The death of Rev. Fred Phelps, the pastor of Topeka, Kan.-based Westboro Baptist Church, generally received less vitriol from veterans than he displayed toward them during his lifetime. Known for picketing the funerals of deceased service members with harsh anti-gay messages – equating their deaths with God’s revenge for tolerance of homosexuality – Phelps drew a request from one father of a fallen Marine to let him “rest in peace.” On March 21, as surviving members of his congregation protested a concert by the New Zealander pop singer Lorde in Kansas City, counter-protesters held up a banner that stated, “Sorry for Your Loss.” For its part, the church officially marked the passing of their founder by resoundingly reiterating its stance and denying media reports that the church would not survive without him. “Listen carefully; there are no power struggles in the Westboro Baptist Church, and there is no human intercessor – we serve no man, and no hierarchy, only the Lord Jesus Christ. No red shoes, no goofy hat, and no white smoke for us; thank you very much,” the church stated, on its Web site.