For tomorrow's service at his church in Kentucky, a pastor has invited his congregation to bring along their Bibles, a tin of canned food, a friend - and their guns.

Ken Pagano, who packs a pistol of his own, wants his parishioners to openly wear their firearms at the New Bethel Church in Louisville to mark the 4 July Independence anniversary and celebrate the part guns played in the making of the nation.

The unusual service has brought a mixed reaction, welcomed by many gun owners but widely derided elsewhere with fellow pastors and victims of gun crime questioning whether it is appropriate to carry weapons in a church.

In a phone interview today, Pagano said: "I do not see any contradiction. I do not see any incongruity as a Christian. It is not unbiblical. It is not illegal. And it is not unconstitutional."

Pagano, a 49-year-old former marine, acknowledged that bringing guns to church was uncommon in modern culture but said in New England in colonial times there were racks at the back of the church for rifles for militia men. America's founding fathers had a genuine belief in arms, he said: "I stand in that tradition and I am proud of it."

The invitation to the Open Carry Celebration, as the event is described, is only extended to "responsible handgun owners" but, while sheriff deputies will be at the door to ensure that all guns are unloaded, there will be no search for concealed weapons. The day of celebration will include a sermon, as is traditional, but also a $1 (61p) raffle in which the prize is a handgun, a weapons display, gun safety videos, a picnic and the opportunity to join in the singing of patriotic songs.

The service will celebrate the second amendment, the controversial and disputed constitutional law that enshrines the right to carry a gun. Pagano said that some of his congregation were concerned that Barack Obama might restrict gun ownership.

Although the White House has said repeatedly it is not planning any such measures, the National Rifle Association has played on these fears and encouraged the idea that Obama is about to take away people's guns. The White House view is that Obama has enough on his agenda without taking on the gun lobby too.

Kentucky's gun laws, among the most liberal in the country, do not allow people to take guns into places such as bars, schools or jails. But churches are currently exempted by a loophole because it did not occur to legislators that anyone might want to take a firearm to a service.

Pagano said today that his insurance company had refused to provide the church with cover for the event and had cancelled the policy, which could have meant his plans would have to have been scuppered. But he said an alternative insurance company had been found.

Planning for the day began a year ago, well before last month's shooting of the abortion doctor George Tiller in a church in Kansas.

The Brady Campaign, which works for the reduction of gun violence, said there was an inherent contradiction in taking guns to a church. John Phillips, a pastor who was shot at his church in Arkansas in 1986, is also among those opposed to the service. Phillips told the New York Times: "I don't understand how any minister who is familiar with the teachings of the Bible can do this. Jesus didn't say, 'Go ahead, make my day.'"

Pagano said Phillips was entitled to his opinion but there was nothing to say all churches had to be pacifist.