Fearing a possible court challenge, the State Senate has voted to silence the daily prayer offered before each session. A citizen’s complaint had prompted the American Civil Liberties Union last summer to send the Senate a letter noting that its invocations often referenced Jesus, contravening the separation of church and state. A committee evaluated the issue and recommended allowing nonsectarian invocations that avoided references to deities, but the Senate decided to do away with prayers altogether rather than constrain them.