The group that gathered under the roof of the Myrtle Street United Methodist Church was small, but the Rev. Josefina Perez did not have a lot of time to get the word out. Tragedy has a funny way of leaving you flat-footed.
"You don't get a week's notice for a tragedy," the Rev. Perez said.
On Sunday, the church held a candlelight vigil in remembrance of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
A candle for each woman and child killed by the shooter, Adam Lanza, was lit, their names and ages read with a few seconds allowed in between to offer a chance for reflection.
The last candle, for the Rev. Perez, was a step forward to her own healing. It was for Lanza himself. "Your challenge is for compassion, and forgiveness and love," the Rev. Perez said to the faithful sitting in the pews.
Healing and community was at the forefront of Sunday night's vigil.
The handful that gathered began the night singing "Spirit, Spirit of Gentleness," taking a break at each verse for a person in the audience to speak and reflect on their own suffering.
Cara Sutherland, executive director of the Everhart Museum, said while watching the news Friday night she was captivated by the series of images taken by news photgraphers who were on the scene.
Earlier that day, she received a call from a journalist friend who works in New York. He was on assignment, had all of his camera equipment and happened to be only 30 miles away from Newtown.
"Instead of making a left toward Connecticut, he turned around back south, back toward Brooklyn," she said. "He couldn't go."
Peg Ruddy, executive director of the Women's Resource Center , said that when she went to go holiday shopping Sunday morning, she turned the radio on to search for Christmas music.
She found a seasonal jingle, but it was a commercial for guns. It struck her like a bad joke told way too soon.
Ms. Sutherland heard the same commercial.
"It's not a need to be anti-gun; it's a need for common sense," Ms. Sutherland said. "A tragedy like this makes you think: where's the middle ground?"
There is a message written in large letters beneath a stained glass window in the church. That message was placed there long before Friday, but on Sunday it held special significance:
"Suffer little children to come unto me."
"We're all just trying to make sense of this," Ms. Sutherland said.
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