David Holt's second Oklahoma City mayoral term begins with Afghan refugee, prayer service

David Holt began his second term as Oklahoma City mayor by including one of the city's newest residents in his inauguration ceremony at the First Americans Museum.

Holt's inauguration for his second term of office included Feroz Bashari, formerly of Afghanistan, who administered the ceremonial oath of office. Holt took the oath of office with his wife, Rachel, holding the Bible and their two children, George and Maggie, standing nearby.

Oklahoma City native and Grammy Award-winning gospel recording artist Sandi Patty sang “Let There Be Peace on Earth,” while the Rev. Joseph Alsay, rector of Holt's home church St. Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal Church, gave the invocation.

The mayor said he reached out to Bashari after reading a story in The Oklahoman about his journey to Oklahoma City.

"Dr. Bashari’s participation here today reminds us that Oklahoma City is truly a diverse, global city, and it further reminds us of the important role that all newcomers must play," Holt said.

Prayer service marks inauguration

Meanwhile, leaders from different religious communities came together on Sunday for "A Prayer for Our City," an interfaith prayer service celebrating Holt's second mayoral inauguration.

More: Deep in the heart of oil country, Kevin Stitt is in hot pursuit of electric vehicles

The service was held at St. Augustine's, 14700 N May. Holt's home church was also the site for a similar service held the evening before his first inauguration as mayor in 2018.

The prayer service was led by Alsay, along with and several other religious leaders. The event included remarks by Holt, music, prayers and readings from spiritual leaders representing different faith traditions, including Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Rabbi Vered Harris, spiritual leader of Temple B'nai Israel, read from the Hebrew scriptures, while the Rt. Rev. Raphael Moore, priest emeritus of St. Mary Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Jones, shared a New Testament reading. Imad Enchassi, senior imam of the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City, shared a reading inspired from the Quran.

The mayor's father, Stroud Holt, was also in attendance.

Other participants included Sarah Bushman, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; the Rev. Lee Cooper Jr., senior pastor of Prospective Baptist Church and the Rev. Derrick Scobey, senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church.

The hourlong service culminated with Holt kneeling as Alsay prayed for him and anointed his head with oil. Other religious leaders encircled the two men and pointed their hands toward the mayor as they prayed for him.

In his remarks to the crowd, Holt talked about the challenges of the last four years, particularly how Oklahoma City experienced the global COVID-19 pandemic and the "most significant racial reckoning since the 1960s" that occurred in the wake of the murder of George Floyd.

"On both issues, we politely rejected extremists at both ends, and we worked together to find common ground," he said. "I think our community’s responses to those challenges are national models. I also feel strongly that our city’s faith leaders helped set the right tone in both areas, and I thank you for that."

Holt said it wasn't uncommon for such prayer gatherings to be held across different levels of government, and he hoped that the two interfaith services for his inauguration would become a new tradition for Oklahoma City.

"It was a wonderful event four years ago, and it felt appropriate to do it again," he said. " I think it's an important opportunity to acknowledge the many faiths in our community, which is important to me, but also an opportunity to channel all those faiths in prayer for our city's future."

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: David Holt kicked off his second Oklahoma City mayor term with prayer