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Libby Phelps' family and faith told her that homosexuality was a sin and she was helping others find salvation. In the four years since she fled Westboro Baptist Church, her parents have not spoken to her. And her journey is far from complete.

Phelps is the sixth of 13 children of Fred Phelps, the notorious pastor of Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas. After Nate left his family in the dead of night, he moved to California and later to Canada. As his family’s notoriety grew, he began telling his story and became a vocal campaigner against religious extremism and child abuse. . Nate left Westboro in 1976 and says he has carried the emotional scars ever since. When he was young, Nate, now 53, recalls his mother keeping him and his elder brother Mark away from their father as much as possible....

A former member of the Westboro Baptist Church--a fringe group based in Topeka, Kansas that pickets soldiers' funerals--apologized to the mother of a 21-year-old soldier killed in Afghanistan on a talk show Wednesday. Libby Phelps Alvarez, the former Westboro member, apologized to Sherry and Randy Wyatt for picketing the funerals of fallen soldiers like their son on Anderson Live Wednesday. Alvarez is the granddaughter of Fred Phelps, the group's founder, and has recently left the group. (Other members of the shrinking group have recently publicly defected as well.) "I just feel sad...and, I'm sorry," Alvarez said. "I thought I was...

Less than 48 hours after the Connecticut school shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT, which took place on Dec. 14, the Westboro Baptist Church is already making plans to picket. The Westboro Baptist Church is known for picketing and protesting at funerals across the country.(snip) “Westboro 'God hates Fags' Baptist Church is planning to pciket at Sandy Hook, to praise 'God's judgment,'” Margie Phelps tweeted as well on Dec. 15.

Many shades of red are normally associated with anger, however, on Thursday, a "wall of maroon" was a show of love and respect in Texas. Lt. Col. Roy Tisdale, a Texas A&M University graduate in 1993, was killed during a training exercise at Fort Bragg on June 28. During a safety briefing in North Carolina, Lt. Col. Tisdale was shot and killed by a fellow soldier who committed suicide. Family members and friends were shocked at the loss, claiming that with all of the deployments Tisdale had, they never thought anything would happen to him at home. The Westboro Baptist...

According to The Daily Caller, Although the news of Andrew Breitbart’s death is still fairly fresh, the merry band of faceless marauders at the Daily Kos have decided it is time to use his death as an opportunity to make political hay. A post dated March 1 by “dragon82a,” titled “Let’s Help Andrew Breitbart go out In Style..Get Westboro Baptist Church to Protest Him” encourages readers to post on the Westboro Baptist Church’s Facebook page calling for the group to protest Andrew Breitbart’s funeral: Here is the Facebook of the WestBoro Baptist Church: Send them a message anything will do,...

TACOMA, Wash. - A rabidly anti-gay church known for its loud protests is planning to picket Saturday's funeral for the two sons of missing mom Susan Powell, who died in a raging house fire Sunday. Margie Phelps of the Topeka, Kan.-based Westboro Baptist Church sent out a tweet saying the church will attend the boys' memorial service as a protest against the pending legalization of gay marriage in Washington state. The two boys, Charlie and Braden Powell, were killed Sunday in a gasoline-fueled house fire set by their father Josh Powell after they arrived for a supervised visit. Powell himself...

The Westboro Baptist Church, which has gained infamy for protesting at the funerals of men and women killed in combat, will have a new target on Saturday: the services for two little boys slain by their father. The church, whose "God hates fags" signs and messages have been seen across the country, intends to be at the funeral of Charlie Powell, 7, and his brother, Braden, 5. Saturday at the Life Center Church in Tacoma. The boys died Sunday after their father , Josh Powell, blew up their Pierce County home.

INDIANAPOLIS -- A controversial church and Indiana union members could find themselves sharing the same stage before the Super Bowl. The Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church, which is known for its radical demonstrations outside soldier funerals, has announced it plans to travel to Indianapolis to picket outside the Super Bowl. Teamsters upset over the divisive right-to-work bill that passed the House on Wednesday said previously they also plan to protest outside the big game to bring national attention to their issue. The Super Bowl Host Committee has set up two so-called free speech zones at South and Illinois streets and on...

The controversial Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas is at it again. Now, the church said it will picket the funeral of the legendary Joe Pa -- longtime Penn State football coach Joe Paterno who died on Sunday morning. Joe Paterno died on Sunday. The controversial Westboro Baptist Church tweet Sunday after the news that it planned to picket Paterno's funeral. Margie Phelps, wife of Westboro Baptist Church leader Fred Phelps, sent out several tweets on Sunday after news of Paterno's death spread. The church, known for its controversial positions, suggested Paterno is going to hell. "Joe Paterno is dead....

