I just viewed the article by Tegan Hanlon about the Westboro Baptist Church's decision to picket the Native Heritage Center. We are currently in Holy Week, preparing to celebrate the Resurrection of Christ together. The intent of this organization is to grab headlines in any way they can; you just became another victim of their ploy.
I would ask everyone to concentrate on our Lord's Passion and Resurrection and ignore the proud and ignorant in the person of the Westboro Baptists.
God did not call us to hate, He called us to love, even our enemies. In this most holy of time for Christians, let us not become like them, but let us show them that we in Alaska have the true love of Christ for all people, whether they be Native or not. May God bless everyone who reads these words, and may you all be filled with the love of Christ in celebrating His Holy Resurrection.
— Bishop David Mahaffey,
Orthodox Diocese of Alaska
Anchorage