North Arundel Church Pastor Addresses Westboro Protest
James D. Pope, senior pastor at North Arundel Church, wrote a letter to the editor that appeared in The Baltimore Sun on Thursday.
North Arundel Church senior pastor James D. Pope wrote a letter to The Baltimore Sun stressing his opposition to the practices of Westboro Baptist Church, who protested at Glen Burnie High School earlier this week.
In the letter, Pope wrote that he did not agree with Westboro's abuse of the First Amendment to spread vitriol and confusing message about Jesus.
"They are not a church by any biblical definition, nor do they reflect the spirit and message of Jesus," he wrote.
Three Westboro members protested at Glen Burnie on Tuesday, drawing hundreds of counterprotesters who rallied around the school. Motorcyclists and other counterprotestsers used the North Arundel Church parking lot as a staging area before the protest began.
Sylvia Mentecki
8:56 am on Friday, March 16, 2012
Thank you to the folks at North Arundel Church who supported the counter-protest and allowed the use of their property for those that participated.....
Maribel Ibrahim
11:33 am on Friday, March 16, 2012
I think Pastor Pope has made a correct assessment. The message of Jesus is a message of hope for all of us.