A Petition Against Westboro

This is Very interesting :

A petition has been launched for dis-barring the practicing lawyers within the Westboro clan.

http://www.gopetition.com/petition/43822.html

WHY?

WESTBORO BAPTIST CHURCH TO PICKET THE ROYAL WEDDING OF PRINCE WILLIAM AND KATE MIDDLETON Friday, April 29, 2011, from 7:00-8:15 a.m. Westminster Abbey, 20 Dean's Yard, London, UK 

The reason for them to picket the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton escapes me. Oh, that's right...they haven't been getting enough attention lately! So what better way to get this than to gain an international audience by acting like " Ugly Americans". Maybe the free speech WBC enjoys here in the United States won't extend to England...or maybe they'll be totally ignored by an international audience, and the camera won't be pointed their way, in which case they have" Plan B"...to incite the wrath of the public here at home while picketing the launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavor at the Kennedy Space Center  because Rep. Gabby Giffords husband will be among the crew... 

WBC TO PICKET REP. GABRIELLE GIFFORDS SEEING HER HUSBAND OFF AT THE LAUNCH OF SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR AT THE KENNEDY SPACE CENTER VISITOR COMPLEX (STATE ROAD 405, KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL) ON FRIDAY, APRIL 29, FROM 10AM - 4PM--- 

As always, we here at Wall of Peace are encouraging those who will be going out to stand between WBC and chosen their target to be respectful and calm.

~Kate 

With A Little Help From His Friends...

USMC Staff Sgt. Jason Rogers was buried in Mississippi last week. The folks in Brandon didn't take kindly to the hi jinks of WBC in their town. Read the story and see the videos here:

http://www.blackfive.net/main/2011/04/westboro-baptists-defeated.html#more

Let's just say the reps from WBC were disappointed they didn't get to the funeral. Life's just full of obstacles sometimes.

Happy Holidays

For our friends who celebrate Easter, may your weekend be blessed...For our friends celebrating Passover, continued health and happiness!

His disciples said to him, "When will the kingdom come?" (Jesus said,) "It will not come by waiting for it. It will not be a matter of saying 'here it is' or 'there it is.' Rather, the kingdom of the Father is spread out upon the earth, and men do not see it."~ Thomas 113.

Artist Creates Painting of WBC Leaders to Benefit Charities

Artist Scott LoBaidohas created a satirical painting of Fred Phelps and his daughter Shirley Phelps-Roper, which he's hoping to auction off on eBay to benefit Homes for Heroes -- an organization that helps veterans find housing -- and Community Health Action of Staten Island. He parked his truck across the street from Westboro Baptist Church's main building in Kansas and blasted them with Lady Gaga's music. I doubt they were amused. For his efforts, he was cited for playing loud music and being too close to their property....ahem, excuse me? Want to run that one by us again?

If you're familiar with his work, you might be interested in bidding. There's a photo of the painting with the story. I didn't post a photo of the painting because it may be offensive to some of our readers-it is a bit on the mean-spirited side. On the other hand......

~Kate


The link to the story is below. 

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2011/04/new-york-artist-satirizes-westboro-baptist-church.html

"Too Often Hatred Speaks Out While Love Watches Silently."

"Too often hatred speaks out while love watches silently."

----->We must do something about that. While I try to figure out my responsibility in this dilemma, I know one thing for sure: hatred will never lead anyone to faith in God.<-----

What should our responsibility be, if any, to the hateful protests in the name of Christianity?

 http://www.maurilioamorim.com/2011/04/you-cannot-hate-people-into-heaven/

I picked this up on the Maurilio Amorim website. It's a concise, emotionally satisfying article about how the author attempted to engage a young member of WBC in conversation about her beliefs as learned through the teachings of Westboro Baptist Church...and failed.

Or did he?

Good article well worth your time to read.Our efforts are not on vain.Our feelings are shared by many.

~Kate


The answer is to stand for your own convictions against these bullies. When they showed up in North Carolina to picket the funeral of Elizabeth Edwards, bringing their hatred and misplaced bigotry with them, there was a huge crowd of counter-protesters who showed up to stand between them and the church where the service was being held...so the Edwards family never heard them taunting and mocking thier loved one and they were permitted to grieve and honor their loved one with dignity. No one engaged them, and no one shouted back in anger...and they couldn't stand that they made fools of themselves, so they left before the service was over. It's sickening that they bring along minor children to these 'hate fests', shove them to the front of the line and force them to participate in this destructive behavior. It may be free speech, but it's also putting lies into the mouth of God

WBC Military Funeral Picket Schedule and More

Everyone has their own definition of evil. Westboro Baptist Church is reveling in the deaths of this hard hit in the swath of tornadoes that stretched from Oklahoma to Virginia the other night. The bulk of those deaths happened in my home state of North Carolina and included several small children.

If WBC chooses to 'favor' us  with another visit-and I figure it will only be a matter of time- I'm just letting them know in advance that the good people of North Carolina will turnout by the hundreds like we did the last time to greet them...only this time, there will be even MORE of us, and we'll send them back to where they came from with their tails between their legs again.

