North Arundel Church Pastor Addresses Westboro Protest

senior pastor James D. Pope wrote a letter to The Baltimore Sun stressing his opposition to the practices of Westboro Baptist Church, who protested at earlier this week.

.

In the letter, Pope wrote that he did not agree with Westboro's abuse of the First Amendment to spread vitriol and confusing message about Jesus.

"They are not a church by any biblical definition, nor do they reflect the spirit and message of Jesus," he wrote.

Three Westboro members protested at Glen Burnie on Tuesday, drawing hundreds of counterprotesters who rallied around the school. Motorcyclists and other counterprotestsers used the North Arundel Church parking lot as a staging area before the protest began.

Read Pope's full letter.