They have tried letter-writing, petitions and a lawsuit, all to no avail. So now the Christian congregations that are weeks away from expulsion from New York City’s public schools are focusing on more-religious tools in their arsenal: prayer, fasting and repentance.

About 200 people gathered at Calvary Baptist Church on West 57th Street on Monday night to pray for God to soften Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s heart. The pastors at the service, including one who was among those arrested last week at a “pray-in” outside the offices of the city’s Law Department, also said they would pray outside a Bronx school on Thursday before the mayor gives his State of the City address inside.

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