'Pay-to-pray': Trump reportedly charging supporters $100,000 to attend church service with him [View all]

The day before his inauguration, President-elect Donald Trump will reportedly be attending an interfaith prayer service in Washington D.C. His wealthiest supporters can also attend — if they write or solicit a big enough check.

That's according to a recent report in Religion News Service (RNS), which published promotional material from Trump's inaugural committee showing a list of different tiers of "benefits" depending on how much a donor gives. On Saturday, January 18, donors can get tickets to a "Make America Great Again Victory Rally," a Cabinet reception and a dinner with Vice President-elect JD Vance. And on Sunday, January 19, donors who give $100,000 or raise $200,000 can get two tickets to the "One America, One Light Sunday Service." RNS reporter Jack Jenkins described it as a "pay-to-pray" event.

Jenkins reported that the location of the service has yet to be announced and that it remains unclear who is hosting the "One America, One Light" prayer service. But Sean Feucht — a conservative Evangelical activist who has promoted Christian nationalism — is hosting an event dubbed "Revive in '25" the day before Trump's inauguration.

Feucht's event is reportedly being hosted at St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church on Capitol Hill. However, the Rev. William H. Gurnee, who is the pastor at St. Joseph's, insisted that he hadn't given Feucht permission to use his church.

"While I was asked to host the event, I informed the organizer that I needed more information and it was mistakenly reported that final permission was granted," Gurnee told RNS. "It is my feeling that this event would be better hosted at another location."


https://www.alternet.org/pay-to-pray-trump/