POLICE are investigating claims that a controversial Scottish church has continued to have its congregation attend services during lockdown.
Online footage appears to show people gathering on a stage at the end of services at the independent Hope United Church, which is based in Motherwell. Police Scotland is investigating after Clare Adamson, the SNP MSP for Motherwell and Wishaw, contacted the force about the reports.
The pastor of the independent church has also been openly spreading Covid conspiracy theories online, including the claim that the Government is manipulating the figures in order to control people, and that vaccines are unnecessary.
As the death rate in Scotland was sharply rising, all places of worship were told to close from January 8.
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The Motherwell church has been broadcasting services on its YouTube channel. In a video broadcast the Sunday after the ban on communal worship came into effect, Pastor Mark Ralston suggests the Scottish Government has become a “false god” and questions why lockdown is necessary considering the “99.92% survival rate” of Covid.
Ralston also tells the congregation that masks are used “to instil compliance” in the population by giving people a sense of “fear”.
At the conclusion of the 75-minute video, Ralston invites attendees to stand with him, at which point a group of people can be seen in the crowd, while more, including musicians, join him on the stage. “We’ve not been shut down, so we’ve achieved our purpose today”, he says.
Ralston and members of his congregation frequently engage in Covid conspiracy theories across their social media accounts. In one Twitter post, Ralston rails against other churches promoting the vaccine saying they have lost the word of God and they need to stop “promoting the Government’s agenda ... and get their church open”.
Other members of the church retweeted claims that the pandemic is “fake and planned” and that new coronavirus variants are not real as “that’s not how a virus works”.
Ralston has accused the Government of being a “full blown dictatorship” and telling “tyrannical lies” in order to impose lockdown, and questioned the need for a vaccine. Other members have said there is “not a chance” that they will be accepting the jag.
The pastor initially supported lockdown, but has changed his mind as the pandemic has worn on. Tweeting in March 2020 he called for large chains and corner shops to be “shut down, or at least seriously reprimanded” for failing to adhere to Covid guidance.
“It’s this level of selfishness that will cause this to be prolonged longer,” he added at the time.
SNP MSP Adamson said people in her constituency “have made continued sacrifices in the face of this global health threat. Individuals of all faiths have had to endure their places of worship being restricted”. “We are taking huge strides with the vaccine rollout and it is making a measurable difference to the tragic figures we have been seeing,” she went on.
“I know that people are yearning for normality but we can’t risk jeopardising our progress. Any gatherings in breach of regulations could delay our exit from lockdown and a much-needed return to our daily routines.
“I have contacted Police Scotland about these reports so that they can investigate, establish the facts, and take any appropriate action. We are all trying to do our best in uniquely tough times. But we must not lose sight of the overall aim to get through this pandemic. So please, stay at home, protect the NHS, and save lives.”
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Police Scotland said it was aware of the reports but enquiries were still at an early stage.
Hope United previously came under fire for defending two elders of the church convicted of assault for beating two children, aged six and eight, for failing to achieve the highest school grades. In a statement, the church claimed the elders were “victims” of a system which was criminalising “perfectly good parenting”.
The Scottish Government’s decision to ban communal worship during the most recent lockdown proved controversial, with some religious leaders threatening legal action to have the rule scrapped.
Neither Hope United nor Mark Ralston responded to The National’s requests for comment.
Nicola Sturgeon announced this week that, from March 26, communal worship and religious services will be allowed to return. The capacity will be increased to 50 people, as long as social distancing guidelines are followed.
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