Protest cluster casts Christians in dim light

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/05/2021 (1330 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Former Free Press reporter Bill Redekop used to deploy his formidable storytelling skills in the district around Steinbach, Winkler, Morden and Altona.

Headlines are written by editors, not the authors of the news stories, and Redekop objected when an editor adorned one of his stories with a headline that included the term “Bible Belt,” a descriptor Redekop avoided.

“When you put Bible Belt on my story, you make it hard for me when I go back out there,” he said. “They hate that term.”

The distaste of southern Manitobans for the expression was echoed recently by Kyle Penner, an assistant pastor at Grace Mennonite Church in Steinbach, when he posted a Twitter thread about a high level of vaccine hesitancy in his region.

“I sensed there was some frustration toward southern Manitoba in doing their part, and shaming and blaming is not going to work,” he wrote. “Don’t call us the Bible Belt. Calling us a Bible Belt is shorthand for calling us ignorant country bumpkins.”

Many more of us can now relate to Penner’s frustration about stereotyping. It’s been a week in which Christians everywhere were disparaged.

The public bashing of Christians was a reaction to a court hearing for seven Manitoba churches fighting provincial pandemic restrictions limiting their right to assembly.

Outside of court this week, the public had its say in forums that included social media, a radio talk show and the Free Press letters section. People expressed outrage that “Christians” are defying pandemic restrictions. Without regard for context, some critics linked all Christians with the adherents of fringe churches who are staging public spectacles of rip-off-your-mask defiance.

It’s clearly wrong to link the vast majority of Christians with the 100 or so unmasked protesters who gathered outside the legislature this week as the first witness, who is a pastor of Church of God (Restoration), argued in court that only God, not the Manitoba government, has the authority to restrict church gatherings.

What kind of church offers such an improbable legal argument? That was a mystery even to Manitobans who are within religious circles and are familiar with variations of Christianity. Almost no one knew about this church.

Turns out the Church of God (Restoration) was founded in the 1980s by a former heroin addict, Daniel Layne, who left the more mainstream Church of God to form his own more “pure” group. It now has about 20 small congregations worldwide. Members believe they are the only true church, ordained by both divine command and partly by prophecy they interpret in the Book of Revelation, a Bible book which often bewilders readers with surreal images.

It should go without saying, but we’ll say it anyway: almost all Manitobans, of all faiths, would strongly disagree that the only true church is The Church of God (Restoration). This church, located in rural-municipality anonymity about 15 kilometres south of Steinbach, only came to light in Manitoba when members began posting social-media reports of defying pandemic restrictions.

Most Christians regard these far-out fundamentalists with eye-rolling dismay. Some of us feel trepidation that a charismatic pastor is leading his adherents in dangerous directions.

Contrast this with the pandemic safety measures that have been observed (religiously observed, so to speak) at almost all Manitoba churches, mosques, temples and synagogues. Members are masking up, distancing two metres apart, and meeting in small groups. They do it even though they’re frustrated because the restrictions halt much of the good work traditionally done by faith communities.

The pandemic has stopped the faithful from visiting sick and lonely people, including the many victims of mental illness and addictions whose problems have worsened during 14 months of isolation. The faith communities can’t reopen their facilities to self-help groups and can’t properly host social gatherings such as funerals and weddings. People of faith are usually a main source of volunteers at charities, including secular charities, but no one can volunteer these days.

When public-health officials give the go-ahead, faith communities can survey the community casualties inflicted by COVID-19, and find ways to to help.

Tellingly, the desire to be of service to the community was not an argument put forth this week by the rogue churches in court. It’s all about them as they argue their rights to freedom of religion and peaceful assembly are being violated.

While having their days in court, perhaps the plaintiffs could do us all a favour and adhere to pandemic restrictions so they don’t spread virulent droplets. It wouldn’t kill them to keep their masks on. In fact, it might save lives.

carl.degurse@freepress.mb.ca

Carl DeGurse is a member of the Free Press editorial board.