Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy calls for a moment of silence and churches to ring bells exactly one week after the shooting at an elementary school. Watch his entire news conference.
By Tracy Connor, NBC News
A grassroots movement to mark the one-week anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre was spreading across the nation, with thousands of churches set to ring their bells 26 times at 9:30 a.m. Friday.
The National Council of Churches said many of its 100,000 congregations plan to participate in the bell-ringing during a somber remembrance that Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy called for earlier in the week.
"I'm asking that Friday, Dec. 21, at 9:30 a.m., exactly one week after the horror began to unfold in Newtown, that the entire state observe a moment of?silence," Malloy said at a Monday press conference.
"I'd like to ask those houses of worship or other buildings that have the ability to play bells?to do so as well --26 bells?for the beautiful children and six wonderful adults who were killed at school that day."
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From Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to Florida Gov. Rick Scott, governors from across the country have announced that their states will observe Friday?s moment of silence.
In a state that was the scene of the Virginia Tech massacre in 2007, Gov. Bob McDonnell also joined the effort: "Our hearts continue to be heavy for all of those in Newtown, Connecticut who are mourning the losses of 26 of their own one week after this senseless tragedy."
Churches from coast-to-coast plan to heed Malloy?s call as best they can.
St. Alban?s Episcopal Church in Bexley, Ohio -- some 600 miles from Newtown, Conn. -- doesn?t have a bell to ring but will observe the anniversary with a morning fast and 20 minutes of prayer.
?We all feel like we want to do something. We want to share the burden of our sisters and brothers in Connecticut,? said Susan Marie Smith, rector of the church.? ?To at least mark the time and day and show our solidarity.?
While Malloy called for 26 rings ? one for each person killed at the Newtown school ? the Stockbridge First United Methodist Church in Georgia will ring its bell 27 times to include gunman Adam Lanza?s slain mother.
?I think for us, she?s a victim, too,? said the Rev. Jody Ray, the pastor. ?We probably should have included the young man who committed the crime.
?It?s a tragedy. At the end of the day, people are dead and in response to tragedy, we want to remember all those who were involved?We?re not going to stand in judgment.?
Ray said he expects up to 25 parishioners will gather with him beneath the bell, dated 1826, to pray and recite the names of the dead.
Courtesy of Stockbridge First United Methodist Church
Stockbridge First United Methodist Church will hold a prayer vigil and ring its bell 27 times Friday morning to mark the one-week anniversary of the Newtown school massacre.
?We just want to give whatever support we can,? he said.
On Causes.com, more than 145,000 people have signed a pledge to observe a moment of silence, and the hashtag #momentforSandyHook was being used on Twitter to spread the word.
In McDonough, Ga., the clock tower of the courthouse was set to toll the bells at the same moment as neighboring churches.
?Hopefully, we?ll all come together to express our love for these families,? Mayor Billy Copeland said. ?We?re a small town, but we love our fellow man.?
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