Street Church
pastor awaits court’s decision
by John Syratt
Art Pawlowski, pastor of Street Church in Calgary went to court
again on April 17 to continue his battle over what he calls a
challenge to his freedoms as a Canadian.
"We had the same
judge as last year," Pawlowski told CLN just prior to press time.
"She says she will make a decision within two weeks, whether she
grants the City of Calgary the injunction against us.
If that’s the case,
every person at Street Church will be forbidden to preach on the
street or in a park. She didn’t concentrate on the merit of what
we’re doing in helping feed the poor and meeting people’s needs."
As Pawlowski
described it, three officers showed up at his door this week with
eight different summons for numerous violations such as gathering
and attracting a crowd, illegal placement of a sign, giving free
goods and services.
"Today, (April 17)
the court case focused on amplification," he added. "Yet, in three
years we’ve never received a ticket for breaking the acceptable
noise barriers."
"We’re spending
billions of dollars to help the poor in Africa, but when we try to
do it in Calgary, they try to shut us down."
Pawlowski and church
members have been spending two hours one day each week feeding the
poor and protesting outside City Hall with an enlarged poster size
picture of the ticket they’ve received for what he calls, "feeding
the poor and giving free goods and services."
He plans to step up
his efforts two extra days a week to get his message across.
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