Franklin Graham's Decision America prayer rally will have competition when it arrives in Madison, Wisconsin tomorrow.
The town will be the 28th stop on a 50-state tour of the state capitals. Graham insists it is non-political and he has resigned from the Republican Party, but he has been a trenchant critic of the Obama administration and is associated with very conservative positions on issues including abortion, same-sex marriage, immigration and Islam.
A group of local churches has put together an alternative service entitled 'Neighbors in Faith' which will celebrate religious diversity and the common good. The interfaith event is to be held in a church on Capitol Square, while the Decision America rally will be held outside.
According to the Wisconsin State Journal, another alternative is to be provided by the atheist Freedom From Religion Foundation, which is based in the city. It will mount a protest during Graham's event and members of the LGBT community are also expected to protest.
The Journal quotes Rev Jonathan Grieser of Grace Episcopal Church, which will host the alternative service, who said: "We're really trying to bear witness to a different vision for America." He called some of Graham's views "deeply problematic".
Rev Paula Harris, pastor of St Luke's Episcopal Church in Madison and the moderator for Neighbors in Faith, called Graham's views "Islamaphobic, xenophobic and homophobic".
"That's not the spirit of the faith I practise," she said. "I think America is better than that."
A vice-president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, Steve Rhoads, said the tour was designed to "to recognise and not ignore that this country is in a lot of trouble".
"We're going to every single state to call together Christians to pray for our country and to pray that God brings an awakening," Rhoads said.
He referred to threats to America including a disregard for basic morality. "It manifests itself in a disregard for life and a lack of emphasis on the traditional family," he told the Journal. "And I don't mean only same-sex marriage. It's also the brokenness in homes and the number of children being raised in less-than-ideal situations."
He said the alternative event planned in Madison is a first for the tour. "All we're doing is gathering people together to pray. How anyone who is a Christian can oppose that is a little confusing."
