Westboro Baptist Church To Picket 2 Joliet Churches Sunday

JOLIET, IL —Leaders of the Westboro Baptist Church from Topeka, Kansas announced on their website they plan to be protesting in Joliet on Sunday morning at two of the city's largest churches: Crossroads Christian Church along Essington Road, followed by a trip to St. Ray's Cathedral on Raynor Avenue.

According to Wikipedia, the Westboro Baptist Church was founded by Fred Phelps, and it is an American hyper-Calvinist hate group. It is known for engaging in inflammatory homophobic and anti-American pickets, as well as hate speech against atheists, Jews, Muslims, transgender people and numerous Christian denominations.

"WBC Will Deliver The Word of God to Joliet, IL On Sunday, June 5 To Remind This Nation That Lukewarm Preachers Are The Reason This Nation Has Fallen Into Sin And Angered God," Westboro's website declares.

Westboro indicated it plans to be at Crossroads Christian Church, 2312 Essington Road, from 9:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. From there, it plans to be at St. Ray's Catholic Church, 604 Raynor Ave. from 10:10 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

"Crossroads brags about their casual and fun church services, but says nothing about warning their fellow men about Hell. St. Raymond Nonnatus belongs to the Catholic monstrosity. Neither represents the true preaching of Jesus Christ," the website for Westboro's Baptist Church announced.

The Westboro Baptist Church states that "WBC will remind these churches that they have a scriptural duty to preach about hellfire and damnation resulting from sin."

Westboro Baptist Church is not associated with any national Baptist denomination and has been denounced by the Baptist World Alliance, Southern Baptist Convention and many other Christian groups. The Southern Poverty Law Center calls them "the most obnoxious and rabid hate group in America."

For example in 2014, on the anniversary of September 11, the group demonstrated at ground zero in New York, thanking God for the attacks, which they said were a punishment for America's tolerance of LGBTQ people. Westboro Baptist has also celebrated the deaths of American soldiers, protesting at the funeral of a U.S. Marine killed in Iraq in 2006, among other military funerals. The group has even protested in front of the Holocaust Museum in Washington, carrying signs reading "God Hates Israel" and "Jews Killed Jesus."

According to its website, the Westboro Baptist Church also plans to picket at the Styx and REO Speedwagon concert at the Kansas City Starlight Theatre on the evening of June 14.

"REO Speedwagon is another band with a history dating back to the sixties. They have squandered every opportunity to take a stand for anything righteous, but instead produced garbage like ‘Hi Infidelity’, and attached themselves to aggressive sin-promoters like Styx," Westboro Baptist Church declared.