Source: Detroit Free Press
On May 3, 2006 the Detroit Free Press reported, "A handful of metro Detroiters are trying to expand Thursday's National Day of Prayer from a politically charged, Christian-only event into a broader celebration of America's religious diversity. 'We can't sit back and leave this day to the Christian-only events that people are organizing in many places,' said Padma Kuppa, a Hindu educator from Troy who was involved in a clash over the event last year in Troy that drew national attention. 'The future of our country depends on Americans like me stepping forward, too, and helping to serve our communities. 'Some of our voices may sound a little different when we pray, but we won't have healthy communities unless our voices are heard, too,' she said Monday. Kuppa's voice will be among those heard at a public conference on religious diversity at Wayne State University from 8 a.m. to noon Thursday. The conference, titled When Strangers Become Neighbors, marks the 20th anniversary of gatherings in metro Detroit that have brought people from many faiths together. Then, at noon Thursday, depending on the weather, conference participants will pray inside WSU's McGregor Center or step outside into the Gullen Mall for a National Day of Prayer event cosponsored by many religious groups... The Wayne State conference and prayer service likely will be the largest of a handful of interfaith events popping up across southeast Michigan, including a Thursday evening service at St. Anastasia Catholic Church in Troy. But the Colorado-based National Day of Prayer Task Force is organizing most of the nearly 70 events scheduled across Michigan. The task force, run by Shirley Dobson, the wife of evangelical radio commentator James Dobson, requires each volunteer to sign a personal pledge as 'an evangelical Christian who has a personal relationship with Christ.'"