Under pewter skies, about a dozen people bowed their heads Thursday at the Blacksburg Christian Fellowship for the National Day of Prayer, a gathering made especially poignant by the Virginia Tech tragedy.

Parishioners and ministers sat in silent prayer at times, reflecting on those swept up in the April 16 rampage when gunman Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people and then himself in the deadliest campus shooting spree in U.S. history.

The Rev. Sandy King, pastor of the church, hastily arranged for the event to be moved to his sanctuary when rain started. Still, about a dozen stalwart people prayed at the original location at Five Chimneys Park in downtown Blacksburg.

Diffuse sunlight entered the church through a large window of clear-and-rose-colored glass, filling the sanctuary with a soft light.

"Let's pray for our country to be lifted up," Young said. "We thank you that we could take a pause in our day to think of you, Lord, and commit the rest of the day for you."

Several people took turns leading in the prayers for the victims and their families, Tech leaders and others touched by the shooting.

"We pray you comfort faculty who have lost students," said David Kingston, a Tech chemistry professor. "We pray for wisdom and for dealing with all of the hurt."

Paul Lancaster, a member of Blacksburg's town council, said Blacksburg leaders were overwhelmed by the solace offered from around the globe.

"Every phone call and e-mail is one more step up as we return to normalcy," Lancaster said. "It would be so easy to be filled with despair. But every note is about hope. It is all about recovery."

Sandra Jackson, who attended the event with her husband, Bob, the pastor at Northstar Church in Blacksburg, moved from Abingdon four years ago.

She said she works with some of the international students on campus.

"They are scared and hurting," she said. "I feel that every year this event is important, and especially this year we need to pray for healing and guidance."

The National Day of Prayer was established in 1952 by a joint resolution of the United States Congress and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman.

President George Bush addressed the rampage in his remarks from Washington.

"Following the tragedy at Virginia Tech, in towns all across America, in houses of worship from every faith, Americans have joined together to pray for the lives that were lost and for their families, friends and loved ones," Bush said in his proclamation for the National Day of Prayer.

"We hold the victims in our hearts and pray for those who suffer and grieve. There is a power in these prayers, and we can find comfort in the grace and guidance of a loving God."

Blacksburg Mayor Ron Rordam and his wife, Mary, attended the prayer service with the president in the East Room of the White House. "It means a lot that you're here," Bush said to the mayor.