If you've been following the local news, you might know that an independent Baptist church/hate group from Topeka is coming to Richmond this week to lay out some venom.
They'll be met with some good, old-fashioned love and kindness. You know, the kind many Christians try to build their lives around.
The Times-Dispatch reports that Westboro Baptist Church will be in Richmond this Tuesday to demonstrate outside of Hermitage High School, the Weinstein JCC in Henrico County and the Virginia Holocaust Museum.
One group, the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities, is helping to organize a counter-demonstration through its Facebook page.
I'm a bit partial to another grassroots response, Pennies in Protest, which was launched, in part, by the wonderful Patience Salgado, aka Kindness Girl:
A group using deep hate to express themselves, going for the jugular on so many levels. They plan to protest our local Holocaust Museum, our Jewish Community Center, a local temple and high school this Tuesday, March 2nd in our Richmond, our RVA. I instantly felt a sort of shock this exists in the world, my energy shifting to wrap my mind around it.
All day I thought about kindness and wondered…Is kindness strong enough for this? Would it really change everything? What can we do to turn this on it’s side?
…and after talking to some fellow mama’s, my friend Sarah heard of an idea that some brilliant folks in NYC had. For every minute these signs were held in the air they asked folks to contribute to a fund that would benefit the very people who are meant to be the targets. Thousands of dollars were raised for just a 30 minute protest. So my friends Sarah, Sara, Jess and I dreamed of what might happen if we invited our friends and our whole city to do the same.
And so Pennies in Protest was launched. In addition to its own Facebook Fan Page, there is a website with more information and a simple way to contribute your pennies to make a difference. Money raised will be distributed to the Richmond groups targeted by Westboro.
Need a penny? Take a penny.
Got a penny? Leave a penny.
As of Sunday night, more than $3,600 had been raised. That's before I made my contribution. Use the widget at the top of this article to make your own contribution, or visit Pennies in Protest.
