Ralph Ovadal (born August, 1951) is the fundamendalist Christian pastor of Pilgrims Covenant Church in Monroe, Wisconsin. He is known for his loud and confrontational street corner preaching in the Milwaukee area. Ovadal is highly opposed to abortion, public nudity, homosexuality, and ecumenicalism. Vehemently anti-Catholic, he led protests in front of movie theatres showing Mel Gibson's 2004 film The Passion of the Christ.

Ralph Ovadal vs. Fred Phelps

While often considered by his detractors to be a local version of Topeka's Fred Phelps, Ovadal has criticized Phelps' behaviour in the past [1] and labeled Phelps' female family members as "profanity-spewing, angry amazons" [2] who physically attacked one of his followers. In spite of his disputes with Phelps, Ovadal makes frequent use of Phelps' terminology (such as "homo-fascist") in his fliers and sermons. While he avoids using Phelps' best-known sobriquet "fags", he often labels homosexuals (and anyone in opposition) to him as "wolves".

Incidents at Mazo Beach

In 2001 a local television station's news team caught Ovadal hurling insults such as "whore" and "sodomite" at patrons of Mazomanie Beach , a local public park frequented by nude bathers. Ovadal was fined $1000 for intimidation. An appeals court upheld the fine. The beach, often referred to by locals as simply "Mazo Beach", has been the site of numerous pickets by Ovadal and members of his organization, Wisconsin Christians United.

External Links

• Sermons by Ralph Ovadal

• Wisconsin Christians United - an organization headed by Ovadal, consisting mainly of members of his church

• Wisconsin Circuit Courts Access Project - where details of Ovadal's arrests and fines can be viewed

• Blog critical of Ovadal