Official Statement about the Westboro Baptist Church Visit
At every worship service of this congregation, we proclaim together “We are the people of Zion, a city on a hill and a light that cannot be hid.” In that spirit, our public declaration compels us not to remain silent in the face of evil, injustice, and hatred in any form.
Members of the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) will be “publicly preaching” before our 10:00 a.m. worship service on Sunday, February 2, 2020.
They are also scheduled to publicly preach at several other churches in Deerfield Beach and Pompano Beach. Though small in number, WBC is nationally-recognized and notorious for protesting at public events and military funerals. They are not physically confrontational; rather, they engage with words within the bounds of the law. They claim to have the only acceptable interpretation of the Bible, which in turn compels them to redirect the rest of society into following their interpretation of acceptable biblical principles. They are a recognized hate group, and we expect them to say a variety of things to spur a reaction from our community.
We refuse to allow the hate-filled rhetoric of the Westboro Baptist Church to distract us from our mission to “invite, equip, and serve our neighbors.” We will continue to faithfully proclaim Christ crucified in our words and deeds, and offer a place where all can come and hear a consistent message of God’s forgiveness, grace, and love.
