LEXINGTON, Ky.â€â€The Rev. Jeff Fugate took last year off from stirring up a conservative controversy with a Fourth of July celebration, but will return again this year with another scheduled night of preaching, prayer and pyrotechnics, July 2 in Lexington.
According to the Lexington Herald-Leader, at his 2002 "I Love America Patriotic Rally," the Rev. Jeff Fugate told immigrants that their non-Christian religions are unwelcome in the United States  remarks that drew cheers from a crowd of 5,000 and condemnation from Kentucky political and religious leaders.
Gov. Ernie Fletcher, who attended the 2002 rally and who quickly denounced Fugate's comments on immigrants, "may or may not attend," his spokesman, Jason Keller, told the Herald-Leader.
This year the Clays Mill Road Baptist Church pastor said he wasn't trying to create another uproar.
"My intention is not to be controversial. My intention is to have a patriotic rally to celebrate America's Christian heritage," he said. He said those who view America as a Christian nation are making progress.
"We've had a lot of victories in the last two years," he said, including this week's Supreme Court decision which left "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Ceremonies celebrating the life of President Ronald Reagan were also a victory, he said. "Everything they did was religious in this funeral for five days  and the state paid for it," he said.
Fugate's rally will feature Retired Col. Ron Ray, a former Reagan defense department official, who will give a speech on the Declaration of Independence and "Why America is One Nation Under God." The event will also have patriotic music, a massive fireworks display and a U.S. Marine Corps color guard, he said.
Members of the Interfaith Alliance of the Bluegrass, a group that encourages cooperation among all religious faiths, will gather on the same day for a pro-unity Sabbath service celebrating the nation's religious diversity.
The Rev. Bill Kincaid of Woodland Christian Church will preach at Temple Adath Israel's regular Friday evening service and the Jewish Sabbath liturgy will "speak to the needs of the community," Rabbi Marc Kline said.
Kline says religious freedom, not Christianity, is the cornerstone of American democracy.
"We were founded as a nation that provides for the safety, sanctity and dignity of all faiths," he said. "To rewrite that history is a travesty."
