Canadian pastor Artur Pawlowski to address Ashland prayer breakfast amidst mixed reception

ASHLAND — This year’s featured speaker at Ashland’s annual prayer breakfast brings with him concerns about his associations, threatening to overshadow the event’s purpose of unity and prayer.

The breakfast is set for Thursday, May 2 at 6:30 a.m. Coordinated with the National Day of Prayer, the event frequently boasts a crowd of nearly 650 city, county and state leaders that gather at Ashland University’s convocation center each year.

This year, the event will host Artur Pawlowski as its speaker. 

The Polish Canadian pastor has a storied past. In recent years, he’s drawn sharp criticism from some who characterize him as a Christian nationalist. Others bill him as a champion of constitutional ideals surrounding freedom of religion and speech.

Ashland Source looked into Pawlowski’s background after receiving two reader-submitted queries from residents citing concerns about his message.

LOCAL CONNECTION

State Rep. Melanie Miller, who played a role in Pawlowski’s selection as the speaker, said she spoke to him personally at an event in her capacity as the executive director of the Ashland Pregnancy Care Center. She also heard him speak at the Ohio Statehouse.

When she spoke with him, she said she “felt inspired by the struggle he’d gone through.” 

Typically, the Ministerial Association likes to let God lead them to the right person to speak at their events, Miller said. 

“When I was sitting there listening … there was a stirring in my spirit,” she said. 

John Bouquet, the chairman of the Ashland County Ministerial Association’s National Day of Prayer, said the selection of speakers for the breakfast typically happens anywhere between six months to two years before the breakfast. 

In recent years, author Danae Dobson and Duck Dynasty’s Alan Robertson have served as keynote speakers at the event. 

Pawlowski’s comments will take up around 25 minutes of the 90-minute event, Bouquet said. Then, local spiritual leaders pray for elected officials and other attendees. 

LEGAL BACKGROUND

Pawlowski, originally from Poland, is a pastor at Street Church in Calgary, Alberta.

He became famous in 2021 when a video went viral, where he told Canadian police officers to “get out” of his church, which was hosting a religious gathering in southeast Calgary during Easter weekend. Police officers left without issuing a citation.

Since going viral, Pawlowski has given a handful of speeches in America. A “Rally to Reopen America” in 2021 sent him to Arizona and California. More recently, he spoke at an event at Mar-a-lago, the residence of former President Donald Trump. He has also appeared several times on Fox News.

In May 2021, Pawlowski and his brother were arrested by Calgary police when they allegedly failed to follow provincial health orders during a church service. The brothers were charged with organizing an illegal in-person gathering, Calgary police said at the time.

Last May, Pawlowski was convicted for mischief in connection to his actions during a February 2022 protest at the U.S. and Canada border in Coutts, Alberta.

He gave a speech encouraging truckers to continue their blockade at the border, a demonstration against COVID-19 restrictions. According to the CBC, it blocked Alberta’s main border crossing for more than two weeks.

Pawlowski’s involvement during that protest resulted in a charge under Alberta’s Critical Infrastructure Defence Act (CIDA). The provincial law legally defines essential infrastructure and establishes penalties for those who enter, destroy, or obstruct infrastructure.

The law was challenged in court unsuccessfully by the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees. The union argued the law violated the rights of Albertans to peacefully protest and hampered the union’s ability to engage in collective bargaining.

The judge considering Pawlowski’s charge under CIDA did not convict him, because of the union’s pending legal challenge of CIDA at the time.

Pawlowski did, however, receive another conviction for breaching a release order to keep the peace and be on good behavior.

OTHER ASSOCIATIONS

Pawlowski has been associated with groups classified as hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), which tracks the activity of extremist groups and hate groups across the U.S.

During one of his tours in the U.S. since going viral, he spoke at a church in Portland that reportedly had members of the Proud Boys in attendance. Some reported the group served as security for Pawlowski’s event; others reported they were merely present.

