Solace sought in churches in wake of mass shooting

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- On this first Sunday after the Newtown shooting, people in the Bay Area looked for some solace at their places of worship.

It seemed to be a day when parents wanted to be close to their children especially at places of worship. Many brought them to masses across the Bay Area. They prayed for the victims in Newtown and for their own children's safety.

At St. Mary's cathedral in San Francisco, Monsignor John Talesfore offered prayers for the victims of Newtown. He was joined by many parishioners like Ramon Ponce who said, "Today is a day to pray, especially for all those people that were massacred and their families."

There was even a special prayer written for the victims during morning mass. Monsignor Talesfore is the pastor of St. Mary's and says people have come to mass not just to pray, but to try and make some sense of the evil that occurred.

"And seeking to find consolation in the promise and hope of a God who feels with us and longs to help us," Talesfore said.

At Glide Memorial Church in the Tenderloin, the church did what it does best -- helped its congregation celebrate life while recovering from the sorrow of the tragedy. The Reverend Cecil Williams' church was filled to standing room only. He says the response to this event is incredible.

"I've never seen it touch like this in all of my 50 years," Rev. Williams said. "I've never seen it touch communities and individuals like this one has." He says the killing of innocents has affected people everywhere, "It happened all over the world because they went for the children. He went to destroy the children for some reason."

Many of the people who came to Glide came with their children held tight. This was Mairead Kiernan's first visit to Glide church. She brought her daughter Katy along for a bit of spiritual healing, "It's our first time here, and just to share the love and the heartache that everybody is feeling, tremendous heartache."

Both Glide and St. Mary's have set aside special areas for contemplation and also prayers for Newtown.

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glide memorial church, religion, children, child death, crime, shooting, connecticut school shooting, school shooting, san francisco news

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