The chairman of the local Baha\u2019i congregation concluded his prayer with \u201cAllah-u-Abha,\u201d\u009d which loosely translates to \u201cGod the All-Glorious.\u201d\u009d A Jew offered a prayer speaking of \u201cthe songs of David, your servant.\u201d\u009d And a Wiccan priestess, mindful of her venue in the town of Greece, N.Y., thought that Athena and Apollo were apt deities to call upon.<\/p>\n
But they were the exceptions. Almost every other \u201cchaplain of the month\u201d\u009d during a decade of town board meetings in this Rochester suburb was a Christian, and more often than not called on Jesus Christ or the Holy Spirit to guide the council\u2019s deliberations.<\/p>\n
A federal appeals court said last year that such a \u201csteady drumbeat\u201d\u009d of Christian invocations violates the Constitution\u2019s prohibition against government endorsement of religion.<\/p>\n