By Kerri Pepoy,Staff Writer

NORWAY – A fringe church group planning to protest at Saturday’s funeral for a local soldier killed in Iraq will send about 10 members who will sing America-bashing songs and hold anti-gay signs before the service begins, a spokeswoman for the group said Wednesday.

“We’re definitely coming,” said Shirley Phelps-Roper, a lawyer for the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan. Phelps-Roper is also the daughter of the church’s leader, Rev. Fred Phelps.

“We’ll be outside for 45 minutes before the funeral begins and when it begins, we’re out of there,” she said. “We come discreetly and we leave discreetly. We obey the law.”

Army Sgt. Corey Dan, 22, of Norway, was killed March 13. His body was returned to Maine on Tuesday.

The funeral for Dan, a soldier with the 101st Airborne Division, will be held at 1 p.m. at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School on Route 26.

Phelps-Roper said she will be present on Saturday but declined to say whether her father will be there. She also declined to comment on the group’s travel plans.

The church has about 75 members who since last June have been protesting in various parts of the country at the funerals of American soldiers to spread their message that God is killing U.S. service members in retaliation for the United States’ tolerance of homosexuals.

“Our God is a consuming fire,” said Phelps-Roper, who cited Bible passages that she said condemn homosexuality and prove that God is vengeful. “You are doomed. This nation is doomed. Just stay tuned.”

The protesters will hold signs that read “Thank God for dead soldiers” and “God hates fags” among other things, she said. The group also will sing the tune of “God Bless America” with the lyrics changed to “God Hates America.”

On Tuesday, SAD 17 Superintendent Mark Eastman said Phelps’ group will not be allowed to demonstrate on school grounds. He said the protesters will have to stand on the sidewalk outside the high school’s fence along Route 26.

Phelps-Roper insisted the group never wanted to protest on school grounds. “We do not come onto private property,” she said. “We didn’t ask anyone if we could get on their private property. We will be on public property.”

Phelps-Roper also said she is glad that members of a national motorcycle riders’ group, the Patriot Guard Riders, plan to be present on Saturday. “They are entitled to get the word of God,” she said. “We are quite thankful to them because they draw a lot of attention to our signs.”

The motorcycle group, which was formed in response to Phelps’ activities and boasts about 19,000 members, was invited to the funeral by Dan’s family. Members said at least 30 riders will attend the funeral and ride in the procession to Dan’s burial site to honor Dan and his family.

Republican state Rep. Michael Vaughan, R-Durham, is the Patriot Guard Riders’ Maine state captain. He said he will be riding his motorcycle on Saturday with the group and called the Phelps group “pretenders.”

“They’re not actually a Christian group because they don’t act Christian,” he said. “I think it’s one of the vilest things I’ve ever seen.”

Vaughan said the Phelps family is a “family of lawyers” whose real motivation is to file frivolous lawsuits against towns and police departments who don’t protect them during protests.

“What their free speech consists of is harassment,” he said. “I don’t think they have a real belief in their message.”

Meanwhile, a Norway woman is inviting community members to wear red shirts on Saturday in support of Dan and his family and to counter Phelps’ message.

“I’m appalled by these people,” said Rochelle Rawding, who works at Stephens Memorial Hospital and came up with the idea. She said at least 40 or 50 people already are committed to wearing red shirts, whether they will be outside or attending the service.

“These shirts are being worn to express our appreciation for the sacrifice that Corey Dan and his family, along with other U.S. families, have made for our freedom here in America,” said Rawding. “I want it to be a visual.”