By KAYLEY FRANK

kayley.frank@heraldbulletin.com

Every day for the past 17 years, the members of Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., have picketed churches, courthouses, gay pride parades and even the White House for one express purpose: to preach that God hates homosexuals and that those who support the homosexual lifestyle will be sent to hell.

“America is a nation that institutionalized policies against the standards of God,” said Shirley Phelps-Roper, a member of Westboro Baptist Church and the church’s attorney. “Persecution of sinners will be the way the Lord opens the door.”

According to Phelps-Roper, who is the daugher of Fred Phelps, founder of Westboro Baptist Church and the Web site www.godhatesfags.com, the members of their church are not the only Christians who believe that message. However, she does believe that the members of her church are the only ones who are willing to preach it in a public spotlight.

“I think we’re the only unambiguous ones saying these words,” she said. “There are other people that have picked bits and pieces of the word of God and stuck to some of its doctrines, but they are apologists and quickly moved off of their mark.

“All you have to do is have some pro-homosexual group or lobbying organizations, and they run screaming from the landscape,” she said.

But though many other churches view homosexuality as a sin, most are more accepting of gays and lesbians in their individual congregations than Westboro Baptist Church is.

According to a resolution passed by the General Assembly of the Church of God in 1993, the Church of God views homosexuality as a lifestyle that is “perverse and destructive to individuals and society” as made evident through biblical evidence. However, the same resolution states that the Church of God is a “redemptive body” that seeks to treat all individuals with love and compassion, and implores its congregations to provide counseling and support for individuals that struggle with homosexuality.

John Young, pastor of St. Matthews United Methodist Church in Anderson, said that in his church, the issue of homosexuality is often a complicated one.

“Our church — as many others are — is divided over the issue in many respects,” he said. “We do believe that (homosexuality) is contrary to the teachings of Christianity, but we also believe that all are loved, and we implore others not to reject or condemn anyone else.”

Additionally, though gays and lesbians are welcome at St. Matthews as parishoners, according to Young, they are not eligible to be ordained.

At the Unitarian Universalist Church in Muncie, gays and lesbians are eligible — and encouraged — to take leadership positions in the church.

“Unitarian Universalists in general have been ordaining gays and lesbians consciously and openly since the late 1960s,” said Thomas Perchlik, the church’s minister. “This particular congregation took a very conscious stand about six years ago and decided to become a welcoming congregation for all people.”

According to Perchlik, his congregation wants to be a place where gays and lesbians feel welcome since the overriding sentiment among religious communities is often hostile toward them.

“People who are gay have to hide the reality of their identity and orientation or risk being ostracized, insulted or degraded by the religious community,” he said. “Most gays and lesbians who don’t want to hide who they are — or can’t hide who they are — end up leaving their religious communities.”

And for Phelps-Roper and others in Westboro Baptist Church, gays and lesbians who are open about their identities aren’t the only ones who are a threat to the establishment. The church gained national media attention in the past year for picketing the funerals of soldiers who died in Iraq, claiming that the war was a result of “fag policies” and corrupt government.

“God doesn’t just hate fags — God hates America, and God hates most of this generation. The reason we focus on homosexuality is because (everyone else) focuses on it,” said Phelps-Roper. “You’re being myopic if you believe it’s just homosexuality — wrapped up in all of it is a general filth of life.”