Through Broadway-themed sermon series, OKC church takes stand against antisemitism, hate

An Oklahoma church shared a message about the importance of standing against antisemitism and all forms of hate on Aug. 18 during its popular Broadway-themed sermon series.

The popular "St. Luke's on Broadway" sermon series at St. Luke's Methodist Church includes guest singers who perform classic songs from a Broadway show, while the Rev. Bob Long focuses his sermons on each musical’s themes through a Biblical lens.

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Sunday, the sermon series focused on the musical "Fiddler on the Roof," which tells the story of a Jewish father and his daughters.

Long, St. Luke's longtime senior pastor, said the church hopes to raise awareness about the rise in antisemitism and other forms of hatred and bigotry by distributing 4,000 blue square lapel pins during Sunday worship services. The minister said the distribution is in conjunction with the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism's #StandUptoJewishHate campaign .

The foundation was started in 2019 by Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots NFL team and chairman and chief executive officer of the Kraft Group, to address the rise in antisemitism in the U.S. and hate growing around the world. According to the foundation's website, the #StandUptoJewishHate campaign was begun to encourage people to speak out against antisemitism and hatred against Jewish people, show solidarity and support for the Jewish community and to speak out against all hate.

"The blue square is a symbol of Jewish identity and resilience, and it has been used by the Jewish community for centuries as a way to stand against hatred and persecution," the foundation said.

Long said the foundation agreed to send pins to the church for distribution in conjunction with the Broadway-style sermon series and its focus on "Fiddler."

"I said I would love to hand out blue squares that day to anybody who wants one, to be able to say, 'stand up to Jewish hate, stand up to all hate,'" Long said.

"I am always saying, we don't all have to think alike to love alike."

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The minister said he hopes the message will resonate with church members and the community at large.

"I love the comment that was made that said 'Politics is messy, international politics is really messy, but how I treat my neighbor is simple.' And, that's what I'm trying to emphasize," he said.

'Welcome sight'

Rabbi Vered Harris, spiritual leader of Temple B'nai Israel, said seeing more people around Oklahoma City wearing the blue square pins will be a "welcome sight."

"It will be a comfort to many Jewish people and a reminder of what it means to live in society that believes in decent and kind relations with our neighbors," Harris said.

The rabbi expressed her gratitude for St. Luke's commitment to raising awareness about an important issue and for the way the church's leaders promote kindness and compassion.

"Every expression against antisemitism is important and helpful to our world," she said. "It is an expression against all intolerance."

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Through Broadway-themed sermon series, OKC church takes stand against antisemitism, hate