Grief, pain, hope and faith at church services following latest deadly school shooting

Grief, pain, hope and faith permeated church services Sunday as an Atlanta area community’s efforts to cope with the nation’s latest deadly school shooting included prayer, hymns and a first-person account of the tragedy from a teacher who was there.

Brooke Lewis-Slamkova, who teaches food and nutrition at Apalachee High School, told the congregation at Bethlehem First United Methodist Church in Barrow County, Georgia, that she was about halfway through a class Wednesday when the lockdown alarms activated.

She recalled putting herself between the children and the classroom door and hoping to soon hear the voices of school administrators telling her it was all a drill. But she heard no familiar voices in the hallway and the realization that it wasn’t a drill soon took hold.

“As soon as they opened the door in all of their law enforcement regalia, I’ve never been so happy to see a police officer in all of my life,” she said during the livestreamed service. “They opened the door and said, ‘Get out.’”