wfn.org | Vermont churches respond to 'hate ministry'

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

July 29, 1999  News media contact: Tim Tanton*(615)742-5470*Nashville, Tenn.
10-28-71B{396}

By Holly E. Nye*

MONTPELIER, Vt. (UMNS) -- When local church leaders heard that a
controversial church in Kansas was bringing its "picket ministry" to
Vermont, they knew they had to respond.

The ecumenical community of Montpelier is planning a worship service to
affirm their unity in the message of God's love, in response to the expected
presence of picketers proclaiming hate. The protesters, from Westboro
Baptist Church in Topeka, are expected to rally in Montpelier Aug. 3, as the
Vermont Supreme Court considers a case involving homosexual marriages.

Westboro and its leader, the Rev. Fred Phelps, have gained notoriety for
staging demonstrations around the country in which they condemn homosexuals
with inflammatory rhetoric. Last year, they picketed the funeral of slain
college student Matthew Shepard with signs bearing slogans such as "fags
burn in hell." Westboro's World Wide Web site includes a photo illustration
of Shepard being consumed by the "flames of hell" and proclaims that its
members preach hate because "the Bible preaches hate." Shepard died Oct. 12
in Wyoming after being severely beaten by two men. Authorities said he was
targeted because he was gay.

Trinity United Methodist Church in Montpelier will host an "Ecumenical
Service of Love and Justice" Aug. 2. The service is intended to "confront
the presence of hatred with the presence of faithful love," said the Rev.
Mitchell Hay, pastor.

The case before the Vermont Supreme Court raises the possibility of
homosexual marriages being legalized. The Westboro church's Web site
describes the purpose of the "picket ministry" in this way: "WBC will picket
Vermont in solemn religious protest and warning. The preachers of Vermont
are mostly to blame for the sodomite decadence, moral degeneracy and
depravity now gripping that hapless, doomed State."  

Hay emphasizes that the ecumenical community of Montpelier has chosen to
respond with a worship service, rather than a counter-protest.  The presence
of counter-protesters, he said, tends to "draw more attention to Phelps and
his message of hate, which is exactly what he wants. We want to confront
that hatred with the message of God's love."

Vermont is in the Troy Annual (regional) Conference of the United Methodist
Church. Troy was a Reconciling Conference for 12 years, until that
designation was outlawed by a 1999 decision by the Judicial Council, the
denomination's supreme court. At their recent annual meeting, Troy members
voted to continue their "historic and vital affirmation of local
congregations, pastors and laity who choose to participate in the
Reconciling Congregations Program," through which churches declare their
openness to all people regardless of race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation.

# # #

Nye is media editor for the Troy Annual Conference of the United Methodist
Church.

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