With a 3-1 civilian to candidate ratio in the crowd, Lancaster County ACTION, a local religious conservative group, opened its quarterly breakfast with a prayer.

What followed was the kind of blending of church and state that the group hopes will boost sympathetic candidates to victory in upcoming elections, though its president Bob Kettering said today endorsements are not likely this year. Too many good candidates, he said.

Randy Wenger, chief attorney at the new Independence Law Center, part of the Pennsylvania Family Institute, updated the ACTION crowd at Leola Restaurant along Route 23 about attacks on "self-evident truths."

These include a school not allowing a fifth-grader dressed as Jesus in a crown of thorns to remain in costume on Halloween, banning gospel clubs in schools, arresting anti-abortion protesters for trespassing — all of them cases taken up by the law firm at no charge.

"Christianity should not be censored from public life," Wenger said. Some in the crowd said "amen."

U.S. Congressman Joe Pitts also gave a brief address, praising his fellow Republican legislators for what he assured were enough votes to sustain a presidential veto for Iraq war timelines and pro-life measures.

Peggie Miller, a local anti-pornography advocate, spoke to raise awareness of three adult businesses in the county.

"I think people are more concerned about cows, dogs and chickens than about children and adults," she said, referring to a recent commissioner candidate debate sponsored by animal rights group League of Humane Voters.

Miller then flashed a list of more than 200 registered sex offenders living in Lancaster County and urged the audience to look up their addresses and pictures.

Between bites, endorsed Republican commissioner candidates Scott Martin and Dennis Stuckey chatted about the recent firing of radio personality Don Imus.

At another table, their competition, Republican candidate Heidi Wheaton, sported a strand of wheat on her jacket, a campaign logo now plastered on billboards around the county, and stuck to lapels at political events.

State representatives Katie True, Tom Creighton and Gordon Denlinger were in attendance, as was Jackie Shogan, a candidate for the state Superior Court.

Other election hopefuls, including District Attorney Don Totaro, Heidi Eakin, Bud Knisely, Chris Hackman, Jeff Reich, Margaret Miller, Jeff Wright and Ryan Aument,were also in the crowd.

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