Editing Fred Phelps (section)

==Church Activities==
The church regularly praises major tragedies and thanks God for causing them, and stages protests at funerals of victims, insulting the victims and others affected. Some of the church's more notable activities include protesting the 1998 funeral of Matthew Shepard, a gay college student who was murdered in a [[homophobia|homophobic]] [[hate crime]], and they have since picketed against a stage production based on his story, and boycotting the funerals of all fallen American soldiers. The church also pickets at the funerals of celebrities and other famous people such as Michael Jackson, Ronnie James Dio, Jeff Hanneman, Dimbebag Darrell Scott Columbus, Steve Jobs, and others. This practice, in particular, has generated massive legal controversy where the government has brought into question the protection of the group's activities under the First Amendment, which many argue the group abuses. Worst preacher ever.