Russell Springs, USA - A federal judge on Friday blocked a southern Kentucky high school from including prayers in its graduation ceremony, prompting students to begin reciting the Lord's Prayer during the opening remarks.
About 200 students interrupted the principal's comments with the prayer, drawing thunderous applause and a standing ovation from the crowd.
Earlier in the day, a judge banned prayers from the ceremony in response to a lawsuit filed this week by the American Civil Liberties Union. The lawsuit sought a restraining order on behalf of an unidentified student at Russell County High School in Russell Springs, 90 miles south of Louisville.
Later in the ceremony, senior Megan Chapman told the crowd that God had guided her since childhood. She was interrupted repeatedly by cheering as she urged her classmates to trust in God as they go through life.
A sign across the street from the high school at a garden center declared "We believe in prayer" in response to the judge's ruling.
The student mentioned in the lawsuit had appealed to Principal Darren Gossage to drop the prayer from the ceremony, but the principal refused, ACLU attorney Lili Lutgens said.
Lutgens argued that any prayer would be unconstitutional because it would endorse a specific religion and religious views. U.S. District Judge Joseph McKinley granted the temporary restraining order, prohibiting the school district from having even a student representative say a prayer during the ceremony.
A call to Gossage's office was not immediately returned.
Superintendent Scott Pierce said he was pleased with the students' response to the ruling.
"This was a good learning process for them as far as how to handle things that come along in life," Pierce said. "They exhibited what we've tried to accomplish in 12 years of education — they have the ability to make these compelling decisions on their own."
The U.S. Supreme Court has held that clergy-led prayer in public school graduations and sporting events is prohibited. Lutgens said earlier this week that student-initiated prayer before or after the ceremony would be OK.