Pastor Marcus Johnson of New Harvest Ministries stood outside Baltimore's City Hall on Friday and asked a crowd of about 100 to pray aloud and unrestrained.
A federal judge's ruling last month that the law that directs the president to proclaim a National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional did not diminish the enthusiasm of the faithful, who held Bibles, waved American flags and raised their hands to the heavens, Baltimore Sun colleague Mary Gail Hare reports.
"I have been called to pray," Johnson said. "If I am standing in line at the supermarket or the bank, I can pray. Prayer is who I am and what I do. It is my Christian duty. It is not just for Sundays within the walls of a church."
Similar gatherings were scheduled at government buildings around the nation, including those on the grounds of the Virginia state Capitol and on the lawn outside City Hall in Coral Springs, Fla.
In Annapolis, an evening prayer service with the theme "becoming better stewards" was set for Lawyer's Mall.
U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb of Wisconsin ruled last month the day violates the First Amendment's establishment clause, which prohibits Congress from creating a "law respecting an establishment of religion."
She said the government should not use its influence to decide when people should pray. The ruling does not cancel the National Day of Prayer until appeals are exhausted, she wrote.