The city has been put in the national spotlight over the prayer at Cranston High School West, and not always in a flattering light. But as residents on both sides of the issue incite threats and anger in online forums, a group of banner supporters are fighting for a more positive resolution.

Their answer is if you support the prayer, why not show it – literally?

Cranston West graduates Bobby Bach and Dennis Conte have created a t-shirt that shows off the prayer in its entirety and are selling them for just $5. For an additional $5, Conte will airbrush the supporter’s year of graduation on the bottom of the shirt. The proceeds will go toward preserving the banner.

“Enough with this nonsense,” Bach said. “Let’s just find a solution that makes everybody happy and stop the bickering. There is a peaceful solution, and let’s find it.”

Bach and Conte started a Facebook page, Preserve the Banner, that has swelled to more than 500 members in less than two weeks. While the conversation has inevitably turned to the judge’s decision, the pair has carefully monitored the page to keep users focused on their ultimate goal. That message is resonating with members.

“I very much admire your purpose of preserving a piece of your school’s history. And I also admire the way you are keeping this page focused on that purpose. Good luck,” Mari Marilyn Alkus Bonomi wrote on the page’s wall.

Users are equally excited about the t-shirts, which are available for purchase during specific hours at Bach’s office to the left of his business, Twig’s, on Wilbur Avenue.

“I’m betting there are going to be A LOT sold,” wrote member Mark Paiva.

Already, 85 prayer t-shirts have been sold, with many more commitments to purchase them. Bach and Conte’s availability is posted to the Facebook page each day, letting supporters know when they can purchase shirts.

“All of a sudden it’s taken off. The response has been so unbelievable,” Bach said.

The $5 covers costs, and Bach and Conte are donating their time. Additional money collected will be used to preserve the banner. Bach does not believe the School Committee should appeal the court decision because he is not confident they would win and thinks the money spent could end up further hurting the district. Instead, he proposes that supporters purchase shirts or otherwise support the cause to safely remove the banner from the auditorium wall at West so it can be put on display somewhere, preferably in Cranston. Bach estimates it could cost upwards of $10,000, depending on how the banner is adhered to the wall, if a portion of the wall has to be taken down altogether. He suggested a local Catholic school might consider hosting the banner.

“Ultimately, we all believe it’s going to come down. There is talk of keeping it in Cranston, which I think is a great idea,” he said.

Working in his office Tuesday, Bach said he and Conte are pleased that they have something positive to contribute to the discussion and hope other supporters of the banner consider taking a more peaceful approach.

“I hope it turns into a lesson for everybody,” he said. “I hope everybody looks back on it and says, ‘Maybe we were wrong to be venomous.’”