Today I want to write about something that has bothered me for the better part of a decade. I’ve carved out no fewer than a dozen drafts of this post, all strangely unalike, all ultimately failing to accomplish the job I’ve set out to do. Truth is, I’ve been trying to write it off and on for more than a year now, and the right words have been seemingly impossible to come by. In the end, and in order to post it, I guess I had to care more about the message than I do about potential backlash. I’m not...

Members of a controversial church plan to protest today's memorial service of a 21-year-old Marine from Gastonia who was killed while serving in Afghanistan. But friends of Lance Cpl. Nicholas O'Brien say they are making plans to drown out Westboro Baptist Church's message. Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/06/20/2392145/group-to-protest-marines-memorial.html#ixzz1PonvdMN2

I just caught a story on WFAA-TV News about the Westboro loons coming to Dallas on Sunday June 5, 2011 from 6:15 PM to 7:00 PM. The site of their event is the American Airlines Center, timed to occur just prior to Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and the Dallas Mavericks. Their claim is: GOD HATES THE NBA! Fred Phelps and his crew go on to claim: WBC will picket the NBA game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Miami Heat to warn this nation that they need to tear down their idols and worship...

Members of the controversial church that says the deaths of American soldiers are God's way of punishing the United States for tolerating gays and lesbians reportedly met some opposition Monday from a controversial group that says the white race is being "denigrated." The Knights of the Southern Cross, a Virginia group that claims to be affiliated with the Ku Klux Klan, squared off against the Westboro Baptist Church outside Arlington National Cemetery hours before a Memorial Day service attended by President Obama, CNN reported Monday. The church gained national prominence after winning a Supreme Court ruling in March that said...

In predictable, yet despicable fashion, members of Westboro Baptist Church of Kansas are spreading their hate around for recent tornado victims. Fred Phelps and company have allegedly been trolling the Facebook pages of missing tornado victims, leaving hateful and taunting comments. While most of those comments have been deleted, they have left family members and supporters shaken and angry. On Monday, when only 89 deaths had been confirmed, WBC posted a scathing and gleeful document on its website, celebrating the deaths as proof of God's anger over rampant homosexuality. The most recent flier, dated May 25, begins by thanking God...

Church members plan to protest when President Obama visits tornado victimsThe controversial Westboro Baptist Church is planning to protest President Obama's visit to Joplin, Missouri Sunday. On its website, the church writes, "Thank God for 125 dead in Joplin." Church members claim Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has attacked them by promoting laws banning them from protesting at soldiers' funerals.

The Westboro Baptist Church once again makes the headlines. This time however, the good news is that they were foiled in their attempts to disrupt another serviceman’s funeral. Mississippi gives the Westboro the kind of welcome that we would all like to give. Since we have reported on the Westboro Baptist Church a few times here, it is fitting that we update you on the latest. Last Saturday, USMC Staff Sgt. Jason Rogers was laid to rest in Brandon, Mississippi. He was killed in action in Afghanistan on April 7th. Many of the town’s residents paid homage along the route...

On Saturday USMC Staff Sgt. Jason Rogers, who was killed in action in Afghanistan April 7, was buried in Brandon, Mississippi. That, by itself, is a sadly unremarkable – though certainly noteworthy and solemn – occasion for us to mark. And in fact when Sgt. Rogers’ body returned to Brandon it was greeted by hundreds, or perhaps even thousands, of well-wishers who gathered at the roadside to honor the fallen American hero. The dashboard camera from Mississippi state trooper Elmo Townsend’s cruiser gives an indication of the scene last Thursday. What is most notable about Sgt. Rogers’ funeral in Brandon,...

Westboro Baptist Church, the controversial group that just won a free speech Supreme Court case related to picketing soldiers' funerals, says it is planning to protest at the funeral for seven Perry County children who died in a fire Tuesday night....

Fresh off their Supreme Court victory allowing them to picket funerals of military soldiers, members of the Westboro Baptist Church have announced plans to picket the funerals of seven Mennonite children killed Tuesday night when their Perry County farmhouse caught fire. The children, ages 7 months to 11 years, were killed when a fire started in the home while their mother was milking cows and their father was on his milk delivery route.Their three-year-old daughter managed to escape and alert the mother, but the fire had already overwhelmed the wooden structure, police said. The group from Topeka, Kan., said the...