Westboro Group ready to protest funeral for murdered children

Kansas church to protest at service for slain Florida siblings
By the CNN Wire Staff
February 2, 2011 4:19 p.m. EST

Westboro Baptist Church, based in Topeka, Kansas, has stirred controversy through its demonstrations at funerals.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Westboro Baptist Church says it will picket service because mother is a military wife
Tampa schools sponsoring service for brother and sister, who were slain last Friday
Julie K. Schenecker, 50, is charged with murder in the deaths of her children
Her husband is with the U.S. Central Command

(CNN) -- A controversial Kansas church says members will picket before the memorial service Wednesday evening for two Florida teenagers allegedly killed by their mother.

In a press release, Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas, said it will demonstrate outside the service in Tampa because the mother is a military wife and "the doomed American military declared war on God & His church."

The controversial church and its pastor, Fred Phelps, have made their name picketing near funerals of people who died of AIDS, gay people and soldiers. The church plans to picket beginning at 5:15 p.m.and ending at 6 p.m., when the service is scheduled to start, according to CNN affiliate WFTS-TV in Tampa.

Julie K. Schenecker, 50, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths Friday of her 16-year-old daughter, Calyx, and her 13-year-old son, Beau. She was denied bail at a court appearance Monday, a court spokesman said.

Her husband, Army Col. Parker Schenecker, is with the U.S. Central Command, which is headquartered in Tampa. Police told WFTS that he was in the Persian Gulf emirate of Qatar when his children were killed.

King High School, which Calyx attended, and Liberty Middle School, where Beau was a student, are sponsoring the service at First Baptist Church of Temple Terrace in Tampa, the church said.
Josh Saliba, director of creative ministries, told CNN he would not comment on Westboro Baptist's plans to protest.

On Monday -- their first day back since the shootings became public -- students at Liberty Middle School wore blue and black in memory of Beau, who was an eighth-grader there.

CNN affiliate Bay News 9 posted a statement Monday from the Schenecker family:
"Colonel Parker Schenecker has returned from his deployment and is grieving with family and friends. He is devoted first and foremost to honoring the lives and memory of his beautiful children, Calyx and Beau," the statement said. "Parker and his family have been touched by the overwhelming support from the community both near and abroad. Arrangements and details are still being finalized with regard to the services to be held for Calyx and Beau."
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Kansas church to protest at service for slain Florida siblings