Who would have thought that an ad touting a sermon entitled, "The Only Way to Destroy the Jewish Race," would cause problems? Not the Portland Press Herald, apparently. A story from that paper:
The minister of a Baptist church in South Portland asked for
forgiveness Monday for frightening members of the Jewish community with
a provocative newspaper advertisement that promoted his Sunday sermon
about anti-Semitism.The ad for the First Baptist Church appeared on the Religion &
Values page of the Portland Press Herald on Saturday, touting a sermon
titled, "The Only Way to Destroy the Jewish Race."The sermon was supportive of Jews but the words in the ad
generated fear and anger, as well as complaints to the church and the
newspaper."Dear friends, please forgive me for causing alarm in your
hearts," the Rev. Philip Andrukaitis wrote in a statement released
Monday afternoon. "No doubt, several folks have already jumped to
conclusions about me and this church."Andrukaitis’ sermon, the text of which he gave to Jewish leaders
and the news media, called for Christians to support Jews and the
nation of Israel. He said the sermon title was intended to spark
discussion and referred to his message that God will never allow the
destruction of his chosen people. "I never expected it," Andrukaitis
said of the uproar caused by the ad.The newspaper also apologized on Monday, for publishing the ad
containing the sermon title. The newspaper’s guidelines "prohibit
advertising copy that might appear offensive in nature," and the
publication was the result of a mistake, according to a written
statement released by Rob Blethen, director of advertising."The Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram apologizes to all
who might have been offended by this unintentional oversight.
Additional safeguards have been put in place to avoid a similar
situation in the future," the statement said…
