Below is an email that I sent to Executive Director Steve Vernon I will keep you updated on any response i receive..
Mr. Vernon,
Matthew 18:15-17
This is a very hard email to write, I do not do this lightly but I am concerned about the recent publicity that has been generated by the Westboro "Baptist" Church. I have neither the means nor authority to approach this group directly, but you and your counter parts in the several states do so I ask that you exercise those rights. Please understand, I'm all for free speech, but when it disrupts a funeral, be it a fallen soldier or that of a child, its no longer free. As a preacher I find it repugnant to vilify a grieving family and deny them the comfort God wants give in a time of need. Do the sermons of sexual immorality need to be taught? Absolutely! But if those sermons are not presented in the love and compassion of Christ, will there be any gain?
After reading the vile and hate filled press release on January 8, 2011,(PDF document) and the FAQ section of their site I was moved to contact the state level Baptist organization via Twitter and was directed to your email. I understand that they are in Kansas not Texas, but it has to start somewhere. As John F. Kennedy once said: "If not us, who? If not now, when?"
My questions and concerns can be summed up as follows:
1. Can a delegation be formed to speak with Fred Phelps, the "pastor"?2. If after all biblical means of reconciliation have failed, will the Baptist organizations publicly denounce association with this group?3. Is there a recourse available to preclude them from further destroying our (Baptists) message of Salvation?
Thank you for your time and consideration, I leave with this thought: A few years ago I read several news stories wherein religious leaders were demanding Muslim clerics disavowal or rein in their more radical sects, and rightly so, but can we ask any less of ourselves?
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