When the Alliance Christian Fellowship began its weekly meeting with the tune "Pass it On" last night, the members sang of giving God's love to everyone in every place.

They may have been unaware that it foreshadowed the essence of Rep. A. Carville "Peck" Foster Jr.'s speech, in which he disapproved of the separation of church and state.

"Are we really better off now than we were when prayer was condoned in schools? The answer is a resounding no, Foster said to an audience of about 40 people.

Serving his ninth term in the state House of Representatives, Foster, R-York, said his aim last night was to help the Alliance Christian Fellowship at the University try to realize the importance of God in every facet of life.

Mike Sander (junior-secondary education), a member of ACF, said usually two speakers are chosen each semester to enlighten the group, and Foster's petition last Christmas was important in the decision.

Foster petitioned the Supreme Court's ruling over a Christian manger scene displayed in a Pittsburgh area City Hall. This was just one of the examples he used to relay his message about the division of church and state.

The court decided by a 5-4 margin that a certain manger display in the Allegheny Court House was deemed inappropriate, since it represented only the Christian religion, he said.

The second case was in the city of Pittsburgh near City Hall where a scene was displayed that represented the Jewish, Catholic and Christian faiths. The court, voting on a 5-4 margin, said the display was proper.

Foster's disagreement with the first ruling sparked his petitioning campaign. Many of those in attendance agreed with Foster.

"His points were valid, because we shouldn't try to remove everything from a state facility only on the basis that it has to do with religion," said Wendy Smith (sophomore-HRIM), a member of ACF.

The issue of church and state conflicts is not a new one, Foster said. His evidence ranged from the 1300s when the Roman Catholic Church and the Holy Roman empire were in practice and at odds, to the later blatant removal of prayer from school in 1962, Foster said.

"There should not just be a precedence that is set that everyone follows blindly. We need to speak out," Foster said.

Citing several historical accounts of the clash between church and state, he approached the subject in three modes. He addressed where the nation has been in the past and where it will go in the future regarding the separation issue.

The guest speaker outlined in a prepared statement that he defeated the American Civil Liberty Union's drive to remove any reference to Jesus Christ from the Christmas ceremonies in the state Capitol.

The American Family Association co-sponsored last night's event with the ACF at Eisenhower Chapel.