AUGUSTA – The Rev. Richard Bamforth stood Tuesday before the Maine House of Representatives and asked God to aid lawmakers in their work during the 122nd Legislature as it convened in 2005.

“Be with us this day as we begin to grapple with the challenges that face us,” prayed Bamforth, a retired Episcopal minister who lives in Augusta. “Help us to remember that the problems we encounter are but the opportunities you give us to use the creative energies you share with us.”

On the other side of the State House, the Rev. Frank Murray of Auburn led a similar prayer as the Senate convened its first session of the year.

Lawmakers have begun each day with prayer since the Legislature was created in 1820, the year Maine became a state. Although the tradition does not appear to be in jeopardy at the State House, fewer prayers are being said at public events.

The town of Monson last year ended the practice of opening its town meetings with prayer after the Maine Civil Liberties Union informed the Board of Selectmen that the prayers had offended residents. The MCLU said it had received complaints from Monson residents who felt discouraged from attending and participating in their town meeting because of overtly sectarian references to “Jesus Christ” and “God, the Father.”

Clergy who lead prayers in the Legislature are asked to keep the prayer short and nonsectarian.

“Out of respect for the diversity of the religious beliefs of the senators, please offer a prayer that is nonsectarian and nonpolitical,” the guidelines sent to ministers from the Senate president’s office state. “A brief inspirational message to guide the members through their deliberations would be appreciated.”

The House sends similar guidelines to clergy.

The U.S. Supreme Court in 1983 weighed in on the issue of prayer in state legislatures. With a 6-3 vote, the court permitted the practice to continue because the use of prayer is embedded in the nation’s history and tradition. It has become a communication of shared values rather than a religious practice, the court stated.

A Roman Catholic who was raised in Bangor, Murray served in the Legislature in the 1970s before becoming a priest.

“As a legislator, I found it was a good tradition,” Murray said. “When a deliberative body comes together to start its work, it’s good that it just slows down for a few minutes. It makes us a little more objective and a little more focused.”

Bamforth said that he usually does not make references to Christ when he offers prayers at public events or use “religious jargon.”

“Recognizing that some people there are non-Christians, it seems to me to be inappropriate to foist that on people,” he said. “I try to word a prayer as if I were one of [the legislators] who are facing some real challenges. I believe that we need help in the process [of lawmaking] and I believe that God’s involved in the process.”

Bamforth said that because he lives in Augusta, he is called upon to deliver the prayer more often than clergy who live farther from the state capital.

Staff in the offices of legislative leadership have a database of clergy throughout the state and try to make sure every section of the state is represented at least once during the session. Legislators also suggest clergy from their districts to lead prayers.

Not every member of the clergy asked to pray in the State House, however, says yes.

Rabbi Susan Bulba Carvutto of Temple Beth El in Augusta said Thursday that she believes strongly in the separation of church and state. In addition to declining to offer prayers in the State House, she also does not pray at baccalaureate services or other public events.

“Society is getting more and more pressure to blur the line between the public domain and the religious,” she said. “A lot of Jews feel that because Christians all do it, Jews should get equal time, but prayer does not belong in the Legislature, public school or other public buildings.”