Los Angeles may be a little weary of her, but there's plenty of love left for Britney Spears in Lexington.

As Spears' October dissolved into a blur of hearings, monitored visits, court-ordered drug tests and, ultimately, a weekend of wait-and-see as to whether Spears has shaped up enough to regain joint custody of her two sons, parishioners in the Kentucky city scribbled notes of encouragement to the beleaguered pop star after their pastor suggested that they keep Spears in their prayers.

"Take a few minutes and write a note to Britney Spears," senior pastor Jon Weece of Southland Christian Church instructed his 8,000-strong congregation last month in both a weekly sermon and in a message posted on his blog. "No preaching. No criticizing. Just love. As a church, let's love Britney the way Jesus loves her."  

Weece said he was inspired by the largely negative headlines generated week after week about Spears, her career and her increasingly convoluted custody battle, all of which has left the 25-year-old divorced mother of two needing as much positive reinforcement as possible.

"In the world’s eyes, she’s young, beautiful, talented, successful, yet her life is in shambles filled with bad relationships and devastating life choices," Weece told church members. "If she were your next-door neighbor in the same situation without the money and success, wouldn't you care about her problems? Wouldn't you pray for her and offer her support and encouragement?"

Actually, some of Weece's fellow worshipers were one step ahead of him. The majority of comments posted on the church's Website in response to the pastor's sermon were positive, with several people saying that they had already been praying for Spears and were looking for a way to reach out to her.

At least one parishioner, however, felt that people should pray for Britney all they want but direct their penmanship elsewhere.

"You’re asking people to take a few minutes to write a note of encouragement, and you’re actually collecting them and mailing them," wrote Linda on Saturday. "Wouldn’t it be better to spend that time offering support to someone who will actually be touched and encouraged by it?

"It’s sad that our society is so celebrity-focused that a pastor would ask his congregation to waste their time writing to Britney, when there are so many people in your local community and elsewhere who have no one offering them support or encouragement."

Cindy Willison, Southland's communications director, said that the church is still gathering letters and trying to determine the best way to get the bundle of good tidings to Spears out in L.A.

"This is an opportunity for us to reach out to someone who probably doesn't have a lot of people in her life that care for her as a person," Willison told the Lexington Herald-Leader on Friday.

Also on Friday, Spears and Kevin Federline spent three hours in L.A. Superior Court for a progress report hearing to bring the powers that be up to speed on how well Spears has been coping with her motherly responsibilities since losing custody of her sons on Oct. 1.

After receiving a report from the parenting coach appointed to monitor Spears and hearing testimony from various parties, "the court took the matter under submission," Federline's attorney, Mark Vincent Kaplan, told the throng of reporters gathered outside. "We expect a written ruling Monday or Tuesday."

Kaplan said that he expected Court Commissioner Scott M. Gordon to modify the existing custody arrangement—K-Fed has full custody of Sean Preston, 2, and Jayden James, 1; Spears has monitored visitation rights—in some way.

Spears' camp, headed up by attorney Sorrell Trope, has rallied for a restoration of the "Gimme More" singer's 50-50 custody share. The singer looked upset after court Friday but Trope told reporters that he was "very pleased," and that "something has changed, but I can't say what."

Still on Kaplan's to-do list is Spears' deposition in the ongoing custody battle, which Gordon ruled Friday morning will not be videotaped, although he agreed that two legal experts could be present to evaluate Spears' testimony. The long-awaited meeting of the minds has not yet been scheduled.