'Angels' to block Westboro Baptist Church's protest at Orlando memorial



Pictured: Mourners dressed as angels stand across the street from St. Elizabeth Ann Seton church where the funeral service for US District Court Judge John Roll is being held on January 14, 2011 in Tucson, Arizona. less A group of staff and volunteers from Orlando Shakespeare Theater as well as ​the​ Orlando arts community work together to build "Angel Wings" to block Westboro Baptist Church members protesting the funerals of the Orlando shooting victims. When finished, they will look like this. A group of staff and volunteers from Orlando Shakespeare Theater as well as ​the​ Orlando arts community work together to build "Angel Wings" to block Westboro Baptist Church members protesting the funerals ... more Image 1 of / 10 Caption Close 'Angels' to block Westboro Baptist Church's protest at Orlando memorial 1 / 10 Back to Gallery

Angels really do exist -- at least in Orlando. When the reviled hate group Westboro Baptist Church announced that it would be picketing the funerals of the victims of the Orlando gay bar shooting tragedy, a group of actors decided to fight back in a decidedly heavenly way.

Per American Theatre, the Orlando Shakespeare Theater and the Angel Action Wings Project have teamed up to clothe local actors in massive white linen angel wings in the hopes of blocking the 40-member "church" group and their hate-filled signs, the most startlingly recognizable of which is "God Hates Fags." Thanks to donations, the Orlando Shakespeare Theater is building each of the angel ensembles in their costume shop.

The Westboro Baptist Church proudly pickets at least five spots every day, mostly in the Topeka, Kansas, area. For high-profile memorials, however, by its own insane account, the hate-group has traveled to all 50 states, picketing the funeral of the 9-year-old girl killed in the Arizona shooting most known for injuring Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, as well as the service for Steve Jobs. It is also known for organizing a protest against the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.

Related: The 'Angels' spring into action at Orlando memorials

The WBC posts its daily protest schedule on its website. Today's begins, "No coincidence that God is smacking Orlando with grievous sorrow, killing your children with shooters and alligators, when you are about to belly up to 'father's day'!"

The hate group actually has a counter on its website with an ever-increasing number of "people God has cast into hell since you uploaded this page." (We're at 264.)

Meanwhile, the Orlando Shakespeare Theater is in the middle of their children's production of "Beauty and the Beast." In an interesting coincidence, the OST has a quote from cultural historian Maurice Berger posted in the exact same webpage spot as the WBC's hell-counter. The quote reads, "Nothing is impossible when there is true love."