Here's a bit,
Sometimes people at the rally would look over at the other picketers and gloom would settle on their faces.
"They were getting sucked into the ugly spirit," Tove says.
"Someone would say to them, 'Hey, man, that's not what we're here for,' and we pulled them back into the fold. I watched a whole bunch of people who don't believe in Jesus and don't believe in God sing 'Amazing Grace' in support of all the people who did."
On the one hand, I'd sure rather live around a benevolent group of non-Christians than the Westboro group.
On the other hand, as the article points out, the picketed SF churches (the Catholic cathedral and two liberal protestant congregations) chose to go on about their Sundays and not engage/publicize WBC. Which I think was was the right approach in this case.
3 comments:
I think it was the right response, too. Not mind you, nearly as viscerally satisfying as direct confrontation but certainly a turning of the other cheek that Christ would have appreciated, I think. Also a good witness to what is truly important--worshipping Him in spirit and in truth as Lord of their lives.
Grace: I think Dean Simpson at Calvary kept a level head and guided the congregation well.
Ironically, the WBC timed their Calvary demonstration to conincide with the arrival of the Tiospaye Wakan, the D/Lakota congregation that meets at Calvary. They're not even the folks embroiled in all the "issues" about which WBC carries on.
Like the Tiospaye needed evidence of crazy wasichus.
Fr. Tim,
I know. They have plenty of evidence of that already.
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