The Proud Boys, a Canadian group, are classified as a hate group by SPLC, which considers it a terrorist entity in Canada. The group is known mostly for its anti-Muslim and misogynistic rhetoric.

One of Pawlowski’s tours through the United States was “being promoted, and likely funded, by FEC United,” according to the Canadian Anti-Hate Network. FEC United has also been classified as an extremist group by the SPLC. 

Ashland Source reached out to the Ashland Center for Nonviolence at Ashland University for comment about Pawlowski. Craig Hovey, the center’s executive director, declined to comment.

CHRISTIAN NATIONALISM 

Carmen Celestini, a postdoctoral fellow at Queen’s University and a lecturer in religious studies at University of Waterloo in Canada, is an expert on Christian nationalism. 

She published a paper on Pawlowski specifically, and classifies him as a Christian nationalist, which centers on the idea the nation was founded as a Christian one and should remain that way. 

Research measuring Christian nationalism from the Public Religion Research Institute contends that Christian nationalist beliefs correlate with anti-Black racism, anti-immigrant views, antisemitic views, anti-Muslim views and adherence to traditional gender roles.

Celestini added that in Pawlowski’s case, it’s not only Christian nationalism at play. She said he shares “numerous conspiracy theories,” using religion to mobilize people behind his cause.

“I wouldn’t say that he was a member (of hate groups) or anything like that,” Celestini said. “But there are a lot of interactions that have happened through the convoys here and with some of the groups in America that he’s engaging with. 

“They do share some allyship in some of their belief systems.”

The common ground they share comes from Pawlowski’s anti-LGBTQ+ views and his anti-Muslim views, Celestini said.

She noted there are some differences between Christian nationalism in the U.S. and in Canada. But, with the advent of the internet, Christian nationalists in both countries share many characteristics and ideas, such as upholding traditional gender roles.

Celestini said it could be problematic for Pawlowski to share his message. 

“It depends on the individuals who are there,” she said. “If they’re religious leaders who are going to further that message, there could be harm brought to it by furthering Christian nationalism, furthering conspiracy theories from the pulpit.”

PURPOSE OF PRAYER

Both Bouquet and Miller told Ashland Source they did not know much about Pawlowski’s background. 

“I know this: Anybody that becomes a national voice or a public voice is bound to attract both the negatives and positives,” Bouquet said. “I can’t comment on something I don’t know about, so I’m not going to.” 

He clarified the event is not intended to be a rally of any sort. Rather, the keynote is meant to impart an “inspiring message,” he said.

Miller said she hadn’t been aware of any controversial associations of Pawlowski’s. She said she knows he travels to “share the faith” whenever he gives a speech. 

She also said, in her view, research and online articles don’t always share a person’s full story. Miller said if people look her up, they’re likely to find information about her stance on abortion. She said she is “pro-life,” but that her views could be made to sound controversial. 

To her, Pawlowski’s message — one that she views as highlighting the importance of freedom of speech and freedom of religion — remains important. 

Both Miller and Bouquet emphasized that the purpose of the breakfast, and the National Day of Prayer, is to bring people together. Bouquet said the large event serves as a “serious investment into the best part of Ashland County, which is our people.”

Miller agreed. She said the goal of the National Day of Prayer and the Ministerial Association’s coinciding breakfast is to cover the community and its leaders in prayer for wisdom.

“All in all, regardless of whether he’s seen as controversial or not, the purpose of this event is to pray,” Miller said.

She added she wants Ashland to be successful and serve as a “light” for other communities, and invited those concerned about Pawlowski to hear for themselves and have a conversation with him. 

“I think they should come, and also, don’t judge a book by its cover,” Miller said.

For more information or to buy tickets for the breakfast, visit their website. Tickets are $25 and Miller said they’d be sold through the evening of May 1.

Journalists reached out to Pawlowski via email for comment on this story; he could not be reached by the time of publication. Ashland Source reporter Dillon Carr contributed to this report.