Artur Pawlowski (born March 28, 1973) is a Polish-Canadian evangelical street preacher and political activist. He is pastor of the Cave of Adullam congregation in Calgary and previously led the Kings Glory Fellowship (KGF). Pawlowski is also founder and pastor of Street Church Ministries (SCM), a group no longer recognized as a religious or charitable organization by the Canadian government.
Early life and emigration
Pawlowski was born on March 28, 1973, in Kożuchów, Poland. By 1990, he was living in Greece with his family. He emigrated to Canada in 1995 and became a Canadian citizen on February 2, 2004.
Career
Pawlowski is a Protestant street preacher the founder and pastor of Street Church Ministries and a pastor of Kings Glory Fellowship. In January 2010, the Canada Revenue Agency revoked the charitable status of Pawlowski's Kings Glory Fellowship, citing a lack of financial transparency and deeming the organization to be political in nature and the church's stance on abortion, homosexuality, divorce, and other moral issues. Lack of clarity on how the organization spent its money was also cited as a reason for its charitable status being revoked. By 2021, Pawlowski was pastor of The Cave of Adullam congregation in Calgary and of the Street Church Ministries.
Pawlowski was accused of several City of Calgary bylaw infractions which were struck down in December 2019 by the provincial court.
In 2012, for his support of Israel, he received the Honorary Chaplain Position for the Province of Alberta from the Magen David Adom. for the Province of Alberta from the Christian Friends of Canadian Magen David Adom (CFMDA). In 2011 Bishop Dr. Gerry Kibarabara, the secretary general of United Christian Churches of Kenya's Supreme Council, presented Pawlowski with honorary ordination for his humanitarian work in Africa. He is the first to hold such a position for the province of Alberta. On April 28, 2012, the Progressive Group for Independent Business (PGIB), a membership-funded conservative business group in Canada, awarded Pawlowski the 'Free Speech Award'.
As of October 2013, Pawlowski continued to hold "prayer meetings inside the Calgary City Hall's main atrium despite eight years of legal issues including "several court cases, hundreds of bylaw tickets and trespassing notices.".
In 2014, Pawlowski was fined for his attempt to participate in the 2012 Calgary Stampede parade with his followers without official permission.
In 2015, Pawlowski appeared at a press conference with a member of his congregation along with a Calgary Transit bus driver who had been fired for refusing to drive Calgary's Pride-themed rainbow bus. The bus driver said he was fired for being Christian.
In September 2022, Pawlowski became the leader of the Independence Party of Alberta. He was removed as leader six months later.
In early 2023, he formed a new political party, the Solidarity Movement of Alberta. On May 8, it became a registered party with Elections Alberta.
Views
Pawlowski opposes abortion and homosexuality. In 2014, Pawlowski endorsed Ric McIver's leadership bid of the Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta. A campaign photo featuring McIver and Pawlowski with a message condemning homosexuality was on display at Pawlowski's Street Church. Pawlowski stated that the 2013 Alberta floods were caused by God's vengeance over LGBT+ Albertans.
Activities during the COVID-19 pandemic
In December 2020, Pawlowski was fined for failing to wear a mask and failing to have a permit for an anti-mask demonstration held in late November 2020.
In February 2021, Pawlowski marched in and led an anti-lockdown rally in Downtown Calgary while holding a tiki torch during the daytime.
During Easter 2021, police were called to Pawlowski's congregation over reports that Pawlowski and his church were not following COVID-19 public health orders. Pawlowski described the police and a Public Health Inspector as "Nazis" and "Gestapo" and demanded they leave the congregation. The police left without taking any enforcement action. Later, Pawlowski was arrested by the Calgary Police Service and charged for organizing, promoting and attending an illegal in-person gathering that violated evidence-based public health orders. Pawlowski was found guilty on June 28.
On September 27, 2021, after returning from COVID-19 themed events in the United States to Canada, Pawlowski was arrested by the Canada Border Services Agency at Calgary International Airport, before being released later the same day. He was being charged with disobeying a court order and failing to wear a mask.