WBC worries...but not about Whitworth

I suppose it was only a matter of time.
Yes, only a matter of time before I chose to address the one, the only, the Westboro Baptist Church.
I must say that I am to impressed with our President. Dr. Beck Taylor. This man's only been our president for a matter of months and already he's fending off protesters as our fearless leader. Late one Sunday night the emails started to appear in his inbox. Students were livid that a group like this could be allowed to protest anywhere near the university.
The truth of it is this. They are completely within their rights. As much as it pains me to say it. I'm in Gordon Jackson's Media Law class right now and my eyes are opened each day as I learn what can and cannot be done.
Honestly, I'm not worried about Whitworth. We're all big kids. We may get upset or angry, but I pray that we are able to maintain our composure as our campus comes under spiritual attack. The wonderful thing about Whitworth is that we are a Christian institution. We adhere to and even teach Christian love. We are able to see where this group is so incredibly flawed and are able to respond with as much maturity as we can muster. The best response to this group would be no response, as the cartoon this wonderful Whitworthian article suggests, but as we all can guess that rarely works with a large group of idealistic college students. I commend Whitworth for providing other opportunities for students to express their opinions whether it be at the town hall style forum or the alternative responses drafted as a result of the meeting. The Whitworthian has been following this story closely and has kept students informed as to what will happen on that day. There will be a love walk/run to raise money for organizations that reach out to the groups that the WBC target and there will be a banner that is held by ASWU members to represent the student body. Some students are satisfied with this response, some are not. At some point, you can't please everyone.
Of the many suggestions given, I think this is a good synthesis of the ideas that people had. Although I will say that I think one of my favorite anti-protest ideas (which I heard from Thomas Pendell, [oh look, here's his blog]) I heard was this:

Evacuate the campus and leave a large sign outside that reads:
"Raptured. Sorry we missed you."

Anyway, as I was saying....
My worry comes for others in the community, specifically Ferris High School. The picket site was changed on the WBC website from Rogers High School to Ferris for a reason unknown to us. This is where I see problems arising. Both of these schools are not Christian institutions. They are public schools that are not allowed to teach the love of Christ. These kids are also younger and more impressionable. Many may be persuaded that Christianity is not worth it if it produces people like this.
Also, to be perfectly honest, high schoolers are more likely to respond on an impulse reaction and not consider the consequences of their actions. They are more likely to respond violently whether it being throwing eggs or spitting on them (I've been keeping tabs on facebook and have heard these and many other absurd suggestions presented).
I believe that Whitworth and the Christian community of Spokane has a duty to reach out to these schools in our community. The community of Spokane affects Whitworth but Whitworth is also a part of Spokane and affects it's growth and personality (there's a little reference to Systems Theory for those of you who took Ron Pyle's Theories class).
We as Christians have a duty to come alongside out brothers and sisters and show them the true love of Christ.
I also believe that the Christian high schoolers in the Spokane area have an amazing opportunity to engage their peers in discussion about Christianity. What a better way to bring up the topic in a public school setting?
I have already emailed the pastor at my church and told him that I think the youth pastor should talk with the kids about this amazing opportunity that they've been presented with. While I haven't heard back from him personally I have a feeling I'm not the only one who is thinking along these lines.
My prayer is this. That we come alongside and pray for our brothers and sisters under attack who do not know the love of Christ. I pray that this evil attack (because that's what this group does frankly) is used as an opportunity to lead even more people to Christ. We've been given an amazing opportunity to minister here.
As I sit here thinking about this I start to giggle a little bit.
Doesn't God work in ironic ways?