Fred Phelps Sr., the controversial founding pastor of Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) in Kansas, has passed away at the age of 84. He is being labeled as “the most hated man in America.” Steve Drain, the church’s spokesman said that Phelps died at 11:15 p.m. in Topeka on Wednesday. Shirley Phelps-Roper said his father died in peace at Midland Care Hospice, adding that no funeral will be held because they “do not worship the dead.”
“God forbid, if every little soul at the Westboro Baptist Church were to die at this instant, or to turn from serving the true and living God, it would not change one thing about the judgments of God that await this deeply corrupted nation and world.” WBC said in their blog post on Thursday titled “Your Dashed Hopes,” following the death of their founder.
Last week, there were reports that Fred Phelps is ill and was brought to the hospital. That time, a son, Nathan Phelps, who now lives in Canada, said that his father was excommunicated from WBC back in August 2013. Mr. Drain did not confirm nor denied this, saying that the ‘God Hates Fags’ church has no obligations to share internal matters to anyone.
Westboro Baptist Church opened in 1955, when Phelps was promoted to pastor from associate pastor. He was hired by East Side Baptist Church to handle WBC, which was then a small branch of the church. Soon after, Phelps removed all its ties with East Side. The WBC is not connected with any Baptist denomination.
Since 1991, WBC has participated in various actions against the gay community. The small but controversial church has protested more than 53,000 events, including Lady Gaga’s concerts and funerals of fallen US soldiers, homosexuals, and noted celebrities. Phelps has also led the church in openly criticizing other religions, such as Catholicism, Islam, Hinduism, and some Protestant churches.
Meanwhile, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force released a statement saying that, “Fred Phelps will not be missed by the LGBT community, people with HIV/AIDS and the millions of decent people across the world who found what he and his followers do deeply hurtful and offensive.”
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