Vigil held at Bellaire church for Houston shooting victims

HOUSTON (TX) - A vigil was held Thursday night at the Faith Lutheran Church in Bellaire in response to the shooting that happened at a nearby Houston shopping plaza on Monday morning.

No trumpets blared. No grand gestures. Leaders from four separate clergy took part in the service that was based in readings, silence, and song.

"We live in Bellaire, and what happened last Monday happened pretty close to home," said parishioner Brent Lamb, "so it shows your violence has no boundaries. It can happen anywhere, so I'm here tonight to pray about it."

"I think prayer is very important response, and appropriate response, to the kind of violence that we are seeing all over the country," said community member Karen Elsen, who was among the first to arrive for the evening's service.

Within the events quiet intimacy was a palpable power. That's a lesson Clayton Faulkner, director of worship for Faith Lutheran Church, hopes people can keep close when violence and anger come to call.

"We can take a moment, we can breath, and we can ask God to be with us and to think through what we're doing before we do something we regret," explained Faulkner, urging people to remain calm and not react harshly in the face of tragedy.