New York, NY -- (ReleaseWire) -- 07/18/2013 --This past Sunday, July 14, top officials from the New York-based Satanic Temple traveled to the Meridian, Mississippi gravesite of the mother of Westboro Baptist Church founder Fred Phelps in order to stage a formal ceremony celebrating same-sex unions. Photos of the ceremony are publicly available on the new Satanic Temple-operated website, http://www.westboro-baptists.com, where The Satanic Temple encourages other same-sex couples to submit their own photos from similar pilgrimages to the cemetery.
Satanic Temple spokesperson Lucien Greaves officiated the ceremony while two same-sex couples celebrated their homosexuality at the gravesite.
The Satanic Temple supports freedom and the pursuit of happiness for all people, thus they support same-sex couples’ legal equality. The Satanic Temple claims that the mass was conducted as an affirmation of those values, and claims that the action is meant to convey a message of love in the face of hate.
The Westboro Baptists, famed for their “God Hates Fags” anti-homosexual activism, raised the ire of the Satanic Temple months previous. “The idea for the Pink Mass ceremony and website came during the aftermath of the tragic Boston Marathon bombings, during which time the WBC were threatening to protest the funerals of the bombing victims,” explains Greaves. “Members of The Satanic Temple were in Boston, waiting for them, but they failed to show. Later, the WBC issued a statement that they had been present ‘in spirit’. We decided that a same-sex couple celebrating ceremony at the gravesite of Fred Phelps’s mother was an appropriate way to meet the Westboro Baptists, ‘in spirit’, but this time on our terms.”
Explaining the ceremony itself, Greaves continues, “The Satanic Temple now believes that Fred Phelps must believe that his mother is now gay, in the afterlife, due to our Pink Mass... And nobody can challenge our right to our beliefs.”
This revelation of The Satanic Temple’s graveyard ritual comes fast on the tail of the Westboro Baptist Church’s announcement that they intend to picket the death of 31 year-old “Glee” actor, Cory Monteith.
The Satanic Temple is hoping their recent action will draw attention to the organization’s efforts to raise funds so that they may participate in the New York City Department of Transportation’s Adopt-a-Highway program. More information on the campaign can be found at: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-satanic-temple-adopt-a-highway-campaign?c=home
About The Satanic Temple
The Satanic Temple, (http://www.thesatanictemple.com), based in New York, is the leading active Satanic religious organization in the United States. Our mission is to encourage benevolence and empathy among all people.
The Satanic Temple Performs Ceremony at Westboro Baptist Church Family Grave-Site
Satanic Temple Performs Same-Sex Union Celebrating “Pink Mass” at Grave Site of Westboro Baptist Church Founder’s Mother