Sermon Sparks Outrage

SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine -- The title of a sermon given over the weekend by a Baptist minister in South Portland has outraged the community.

The First Baptist Church placed an ad promoting the sermon “The Only Way to Destroy the Jewish Race” in Saturday’s Portland Press Herald.

While he refused to go on camera, the church’s pastor, Rev. Phil Andrukaitis, told WMTW-TV in Portland on Monday that he meant no ill will with the title.

He also released a statement in which he apologized and explained that the title was meant to target those who oppose Jews and Israel. He wanted those people to attend Sunday’s service so that he could offer them another viewpoint, Andrukaitis said.

Read: First Baptist Church Of South Portland: 'The Only Way To Destroy The Jews'

But former Temple Beth El Rabbi Harry Sky said the title was offensive and insensitive to the Jewish community.

"That's a silly way to bring people in,” Sky said. “The implication is, ‘It's a good idea. Lets get rid of the Jews.’ The implication is, ‘If you don't know now, I do. Come and listen to me. I have a program.’"

The Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram issued a written apology on Monday to members of the Jewish community, saying, “We’ve established ad acceptance guidelines that strictly prohibit advertising copy that might appear offensive in nature. But unfortunately, there was a mistake in the execution of those guidelines over this past weekend.”

Officials at the paper said additional safeguards have been put in place to avoid similar situations in the future.