning service ( in Alymer, Ontario ) can be seen by some as an act of political and social defiance. It was nothing new to the congregation – Biblical Christians, a branch of the Mennonite community, for whom this particular service, and every single other, is essential.
They ushered rows of cars into their parking-lot, in front of which was a stage that had been constructed in response to that areas ad-hoc covid regulations, allowing them to support their community and continue a timeless tradition.
This service was supposed to be ‘the one where it gets shut down’, implied by some of the few newspapers who chose to cover it. This is one of the few churches which has continued service in Ontario in the wake of the social destruction which the continuing ‘lock-down’ situation has caused.
There certainly were disturbances. Cars lined both sides of the road, forming the protest and counter-protest of the church service its self, and their arguing was only drowned out by the commercial speakers of the pastor and the periodic cacophony of car horns approving of his message. The ‘opposition protest’ the news spoke of. All 8 cars seemed outnumbered by the 20 or so Patriots who were unable to fit into the parking-lot and helped instead to secure the lawn from oppositional rabbel-rousers. What kind of person would protest a church service anyway?
One finally began to push past the security, resplendent in a colourful poncho and skinny jeans. He produced a megaphone, and his diatribe suggested that he was mis-informed about what kinds of things happen on a Sunday at church, to say the least. His ignorance had led him to anger, and his choices had culminated in him being ‘that guy’, running around a church lawn with a megaphone. I guess there always has to be one.
Security blocked the boy from charging the stage, and summoned the police who were waiting on the road ( supposedly to ‘shut down the service’, but more evidently, as time went on, to maintain traffic flow and keep the peace ), and they were able to remove him and his annoying dissertation from what was otherwise a very empowering service.
The Pastor spoke of the hard times we face, and shouted his messages of faith and human decency which echoed through the radios of the parking lot. He hosted a guest Pastor, who read some scripture, and then proceeded to thank all those who came out in support of faith and humanity. He then vowed to continue to fight for the right to pursue his congregations definition of normality.
How much the world has changed, that a traditional Mennonite service would be on the cutting edge of the kind of morality and dedication to community which will be needed to rebuild the social fabric of this country. Churches, businesses, and individuals can draw courage and inspiration from events like these, and continue to make the conscious efforts and choices necessary to maintain our freedoms.
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