HARRISBURG -- A Gettysburg clergyman's prayer before the state Senate yesterday went a lot smoother than his last attempt to pray with legislators last month.

The Rev. Gerry Stoltzfoos opened the 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, the Rev. Stoltzfoos chose not to say the prayer at all. When word got out, it created a religious firestorm in cyberspace.

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

"You've become a celebrity," Mr. Alloway told him yesterday. 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.

The Rev. Stoltzfoos said the same prayer in the Senate that he had 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, the Rev. 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."

The Rev. 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.