SCHOOL BOARD WARNED ADL PROTESTS CHRISTIAN-ONLY PRAYER.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer

LAKE LOS ANGELES - An anti-discrimination group says Wilsona School District violated the law when the school board opened a meeting with a local minister's invocation mentioning Jesus Christ.

The prayer on April 18 by the Rev. Jeff Loewen, pastor of the Living Springs Foursquare Church, was the first after a 3-2 vote by the board the previous month to start its meetings with an invocation.

``When the United States Supreme Court looked at the subject of invocations at state legislatures, the justices wrote that the invocation cannot be used to inculcate any particular religion or to proselytize,'' wrote Aaron Levinson, interim regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, in a letter to the district.

``A school board that is opening sessions with prayers said in Christ's name is in violation of the law and ignoring the foundation of religious freedom upon which our country was built,'' Levinson wrote.

Board President Sharon Toyne said she was approached about it by people in the community before she proposed starting each meeting with an invocation. The dissenting votes were cast by trustees Christine Behringer and Mark Lucas, who said the prayers were likely to alienate non- Christians.

Toyne contacted Lake Los Angeles churches about sending representatives to offer invocations. All listed on the invocation schedule are Christians, which drew discrimination criticism.

Toyne has said that she did not extend invitations to mosques, synagogues or other places of worship in Lancaster or Palmdale because she wanted to focus on the local community of Lake Los Angeles, and it has only Christian churches.

Levinson said Monday that he wrote the ADL letter after receiving complaints from two Antelope Valley residents and that he has sent the school board suggested guidelines for nonsectarian prayer at its meetings.

Levinson said the ADL will monitor what happens at the board meetings and would not rule out litigation if sectarian invocations continue.

``We are going to see the guidelines they come up with. If they are appropriate, we will continue to ensure that these guidelines are followed,'' Levinson said. ``If not, we have to decide what kind of steps we need to take. Normally it's not our style to go right to a lawsuit. We would try to work it out before it came it that, but I would not rule it out.''

The city of Burbank was sued in 1999 over its practice of commencing its City Council meetings with a prayer. In his ruling against the city practice, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Alexander Williams III wrote: ``In numerous decisions, prayer invoking the name of Jesus Christ has been identified as sectarian, and prayer that does not has been identified as acceptably nonsectarian.''

Burbank appealed that decision.

Wilsona Superintendent Ned McNabb said Loewen's invocation was sectarian.

``The content of the invocation at the first meeting was outside the limits of the First Amendment of the Constitution,'' McNabb said. ``(Case law) makes it clear it has to be nonsectarian and nondenominational and can't reflect preference for any religion. You can't proselytize. It's clear the first invocation reflected a preference (for) Christianity, to the extent of saying it was the only source.''

The board will discuss the ADL letter at its meeting May 16. Also on the agenda will be proposed invocation guidelines, which will be presented by Toyne, McNabb said.

Toyne could not be reached Monday for comment.

The ADL's suggested guidelines say:

``Any such prayer or invocation must contain no reference to a particular deity, sect or denomination, or to any of the central religious figures associated with any particular religious belief.

``The words chosen for the invocation prayer may consist of a general appeal to divine guidance, which would be in harmony with the tenets of some or all religions, but under no circumstances should the invocation or call to prayer be expressed in terms identifiable with any particular faith, denomination, sect or creed.

``If any outside clergy are invited to officiate at such board prayers, invitations should be extended to clergy of all faiths represented in the community, not just those faiths within the Judeo-Christian tradition.''