School officials in Davidson County, North Carolina, must have been pressured by outside organizations, when they banned the use of schools' public address systems for pre-football game prayers last week. Or they probably did not intend to encourage Christian worship when they implemented the ban.

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But it actually did encourage a whole community to stand for freedom of worship Friday night at Ledford High School - where hundreds of students, players, school staff and community members bowed their heads and together recited the Lord's Prayer over the PA system and throughout the stadium.

Local TV station WGHP reported that athletes and the hundreds of people in the audience vowed their heads and held hands as they joined the prayer, in defiance of school officials who imposed the ban on prayer over the PA system.

The pre-game prayer tradition was started last year by student Samantha Warwick and some of her friends. When the school banned it, officials said a "moment of silence" would suffice.

But when the community came out on Friday to watch the game, they were determined to show they are free to worship how they want to.

Pastor Mark Hollar of Abbot's Creek Missionary Baptist Church said he and other area Christian leaders organized the demonstration to show the "moment of silence" offer wasn't good enough.

"Our parents and our students have the freedom to be here," Hollar said. "And, they will pray.

WGHP also reported that a similar demonstration was held at the South Davidson High School, also on Friday night.

In mid-September, cheerleaders at the Oneida Special School District defied a similar ban on prayer before games and recited the Lord's Prayer on the field, after the local announcer had called for a moment of silence. Before long, every Christian in the stadium was praying.

Although the American Civil Liberties Union and the Freedom from Religion Foundation have been actively campaigning against school-sanctioned prayers over public-address systems, recent surveys indicate that a vast majority of Americans support prayer in public schools.