The ongoing faith tour with Erika Kirk’s Turning Point USA may not receive the warmest welcome on its latest stop.

On May 15, the tour is scheduled to arrive in Portland for an evening event at the Expo Center. However, critics of the tour have also planned a counter-event during the same hours, aimed at showing support for immigrant and transgender communities.

Critics Plan Multi-Faith Response To Erika Kirk’s TPUSA Event

As Erika Kirk’s TPUSA Faith Tour arrives at its next stop in Portland, the event is expected to compete for public attention with a counter-meeting organized by critics of the organization and its message.

The opposing gathering, titled “Love is the Point: A Multi-Faith Response to the Turning Point USA Event,” is being organized by First Parish Portland Unitarian Universalist.

Scheduled to take place around the same time as the TPUSA Faith gathering, organizers say the timing is intentional, as the event is meant to provide an “alternative” for Portland residents who disagree with the themes promoted by Erika’s faith arm of the non-profit.

According to The Maine Wire, the gathering will also focus on supporting immigrant and transgender communities.

Counter-Event Was First Announced In April

News of the counter-rally first emerged in April, when Rev. Norman Allen, minister at First Parish Portland Unitarian Universalist, delivered a sharp criticism of the upcoming TPUSA Faith event.

Speaking with the Portland Press Herald, Allen acknowledged that freedom of speech is a fundamental American value and said Erika and her team have the right to hold their event.

At the same time, he expressed concern about Erika’s gathering, which, in his view, rejects “our neighbors, our transgender siblings, and the many immigrants that are vital to life in Maine.”

Allen argued that the best response was not confrontation, but a peaceful alternative centered on love, inclusion, and support for affected communities. “Rather than stand across the street with protest signs, we’re offering something beautiful and love-centered to show a different side of how to view the world,” he said.

Erika Kirk’s Non-Profit Was Accused Of Promoting Exclusion

Rev. Jane Field, executive director of the Maine Council of Churches, also criticized the TPUSA event, describing Erika’s non-profit as promoting exclusionary themes while presenting itself as rooted in love and faith.

“What guides our work, in everything we do, always comes back to: Does it promote love of neighbor? Does it promote kindness?” she told the outlet. “I think Turning Point is often the opposite of that. It’s who should we hate, and who should we exclude? Who is getting into heaven and who isn’t?”

At the time, Field also said the coalition of member congregations planning to attend the counter-event was continuing to grow, though she did not disclose the exact number of churches that had already signed on.

City Officials Refuse To Cancel TPUSA Faith Event

Beyond criticism from church leaders, other progressive activists and local officials have also questioned why Erika’s organization was allowed to use the city-owned Portland Expo Center and called for the contract to be canceled.

City officials, however, have shown little interest in doing so, stating that Portland is “bound by the First Amendment” when renting public facilities and cannot deny access solely because of objections to an event’s organizers or speakers.

According to city representatives, the contract would only be reconsidered if the event posed a public safety risk, which officials say is not currently the case.

Erika Kirk’s Faith Tour Faced An Earlier Scandal

Earlier this year, Erika’s tour was overshadowed by controversy surrounding the inclusion of Greg Laurie, who has faced scrutiny over child abuse and trafficking allegations tied to lawsuits involving his church.

Laurie, the senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship, was named in a series of lawsuits filed in U.S. federal court that alleged child abuse and trafficking by former pastor Paul Havsgaard.

As The Blast reported, the lawsuits alleged that church leaders, including Laurie, allowed Havsgaard to operate with little oversight and ignored multiple warning signs surrounding his alleged misconduct while he managed church-supported children’s homes in Romania between 1998 and 2008.

The complaints further claimed that the church continued financially supporting the Romanian children’s homes despite reports of abuse. They also alleged that Havsgaard was later allowed to return to the United States with some of the children to raise additional funds.