Saturday, May 17, 1997

Legislator votes for nondenominational prayer

By KEN HERMAN / Austin American-Statesman

AUSTIN - As House floor protest goes, this was as silent and subtle as it gets. But it was certain.

As most heads were bowed in prayer, Austin Rep. Sherri Greenberg on Thursday twice shook hers as Howard Vickery of San Antonio's Wetmore Road Baptist Church offered the daily prayer.

The gesture came during two of the three times that Vickery mentioned Jesus Christ.

While many members had their minds on a deity above, Ms. Greenberg said her mind was on a little boy above. Ms. Greenberg said she expected him - her third-grade son - to ask later why his Jewish mother works in a place where they invoke the name of Jesus Christ in prayer.

"I think he will ask me why the prayer was specific to one religion," she said of Jordan, who was in the House gallery with his Oasis Elementary School class. "I will tell him that many times in life there are people who have perhaps good intentions but may not understand."

Speaking carefully and glancing at a scribbled statement, Ms. Greenberg said her son's presence on Thursday led her to talk openly for the first time on a personal topic that has long perturbed her. Ms. Greenberg wants prayers that do not exclude her.

"I think an effort should be made that when words are said that it should be of a nondenominational manner," she said, calling Thursday's prayer "certainly far from nondenominational."

"It varies from day to day, depending on the remarks. but certainly with my son here and with his class here it did really bring it home," she said. "He has a very diverse class. There are children from Korea, from Iran, children of all different religions, and it did kind of bring it home."

Though Texas and its Legislature are overwhelmingly Christian, legislative prayers should be nondenominational, she said.

"If you are talking about a prayer that is nondenominational, then you would need to stick to general terms and words of wisdom as opposed to referring to the particular reference of one religion as opposed to another," she said.

The 150-seat Texas House has five Jewish members, including Ms. Greenberg. The 31-member Senate has one Jew, Florence Shapiro of Plano.

Both chambers start every day with prayer. Clergy of various religions - include several rabbis - have offered prayers this year. Not all of the Christian clergy have invoked the name of Jesus Christ in their prayers.

Janet Warren, spokeswoman for House Speaker Pete Laney, said the preachers are selected and invited by House members. The House gives no guidance or instruction on what should or should not be in the prayers, she said.

Austin Rep. Elliott Naishtat, also Jewish, said the daily prayer is neither a problem nor a fight worth making.

"I accept the fact that 99 percent of the prayers are Christian oriented. I have no personal problem with it," he said. "I know there are some people who feel it might be offensive to people who are not Christian. I've never thought it was worth making a big deal of it."

Rep. Scott Hochberg of Houston, another Jewish lawmaker, said Thursday he appreciates the daily prayer - regardless of who offers it - as a reflective moment in a hectic process. But he said he feels left out when Christ is mentioned.

"I think we can all use as much prayer as can be provided, but I know that I and other members of the Legislature have some discomfort when they are designed for specific denominations," he said.

It should not be too difficult to cast a prayer net wide enough to cover all, Hochberg said.

"We had a rabbi from my district up here, and I think (that prayer) could have been applied to anybody who believes in there being some sort of superior being," he said. "And I've heard that kind of prayer from a good number of people who've come here. They are given one minute to express their thoughts, and I certainly wouldn't want to get into a situation where you are preapproving the prayers."

Like Ms. Greenberg, Hochberg believes the problems caused for some by the daily prayer are an example of what could happen if prayer returned to public schools.

Also like Ms. Greenberg, he has no interest in turning the daily House prayer into a major issue.

"It's not the worst indignity I've been subjected to in Austin or in these chambers because of my religion," Hochberg said, declining to elaborate.

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Distributed by The Associated Press