Philly’s religious leaders are using Eagles-themed song and sermons leading up to the Super Bowl
A pastor, rabbi and imam each plan to discuss the team before Sunday's game

At the close of service on the day of the NFC championship game in January, one South Philly church sent its congregants off in song to evangelize the inspirational feats and lessons learned from a mere mortal who has become a legendary man — Saquon Barkley.
Epiphany of Our Lord Church ended its service that Sunday with “Fly Eagles Fly” played on its organ, and attendees punctuated the song with an “E-A-G-L-E-S” chant.
“It doesn’t need to be that stiff and rigid‚” the Rev. James R. Casey, a converted onetime Dallas Cowboys fan and Epiphany’s pastor, said of his service. He said that the church’s music director, Joanna Pascale, had been asking him about playing the song during the Eagles’ playoff run, and he decided on the spot during the service two weeks ago to let her.
“I like to celebrate with my parishioners,” he said.
It won’t be the last time the song plays at Epiphany Church. Casey is among Philly’s religious leaders who plan to include the Eagles and lessons of their Super Bowl run this week in their services.
“An event like this does ... unite people under a banner and a cause,” said Imam Azam Akram of the Bait-ul-Aafiyat Mosque in North Philly.
Akram has lived in Philadelphia for just a few years, having rotated as an imam throughout a dozen other cities since 2012. He said that no other city he’s been to unifies around a sports team like Philadelphians have with their Eagles.
“It’s like a religion,” he said.
For his Friday night sermon, Akram planned to use the game as a way of relating lessons from the Quran. Akram said that Islam’s central text encourages righteous competition and asserts that “life is a sport” with highs and lows.
“It’s an excuse to accentuate those moments,” he said.
At Temple Beth Sholom in Cherry Hill, the Super Bowl celebration has gone on throughout the week.
Rabbi Bryan Wexler said that the synagogue encouraged its community members to wear Eagles gear for services, and planned to provide a Hebrew translation of “Fly Eagles Fly” to the congregation for a concluding hymn this weekend, just as they did for the 2023 Super Bowl.
“We’re big Eagles fans here,” he said, adding that he was “totally confident” in the team for its Super Bowl rematch against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Wexler grew up in Wilmington, watching Eagles games with his father and grandfather. He said there are lessons to take from watching the team that are useful for communicating religious tenets, like the way Eagles offensive linemen Cam Jurgens and Landon Dickerson leaned on each other through injuries during the NFC championship game. He said it was an example of camaraderie and self-sacrifice for larger goals.
» READ MORE: The Eagles are Philadelphia’s religion
“It’s all about basing it in Jewish values and education,” he said. “Finding joy, light, and fun is important.”
Wexler said that while he wouldn’t be asking the congregation to pray for an Eagles win, he would welcome one.
The leaders acknowledged that certain people may take issue with their choice to include the Birds in their teachings. Some believe that religion and sport ought to remain separate, that God’s message is distorted once it’s intertwined with what is ultimately a game.
But Casey said he believes it’s important to build connections between the church and its community, and that many leaders “work hard to be where their parishioners are.”
He would rather embrace what his congregants are obsessed with and celebrating than pretend the Eagles are not about to play in the Super Bowl.
“I think Jesus would do that, too,” he said.