News

Actions

Two members of Westboro Baptist Church’s founding family leave group, apologize for their actions

Posted at 10:35 AM, Feb 07, 2013
and last updated 2013-02-07 10:42:19-05

One of the most notorious churches in the U.S. has lost two members from its founding family.

Known for their ‘God Hates Fags’ signs and protests at military funerals, the small, family run Westboro Baptist Church is well known around the country.

27-year-old Megan Phelps-Roper, one of the most prominent members of the Topeka-based church, has left the congregation along with her 19-year-old sister Grace, according to Fox4KC.

Phelps-Roper was responsible for the majority of the church’s social media relations.

The church was founded by their grandfather, Fred Phelps, and their mother, Shirley Lynn Phelps-Roper, is considered one of the most out-spoken members.

In a blog post titled Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise Phelps-Roper apologies for their past actions.

“We know that we dearly love our family,” Phelps-Roper writes. “They now consider us betrayers, and we are cut off from their lives, but we know they are well-intentioned. We will never not love them.

“We know that we’ve done and said things that hurt people,” Phelps-Roper writes. “Inflicting pain on others wasn’t the goal, but it was one of the outcomes. We wish it weren’t so, and regret that hurt.

“We know that we can’t undo our whole lives. We can’t even say we’d want to if we could; we are who we are because of all the experiences that brought us to this point. What we can do is try to find a better way to live from here on. That’s our focus.”

Read more about their family’s reaction at Fox4KC.