BY AMANDA HAYES 1-6-06
Note: This article was written late last night after receiving a tip about this release. An editorial decision was made to put it in the paper to alert the area to what to expect.

A hate group based in Topeka, Kan. released a press release on Wednesday entitled “Thank God for 12 dead miners” and promises to picket the funerals for the slain men.

The hate group, which operates as Westboro Baptist Church, runs the website http://www.godhatesfags.com.

The release states, “God is laughing, mocking and deriding hypocritical fag-infested West Virginia.”
The release also says the WBC will picket the funerals of the miners.

When reached by phone, member Shirley Phelps-Roper confirmed that 10 to 15 picketers were making plans to protest at the funerals of the West Virginia miners.

When asked why the group was planning protests at the miners’ funerals, she responded with questions of her own.

According to the press release, “They died in shame and disgrace, citizens of a cursed nation of unthankful, unholy perverts who have departed from the living God to worship on ‘Brokeback Mountain’ and who have replaced the Bible with ‘The Da Vinci Code.’”

The group has picketed at 80 funerals since June, as many as four to five a week, according to Phelps-Roper. Most of these funerals have been for soldiers.

“Our purpose is to cause America to know our abomination,” she said.

God is punishing America, according to Phelps-Roper.
“America is doomed,” she said. “We have cracked the Bible. We know.”

During the phone interview, Phelps-Roper told this reporter to read all of Malachi (an Old Testament book).

“It covers all of the issues,” she said.

Westboro Baptist Church was established by Pastor Fred Phelps in 1955 as a Primitive Baptist Church, according to the website. It engages in daily peaceful sidewalk demonstrations “opposing the homosexual lifestyle of soul-damning, nation-destroying filth.”

The WBC has conducted more than 22,000 such demonstrations since June 1991 at homosexual parades and other events, according to the website.

When informed about the expected protests, Sgt. Chris Smith, detachment commander of the Buckhannon detachment of the W.Va. State Police, said protection would be provided as needed.

Smith could not immediately say how far back the protesters would be located.

Buckhannon Police Chief Matt Gregory and Sheriff Virgil Miller could not be reached on Thursday evening as this story was developing.

Several local ministers that were present with the families were reached on Thursday evening and shared their reactions.

Rev. Mark Flynn of First United Methodist Church said, “I have met members of the families of most of the miners. I shared scripture passages with several of them. I found them to be people of faith, as are most of the residents of West Virginia.

This mine disaster was not God’s judgement on West Virginia.
“God was with those men in that mine before their deaths,” Flynn said.

Flynn quoted from Romans 8: “Not even death can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

He also commented on the group itself, saying, “For anyone who is expressing any opinion on any issue to compound the grief of these fine families is cruel and is bound to be counter-productive.”

Pastor Ed Lowther, of South Buckhannon Mission Church, commented that the verses quoted on the press release were taken out of context.

God is a compassionate God, and John 3:16 in the Bible is a testimony to that fact, according to Lowther.

The verses in the press release are “describing what they (WBC) are,” Lowther said.

“They are not talking about the God we serve,” he said.

“We need to pray for them ... they have no compassion for anyone,” Lowther added.

Rev. William Mooring of New Life Tabernacle cited the example in John 8:3-11 of the Pharisees bringing a woman accused of adultery before Jesus.

Jesus responded, “If any of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” (John 8:7, NIV)

Jesus also told the woman, “Go and sin no more.”

“We live in the age of grace,” Mooring said.

Jesus did not come to condemn. Mooring added that the miners were a “good group of hardworking West Virginia men.”

God does not bring the judgement as this group proclaims, according to Mooring.

“Judgement’s going to come (to everyone) — but not now,” he said.

Someone's gonna end up dead besides those 12 miners.

Someone's gonna end up dead besides those 12 miners.

I don't even know what to say about this. I would love nothing more then to see these people get beaten to death, but that would just land the beaters in jail. Maybe an elaborate trap could be made, where they fall into a giant hole with all sorts of poisinous snakes. Indiana Jones style, but ten times the snakes.

I don't even know what to say about this. I would love nothing more then to see these people get beaten to death, but that would just land the beaters in jail. Maybe an elaborate trap could be made, where they fall into a giant hole with all sorts of poisinous snakes. Indiana Jones style, but ten times the snakes.

we could always toss the holy grail down a mine shaft or something, maybe they get the ark of the covenant treatment.

Do you ever wake up and just think "I must be insane"?