There they were Wednesday night, about 200 Oahu citizens with their hands raised toward the city workers they expect to make traffic and sewage flow smoothly, patch and patrol the streets, keep them safe and comfortable, make the ponderous machinery of government run as smoothly as the clock in the church tower overhead.

The hands weren't clenched in fists, nor were accusatory fingers aimed. The voices weren't angry, threatening or complaining.

It was a 90-minute respite at Kawaiaha'o Church for about 100 government leaders and workers who trooped across the street from City Hall. Hands were spread in blessing, and voices were raised in prayer and song. It was the fifth annual Mayor's Prayer Service.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann told the crowd that the church sanctuary perspective “;reminds us in public service of the obligation we have to be good stewards. Man cannot come up with the solutions we need, especially in these hard economic times. It is time to turn to the Lord for the wisdom and courage we need to go forward.

“;For people who are struggling to meet everyday needs, may we in government recognize our responsibility to help,”; Hannemann said.

The Rev. Curt Kekuna of Kawaiaha'o urged the crowd to support the public servants and, in a paraphrase of Scriptures, “;Let us constantly remind each other to be sufficient to one another.”;

The mayor's Cabinet attended en masse and stood together as the Rev. Joe Hunkin of the Lighthouse Outreach Center in Waipahu quoted Matthew's Gospel, telling them to “;seek first the kingdom of God and all things will be added to you.”; He said their commitment “;can make the state of Hawaii the best in the nation.”;

It was the Rev. Marc Alexander's task to lead the prayer for the City Council members, four of whom attended. The vicar general of the Hawaii Catholic diocese quoted Paul's letter to the Ephesians urging them to “;lead a life worthy of the vocation to which you were called. With humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with each other with love.”;

The priest said it is the nature of man to “;have diverse opinions on how we address problems.”; He prayed that “;whatever is within them that hurts them and keeps them from productivity, heal them.”;

The Rev. Ralph Moore of Kaneohe Hope Chapel made an unabashed endorsement of rail transit from the pulpit, which he said will “;put a lot of people to work.”; For his daunting assignment to pray for the economy, transit and city employees, Moore asked “;God's intervention in our city”; and that “;righteousness, justice and mercy”; may prevail in government work.

The Rev. Norman Nakanishi of Grace Bible Church Pearl City prayed that God will “;flood our community with his love. In this time of potential downturn, you seek those who seek you out. Pour out your spirit on them.”;

Sure, a cynical journalist knows that some people were there to impress the Big Guy, and I don't mean the One to whom the prayers were addressed. Not even a religion writer who actually enjoys sitting in churches and listening to inspirational music and lofty sentiments is naive enough to believe that it was an even spiritual experience for everyone there. There's no doubt in my mind that it was a command performance for some city workers. But their career paths will take some of them into a lot worse dim rooms, and they will face less innocent influences.

Many people in the crowd believe that the prayers will work. Many more who didn't make it to church that night believe they need to be a contributing, active, informed citizen in addition to being a prayerful one.