MOSCOW - In a community struck by tragedy, the message people wanted to share Sunday evening was one of being together and working together.

More than 200 people filled the First United Methodist Church in Moscow for a community prayer vigil in honor of David Trail, Terri

Grzebielski and Belinda Niebuhr, the Moscow residents who died in Saturday's shootings. The room was filled and church members brought out extra chairs as people continued to pour in.

The service featured members of multiple congregations in Moscow who offered prayers for the families and loved ones of the victims, asking for comfort and justice.

Moscow Mayor Bill Lambert also spoke, reminiscing on how the past 28 hours had unfolded. He said he'd been talking to many members of the community.

"I had an older lady, and she was very kind, and it almost brought tears to my eyes when she talked to me. Little short lady, and she put her hand on my forearm and said, 'It will be okay. It will be okay. And violence will pass,' " Lambert said to the crowd.

He found a message in her words, and told the community that violence cannot be tolerated.

"We need to do everything we possibly can, each and every one of us. We need to reach out," he said.

Lambert noted how important it is to never give up.

"This community will arise because it's a strong community," he said. "We work together. We play together. We do things together, folks. And that's not going to stop. We are not ever going to let somebody keep us from doing that."

At the end of the prayer service, Susan Ostrom, the church's pastor, started lighting everyone's candles as the choir sang. Once all the candles were lighted, she asked the crowd to raise their candles, and said, "The light shines in the darkness."

The congregation responded, "And the darkness shall not overcome it."

Many of the people who attended knew at least one of the victims. Suzanne Kurtz of Moscow was close friends with Grzebielski, her husband and their family.

"She was a wonderful person. The whole family is. They're pillars of the community," Kurtz said. "She was a live wire, Terri."

She added that Grzebielski, a physician's assistant at Moscow Family Medicine, was very active in the community, singing in a number of bands and helping to bring other bands to Moscow.

Kurtz wanted to attend the service to show support for the grieving families.

"This is a very difficult time for us, for them, for the community. And I really feel the community needs to come together when things like this happen," she said.

Dick Bull of Moscow thought the vigil had brought the community together. He was a good friend of Trail.

"Dave certainly was a very kind, very loving type of person," Bull said.

Bull's wife was also close with Trail's wife. He said they couldn't believe Trail was gone.

"It's really heartbreaking to have something like that in your life. It's difficult for us to have one of your good friends ruined because of some mental problem, probably, this guy had," Bull said.

Betty Hofmann of Moscow, a member of the First United Methodist Church, also knew Trail.

"We went all through school together," she said.

Trail, a senior financial representative at Northwestern Mutual, was also her financial advisor.

"He was a lot of fun. As my financial advisor, he always looked out for your best interests," Hofmann said. "I've known him for so long. I just can't take it in. I haven't yet."

She also marveled that the service was able to come together so quickly. Ostrom, a member of the Moscow Interfaith Association, organized the vigil after hearing the news Saturday.

"I knew just how tragic this was, that three people had died. I knew that we needed to come together as a community," Ostrom said.

She contacted her colleagues in the association, and they pulled the service together.

"I'm glad people could come and have a chance to be together," Ostrom said.

Mary Donohoe, the deacon at the First Presbyterian Church in Moscow, said the service was healing for her.

"It is a tragic thing that brings us together and kind of reminds us of what our priorities really are. I was thankful to be able to have the opportunity to do that," she said.

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Embree may be contacted at cembree@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2278