Hell, and the here and now: Interview with Rob McKee, pastor of Ottawa’s Capital City Bikers’ Church

It was a disturbing and downright disgusting sight that greeted the eyes of Rolling Thunder participants who visited the Capital City Bikers' Church in Ottawa last Sunday.

Shockingly, the church had been vandalized in the wee hours of the morning. Spray paint adorned the walls of the church, the most ludicrous and egregious message being, “No haven for fascism” splattered upon the front wall. Tacks were scattered everywhere; the vandals, no doubt, hoped to flatten the tires of motorcycles and other vehicles.

And it makes one ponder: just who exactly are the fascists residing in Ottawa these days?

To add insult to injury, for several blocks around the church, city workers had erected signs noting that the area was closed to street parking due to a “special event.” That’s what authorities call a crackdown on basic rights in our capital these days: a “special event.”

Naturally, the ever-adroit members of the Ottawa Police Service had their ticket books out. They were ready to tag and tow parking scofflaws, because apparently that was the real crime being committed on this day. Those hoping to avoid a ticket and confiscation of motorcycle/car had to park their vehicles several hundred metres away from the church and walk to the place of worship. As far as we could tell, the only reason for this policy was to embrace downright pettiness.

So, it was only fitting when the church service began shortly after 10:30 a.m. that Pastor Rob McKee focused his sermon not on the merits of going to heaven, but rather on the absolute horror of descending into hell.

Pastor McKee was speaking about the afterlife, of course. Yet, certainly one could argue that Ottawa resembled a small slice of hell last weekend given the brutal assault by the authorities and law enforcement pertaining to the inexplicable and brutal crackdown on Charter rights such as freedom of speech and freedom of assembly.

Check out our interview with Pastor McKee, a kind man who, despite the despicable desecration of his church, was truly exemplary in embracing that Christian quality known as “turning the other cheek.”