The name of each victim followed by a chime. That simple gesture was the cornerstone of a service of prayer, healing and hope at Temple Concord in Syracuse this morning.
It was just one of the remembrances around the region - and the nation - to mark one week since Adam Lanza killed 20 school children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School, his mother and himself in Newtown, Conn.
"I just feel it's very important that there's healing, and through this pain people can put their compassion into action," says Lauren Melnikow, of the Syracuse Zen Center.
Reverend William Redfield of Trinity Church in Fayetteville, and the Convener of the Round Table of Faith Leaders, agrees that starting conversations on certain issues is a next step.
"People will be mobilizing for action," Redfield says. "What will we do about mental health services delivery? What can we do about keeping people from assault weapons? Those are the kinds of things we'll be looking at."
Meenu Bajwa of Jamesville brought her 3-year-old to the service, offering her thoughts to the victims family in a giant card that will be sent to Connecticut.
"I'm just gonna say to them that I hope they find peace and that they know we are all with them in this pain; that they are not alone."
The service was organized by the InterFaith Works Board of Directors and the Round Table of Faith.
Other municipalities across central New York also joined in the mourning including the town of Cicero and Madison County. And some Syracuse city school students held a memorial that featured a banner and video messages of support for the Sandy Hook community.
