God Hates...Nobody

The news this morning is that Fred Phelps, founder of Westboro Baptist Church, has died.

Reactions and plans are...mixed.

Reports are that he was excommunicated from the Church he founded, a fact that means he may even have been disowned by his family. Ironically, this is something all too familiar to many gay and transgender people, against whom he expressed so much hate over the years. 

I can't say whether the family was all in agreement on the excommunication, since the church maintains confidentiality of church matters. But the fact remains that losing a family member is not easy, so I offer my condolences to the family, whether they want it or not.

Westboro is noted for protesting Military funerals, but started this repugnant practice at the funeral of Matthew Shepard in 1998.

Photo: from The Advocate.com. Friends of Matthew Shepard form an Angelic wall between the Phelps clan and the mourners. 

There have been many people saying things like "I can't wait til he dies so we can protest his funeral" In a strange twist, following Phelps' excommunication, the church has said that they will protest at his funeral. 

The later buzz online has been that many people are planning to show up to show signs of respect, forgiveness, and God's love for everyone. 

I cannot claim to have any respect for the "pastor" of Westboro, nor his clan of hate spreading zealots. But I do hope that the man, who as simply a man after all, has found peace at last.