On a mission to heal

POTTSVILLE - One day after a gunman took his life at the altar of First United Methodist Church, Pottsville, the congregation began its healing process with a Saturday night prayer service.

"I really believe that there's power here in what happened tonight, and it helped changed people's lives," the Rev. Storm Hutchinson said in an interview after the service.

On Friday, Pottsville police said Frank Manganiello, 51, of 115 Center Ave., Schuylkill Haven, shot Sandra Pucci, 50, of 1921 W. Norwegian St., Pottsville, in the parking lot of the Social Security Administration office at 2221 W. Market St.

Manganiello then led police on a chase down Market Street before leaving his vehicle and running into the church at Fourth and West Market streets, where he shot himself at the altar.

About 120 attended the public prayer service Saturday night. Hutchinson was joined by Bishop Peggy Johnson, who serves the Methodist churches in the Philadelphia area, and the Rev. Bob Wilt, the superintendent of the Methodist Church's Northwest District.

Wilt led those in attendance in a special prayer. First, he asked everyone to hold their hands out, palms downward, and call out the things that overwhelmed and burdened them.

There was a long period of silence, but eventually voices began to ring out: "Fear." "Sadness." "Doubt." "Anger." "Grief." "Questions."

Wilt then asked for those palms to turn upward, and asked, "What is it you want to receive from God tonight? What's going to make it OK?"

The voices came back: "Love." "Assurance." "Hope." "Guidance." "Salvation."

And then, "Memories of God's faithfulness." "His love." "His strength." "His grace." "His holiness."

And eventually, "Forgiveness."

Finally, Wilt called for those in attendance to bring their hands together in prayer.

Johnson lead a re-consecration of the altar, and sprinkled baptismal water to again make the church "a sacred place of God."

Hutchinson said his congregation has been in shock about the event, and worried about both the families of the deceased and their own safety in the building.

"There's a sense that something has broken Friday," Hutchinson said. "A sense that our community of faith had a break in some way, of trust, and safety, and maybe even, in some sense, our mission of loving others in the community. This was a first step in restoring all those things in our lives."

Manganiello's son attended the service, which Hutchinson said was an important step in his personal healing process.

"I'm thrilled he was here. I knew it took a lot of courage for him to come ... there's a young man here who lost his dad. We need to pray for him and be concerned about his own mourning process," Hutchinson said.

Today, Hutchinson said, he wants the dialogue to continue, and he'll focus on three points: reaffirming trust in God, the congregation sharing in each other's hearts and lives, and reaffirming themselves to love others.

"God calls us to go out. Maybe there's other folks, like Frank, that are on the verge of suicide," Hutchinson said. "How can we go and mission to them and love them into holiness and healing?"