A few passers-by were the only people we initially saw where the "God Hates Fags" /Westboro Baptist Church had said on its website it would march
against Barack Obama. Ah, well. We'll save our signs and try again!
As I posted yesterday, our Project 12 program's students went downtown today in order to picket the picketers. The infamous Fred Phelps and his Westboro Baptist Church (actually all members of his own biological family), were set to tell Barack Obama, the Canadian embassy, the Chinese embassy, and the Democratic National Party, that Phelps' gawd hates them. We thought Jesus ought to be represented. So we made signs, wrote up a press flier, and drove our old rickety Project 12 van downtown to the Federal Building on South Dearborn.
But... We were there. Numbing cold weather was there. Lots and lots of police were there. Barracades were there. After a while a self-proclaimed satanic group called "S. I. N." (Sodomite Insurgency Network) was there. (We tried to talk with them but they had no interest in our message.) Who was not there, however? Westboro Baptist Church. No idea on why.
UPDATE: It appears that Westboro changed the time of the event as well as the targets of it. They may or may not be appearing later today (near noon) at 233 N. Michigan Avenue. That is a severe scale-back from what had been planned. They also plan (if they're to be believed) to appear at the same spot a number of times this month (as this pdf from their website lists).
At any rate, here we were:
2 comments:
Loved the signs and the fact that you guys braved the cold to be there. It reminded me of an old proverb - It's better to light a candle than curse the darkness.
Good sign Lauren - Mercy triumphs over judgment. Powerful statement.
Poor Fred. He hasn't got that one down yet. It's tragic - to see a man like Fred fast becoming a "could have been" in the kingdom of God.
GOD is love.
I listen to Fred Phelps almost EVERY week. He speaks the truth of GOD'S word. I don't agree with his predestination philosophy, but I do like the fact that you can compare his sermons with the word of GOD (King James Version).
Recently, he and his family have turned into a bunch of liars. I guess Fred Phelps forgot about the scripture which states that ALL LIARS would also burn in the Lake of Fire. They lie about their appearances and one of the members brags about the fact that they make plans to go somewhere, but it is really the media attention they are seeking regardless if they show at the scheduled protest location. Sounds deceptive to me. I don't know if they are fearful of the government and imprisonments or what. They have law degrees, but they refuse to file lawsuits against the government. I believe that Shirley and the rest of their attorneys don't want to loose their licenses like Fred Phelps.
-Prophetess Glynis Bethel
Post a Comment