Pastor Artur Pawlowski and members of his flock march uninvited in 2012 at the head of the Calgary Stampede Parade, also known as the March for Mammon. Pastor Pawlowski, who holds extreme views about homosexuality, also has his own parade, which he calls the March for Jesus. Below: Ric McIver, whom Pastor Pawlowski yesterday endorsed as PC leader, at the pastor’s parade; and the pastor with Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

The Calgary pastor who believes gays aren’t merely being duped by Satan, but are practically on the demonic payroll, endorsed Tory leadership candidate Ric McIver yesterday.

Artur Pawlowski of Calgary’s so-called Street Church, a well-known nuisance violator of civic noise bylaws and leader of the annual March for Jesus attended several times in his political career by Mr. McIver, yesterday told the Calgary Herald the candidate is the best man to preserve “traditional Alberta values.”

Never mind that Mr. McIver disavowed his connection with the Pastor Pawlowski’s beliefs at least thrice, if not quite his relationship with the pastor himself, after his 2014 appearance in the preacher’s annual “March for Jesus.”

No sooner had Mr. McIver allowed himself to be photographed at the June 15 parade than his political opponents were Tweeting links to the Street Church’s contentious views about participants in the city’s Pride Parade – “that they are not ashamed to declare the name of their master (Satan).”

Mr. McIver hid out for a few days, and then gingerly backed away from the Street Church’s views, declaring that “if chosen premier, I do and will continue to defend equality rights for all Albertans as defined in the Charter, including sexual orientation.” Eventually, he issued a statement calling Pastor Pawlowski’s opinions “ugly” and “nasty.”

Pastor Pawlowski didn’t shed any tears about that disavowal, though. He went straight to the media and explained that “Albertans would be stupid not to vote for that man.”

Anyway, no roosters crowed before or after Mr. McIver’s disavowal of the pastor and at least some of his doctrines – thanks at least in part to Provincial Court Judge Catherine Skene’s 2012 ruling that the Cowtown bylaw prohibiting Calgarians from keeping chickens in their back yards is constitutional. (That’s enough obscure Bible references — Ed.)

The pastor told the Herald that real Albertans were disappointed by Mr. McIver’s disavowal, but they understood why he had to do it. “We have, in the Bible, very similar circumstances,” he said, referencing the same chicken story noted above.

He had some unkind words for both of Mr. McIver’s opponents – frontrunner and former federal cabinet minister Jim Prentice and former deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk, slamming the former for being too inclusive in his campaign staff and the latter for not living up to the pastor’s fiscal views.

The important question now, though, is whether Pastor Pawlowski’s endorsement and the votes of his flock will help or hinder Mr. McIver’s leadership bid.

As argued here, posts passim, they could actually boost Mr. McIver’s leadership campaign, since the Calgary-Hays MLA has now almost cornered what’s left of the extreme social conservative vote left among the PC Party’s supporters.

It’s even possible, if unlikely, that they could push him over the top. And they will certainly make the winner and future premier of Alberta – most likely Mr. Prentice – think twice about not putting Mr. McIver into his cabinet to shore up the province’s hard-core Christianist vote.

But if Mr. McIver did win, his association with Pastor Pawlowski’s flock would destroy him and the Progressive Conservative Party.

They may also sink the chances of any other candidate who wins, because between them, Mr. McIver and Pastor Pawlowski have torpedoed two years of concerted efforts by PC strategists to brand the Wildrose Party as a bunch of homophobic nuts for remarks discovered in a blog by a candidate in the 2012 election campaign.

Since both conservative parties stand for pretty much the same thing on most other issues, they have frittered away about the only significant advantage held by the PCs.

Thus endeth the lesson.

This post also appears on Rabble.ca.

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4 Comments

  1. Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest’s house. (Ric) followed at a distance and when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, (Ric) sat down with them. A (Wildrose Party supporter) saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with him (at the March for Jesus).” But he denied it. “Woman, I don’t know (Pastor Pawlowski),” he said.

    When the servant girl saw him there, she said again to those standing around, “This fellow is one of them.” Again he (denied knowledge of the groups anti-gay beliefs).

    After a little while, (the local media) went up to (Ric) and said, “Surely you (knew of the group’s deplorable position on gay rights), for (you were at the March and have been associated with them for several years).” Then he began to call down curses on himself and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man! (but if he does think that gay people worship Satan, that’s not very nice and, uhhh, I really only spoke with the Pastor a couple times. We’re more acquaintances than friends)” Immediately a rooster crowed. Then (Ric) remembered the word (Pastor Pawlowski) had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me (and my homophobic views) three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly (for he knew his goose was cooked).

    Thus ends the gospel of Ric, the thirteenth apostle. AMEN

  2. I can tell that Liam really paid attention to learning Bible stories as a child! Perhaps it’s time for Ric McIver to take a refresher on the Ten Commandments!

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