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Vice President Mike Pence invited a Christian rabbi onstage to pray with him at a campaign stop in Michigan on Monday night. Rabbi Loren Jacobs began his prayer by acknowledging “Jesus the Messiah” before going on to pray that members of the Republican Party will prevail in upcoming midterm elections. Jacobs, of the Messianic congregation Shema Yisrael, which follows some Jewish cultural practices but is widely seen as a variation on Christian theology, condemned the “hate-inspired shooting” Saturday at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue, which left 11 people dead. After briefly acknowledging the victims and calling for “unity” and “peace,” Jacobs seemed to devote most of his speech to praying for GOP candidates to be granted “victory in this election.” “I pray that you would raise up men and women who know you and your ways and place them in positions of power and influence in the Republican Party,” he said, also praying for voters to be given “wisdom and grace” as they go to the polls. An aide to Pence told the Associated Press that the vice president was not aware of who Jacobs was when he invited him onstage. The aide said Jacobs had been invited by GOP candidate Lena Epstein, who later issued a statement saying anyone criticizing her or Pence over the rabbi’s prayer is “guilty of nothing short of religious intolerance,” according to the AP.