Bayside Church Holds Sunday Evening Memorial Service For Newtown Victims

ROSEVILLE (CBS13) – Churchgoers gathered this weekend to pray for the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting, and tried to find comfort and understanding in their faith.

The service at Bayside Church was packed Sunday night with people who came together to support each other, grieve for the victims and their families, and to try and move forward.

"You're not alone; this nation is grieving," said Chaplain Mindi Russell.

"There's no easy explanation to it, but there's a lot of good, and you can't let something like this keep you from understanding that," Pastor Curt Harlow said.

They hugged, sang songs and sent prayers out to the 27 victims of the Newtown, Conn. school shooting. Most of whom were just six and seven years old.

"Made sure we stopped and hugged the kids right when we picked them up from school, and it hit home," said Thomas Houghton, who attended the meeting.

A local chaplain offered comforting words to a community looking for answers on how to move forward.

"The best way we can get better is to feel safe and to be safe by learning some things, but also reaching out to one another," said Russell. "There's people that have had tragedies happen in their lives, and this kind of stirs all of that up all over again."

"What is there you can do. I think this is one of the few ways, being so far away from it all, but still thinking of everybody, that's how you can help," said attendee Michael Coyne.

Harlow says many churchgoers this weekend also sought out individual sessions with the chaplains to help them get through the grieving process.

Bayside Church officials are also looking into other ways they can help the victims, but say they are still working on a plan.