> Oh, and hiding behind your kids was really tacky<.
 ~ Kate



Here are some of the military funerals from the list :

 *** Cpl Justin D. Ross is to be buried in the hallowed ground of Arlington National Cemetery (ANC) on 20 April 2011 1130 hrs Murphy's Funeral Home, 4510 Wilson Blvd, Arlington, Va.***

***Memorial of Lt. Matthew Ira Lowe Thurs., Apr. 21, at 11:15 a.m. Calvary Chapel 2401 West Cypress Creek Rd., Fort Lauderdale, FL***

***Pvt. Brent M. Maher, Fri April 22, 9:15 a.m., Thoman Jefferson HIgh School, 2501 West Broadway, Council Bluffs, IA***

***Pvt. Brent M. Maher, Fri April 22, 9:15 a.m., Thoman Jefferson HIgh School, 2501 West Broadway, Council Bluffs, IA******Staff Sgt. Quadi S.Hudgins, April 29, 10:15 a.m. Arlington National Cemetery***

They're Baaaaaaaack........New Picket Schedule for WBC

 

 

It was nice (?) while it lasted, but the WBC sites are up and running again tonight, so here's the updates for today....Just in time for Palm Sunday (sigh).

~Kate 

 

Memorial of Lt. Matthew Ira Lowe Thurs., Apr. 21, at 11:15 a.m. Calvary Chapel 2401 West Cypress Creek Rd., Fort Lauderdale, FL

 

Memorial of Lt. Nathan Hollingsworth Mon., Apr. 18, at 9:15 a.m. State University of New York Sheldon Hall, Oswego, NY

 

WBC WILL PICKET  DR. PHILLIPS HIGH SCHOOL (6500 TURKEY LAKE ROAD, ORLANDO, FL) ON FRIDAY, APRIL 29, FROM 6:50 - 7:20 AM

 

WBC TO PICKET REP. GABRIELLE GIFFORDS SEEING HER HUSBAND OFF AT THE LAUNCH OF SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR AT THE KENNEDY SPACE CENTER VISITOR COMPLEX (STATE ROAD 405, KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL) ON FRIDAY, APRIL 29, FROM 10AM - 4PM

 

WBC WILL PICKET  BISHOP MOORE CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL (3901 EDGEWATER DRIVE, ORLANDO, FL) ON TUESDAY, APRIL 19, FROM 3:00 – 3:30 PMWBC WILL PICKET ISLAMIC CENTER OF ORLANDO (11543 RUBY LAKE ROAD, ORLANDO, FL) ON TUESDAY, APRIL 19, FROM 1:00 – 1:30 PM

A Few Words About Sending Us Links

People send links in to us that they think have WBC's schedule in them on good faith, but a few of those links-particularly the ones from Twitter-have turned out to be virused. I caught this a few weeks back with links that would not open, etc. I ended up having to have the entire hard drive of the computer I'm using purged. My tech support person tells me that the tagging virus currently rampant on Facebook is a direct result of Twitter originating viruses, and that changing your pass word helps stop it.

So, until notice further notice,  don't send us links, please.....We have a reliable source for dates when they are available. If you send in something and Sabrina or I don't post it, don't be offended, we're just trying to be proactive and stop this thing before it really gets out of hand.

~Kate

Is WBC A Cult?

Sociologists looks for patterns in human behavior and in social institutions where a profile of pastoral and spiritual abuse will emerge. Abusive churches, past and present, are first and foremost characterized by strong, control-oriented leadership. These leaders use guilt, fear, and intimidation to manipulate members and keep them in line. Followers are led to think that there is no other church quite like theirs and that God has singled them out for special purposes. Other, more traditional evangelical churches are put down. Subjective experience is emphasized and dissent is discouraged. Many areas of member's lives are subject to scrutiny. Rules and legalism abound. People who don't follow rules or who threaten exposure are often dealt with harshly. Excommunication is common. For those who leave, the road back to normalcy is difficult.

Source: Churches That Abuse, by Ronald Enroth.

A cult of Christianity is defined as...

...a group of people, which claiming to be Christian, embraces a particular doctrinal system taught by an individual leader, group of leaders, or organization, which (system) denies (either explicitly or implicitly) one or more of the central doctrines of the Christian faith as taught in the sixty-six books of the Bible.

Source: Alam Gomes, Cult: A Theological Definition, excerpt from "Unmasking The Cults"

One Nation Indivisible

I thought this was a good article about the Pledge of Allegiance because it's written from a little different perspective. Yes, everyone gets to pledge allegiance to the United States whether or not they choose to use the phrase under God or to omit it-the original didn't contain the phrase. You even get to not pledge if you choose for religious or other reasons. That's what free speech is all about. That's what the gang at Westboro Baptist Church doesn't get. You get to have your opinions, but you don't get to act on them if the result of those beliefs are hateful or hurtful to another. It's not only a question of values and morals but one of ethics as well. And it's most definitely a question of conscious.

About the schedule: we haven't received anything from our source, but we're expecting to shortly. Please don't send links to Shirley or Meghan Phelps' Twitter accounts, or Google Docs, because frankly, neither Sabrina nor I have time to search through all the extraneous junk WBC posts. We also been sent a couple of links that haven't opened, or that hasn't passed the virus scan. When we receive something from a legitimate source, we'll post it. Sorry for the delay.


http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/contemporaryissues/a/PledgeOfAllegiance.htm

Remembering Martin Luther King

In one of these linked articles I read that Martin Luther King, Jr. has now been dead more years than he was alive...It is amazing to me how much time has passed since this fateful day 43 years ago. I was still in elementary school when our social studies teacher made the announcement; our class had watched a filmstrip about Dr. King that afternoon and sang, "We Shall Overcome"  at the end. This was the shocking news broadcast that evening.. Dr. King was a man just like any other man but distinguished himself like no other. I wonder what he would have to say about the bigotry being spread by Westboro?
~Kate

http://www.kinginstitute.info/

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/special/mlk/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr.