from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

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Pastor prays at state Senate after controversy in House

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

By Tom Barnes, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

HARRISBURG -- A Gettysburg clergyman said a prayer before a state legislative chamber today and things went a lot smoother than his first try a month ago.

The Rev. Gerry Stoltzfoos opened today's Senate session with a prayer, and, as most Christian pastors do, ended it with "We pray in Jesus' name, amen."

Last month, state House officials asked him to use a "non-denominational" prayer that didn't include the name of Jesus, and under that restriction, Mr. Stoltzfoos chose not to say the prayer at all. When word got out, it created a religious fire storm in cyberspace.

The pastor of the Freedom Valley Worship Center had been invited to do the opening prayer in the House by Rep. Will Tallman, R-Adams, a member of his congregation. After he decided not to give a Jesus-less prayer, Mr. Stoltzfoos was invited to pray before the Senate by Sen. Richard Alloway, R-Adams.

"You've become a celebrity," Mr. Alloway told him today. Mr. Alloway said he thought that it was "a little ridiculous" to tell a Christian pastor not to mention the name of Jesus.

He said he asked Senate officials, "Do we have a policy like that?" and was told the Senate has a more diverse approach to opening prayers. The chamber has recently invited leaders from a variety of religious faiths, including Muslim, Unitarian, Buddhist and Sikh, along with the more traditional Christian and Jewish clergy.

"We want diversity, but we don't want to regulate speech," said Drew Crompton, legal counsel to Senate President Pro Tem Joe Scarnati of Jefferson.

Mr. Stoltzfoos said the same prayer in the Senate that he'd planned to give in the House, but with two tweaks. He added a "preamble," which read:

"I am painfully aware that there are many here today who have embraced belief systems other than mine. I am not here to say that everyone ought to believe as I do. But I can only pray to my God. If you believe in some other power, I invite you to address yours as I address mine."

In the body of the prayer he used the words God and Lord, but not Jesus. In the last sentence, instead of just saying "In Jesus' name we pray," he used the words, "For those of us who are Christians, we pray in Jesus' name."

In an interview before giving the prayer, Mr. Stoltzfoos said, "I'm trying to be as flexible as I can be. I don't need everyone to agree with me."

He said he's been astonished at the national and even worldwide reaction he's gotten by his insistence on using Jesus' name in public prayers.

Since stories appeared in two small newspapers in York County and then in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on July 19, he said, "I have gotten hundreds of e-mails and at least 100 phone calls. It's amazing. I've gotten messages on Facebook and Myspace. People at my church are high-fiving me and slapping me on the back. They are happy that we've had a tiny role in affecting our culture."

Mr. Stoltzfoos said five law firms have contacted him about whether he wants to sue the House to overturn its opposition to pastors naming specific religious figures such as Jesus, Muhammed, Allah or Buddha.

He isn't sure what he'll do. "I don't like legal fights but I don't want to let an opportunity pass to defend the Constitution and my faith," he said.

Harrisburg Bureau Chief Tom Barnes can be reached attbarnes@post-gazette.comor 717-787-4254.

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