On Aug 5, 7:25 pm, aine hotmail.com> wrote:

MINNEAPOLIS -

Across the Twin Cities, in Spanish, Greek and English, the prayers
rose up Sunday.

Prayers of peace for grieving families. Prayers of strength for those
still searching the Mississippi River. And prayers of gratitude from
those who were spared.

At St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral, an estimated 1,400 people gathered
Sunday night for an interfaith service that included responsive
readings and singing by the church choir.

"We're here to begin the process of restoration," said Gov. Tim
Pawlenty. "We are also here to begin the rebuilding process."

Some in the crowd hugged and wiped tears from their eyes as speakers
remembered the dead and missing. Religious leaders offered prayers
from the Bible and the Quran.

The Rev. Peg Chemberlin told audience members that although they
"shared anger and anguish," the city had rallied in crisis.

"It's important that we stand together and say, 'Minnesota, your heart
is full of courage and compassion.'"

"The heroes in this moment, like the tears, are many," she said.

In a leafy St. Paul neighborhood, about 70 parishioners gathered
earlier Sunday at St. George Greek Orthodox Church to ask for the
recovery of Christine Sacorafas, one of eight people who have been
missing since the Interstate 35W bridge collapsed Wednesday.

Her cousin, Michelle Berge, stood quietly and alone in the back row as
the Rev. Richard Demetrius Andrews asked God for compassion and
comfort.

"And we ask you, Lord, to return Christine to her family and her
community," he said.

"We don't know where she is," Andrews said at the conclusion of the
service. "There has been no word. As far as I know, they have not even
found her car. This is a very agonizing time for the family, not
knowing her status. Not knowing if she's alive, not knowing if she's
injured or how badly."

Sacorafas, 45, of White Bear Lake, was headed to teach a Greek folk
dancing class at St. Mary's Greek Orthodox Church, which she attended,
when she got caught in a traffic jam. She called a fellow teacher
minutes before the collapse and has not been heard from since.

At least five people were killed and about 100 injured when the
concrete and steel span abruptly gave way in rush-hour traffic,
sending dozens of vehicles and tons of debris into the river.

At Holy Rosary Church in Minneapolis, the faithful thanked God for the
"angels" who rescued 50 terrified children from a school bus when the
span collapsed Wednesday.

Some of those children sat in the first few rows, then laid bouquets
of flowers at a candlelit shrine to the Virgin Mary.

"The thing I always think about is if we were seconds ahead or seconds
behind, we could've been under the bridge or in the water. It makes me
feel lucky I'm still alive," said Elfego Vences Jr., 16, who was on
the bus with his 13-year-old brother and 12-year-old sister.

He couldn't sleep for several nights afterward.

"It was the scariest thing. ... It felt like the end of the world," he
said.

The Rev. Jim Barnett said that the church considers the survival of
its children a miracle, and that the service was designed in part to
help them heal.

"Some of the kids are still hurting. An awful lot are confused," he
said.

Holy Rosary held a funeral Saturday for produce salesman Artemio
Trinidad-Mena, 29, who was taking the bridge home from work. After
widow Abundia Martinez said goodbye to her husband, the church
baptized her 2-month-old daughter.

The couple have three other children, ages 2 to 11, in their home
state of Guerrero, Mexico.

Ahmed Sahal Iidle, father of Sadiya Sahal, a pregnant nursing student
who along with her toddler daughter are among the eight missing, was
joined by about two dozen other Somali Muslims in brief prayers Sunday
night at the Brian Coyle Community Center.

The Somalis prayed for the protection of the searchers and the speedy
recovery of the missing. They also announced the Somali community will
hold a public memorial service for all the victims Friday at the
community center.

At St. Olaf Catholic Church in downtown Minneapolis, parishioners
observed a moment of silence for both the victims and the recovery
workers, who continued to search the dangerous debris-filled water for
bodies.

Before the Mass, the Rev. Mark Pavlik said the bridge has been a daily
part of life for many of the several hundred worshippers, a modern
convenience barely noticed, let alone considered.

Now, it's a sacred spot - a grave site, a place in need of prayer.