“We are stronger together.” “We are spirit strong.” “A future filled with hope!”

Messages of support and unity covered the grounds of Annunciation Catholic Church in south Minneapolis as dozens of people filed into a nearby school auditorium for Saturday Mass. There were bouquets, teddy bears and shared embraces. A memorial filled with candles, handwritten messages and drawings. A statue of the Virgin Mary, Joseph and Jesus that was punctured by bullet holes, but also adorned with flowers.

It was the church’s first Mass since an assailant gunned down worshipers during a back-to-school service on Wednesday, killing two children and injuring 18 others. When the attacker opened fire, schoolchildren inside ducked for safety between the wooden pews and tried to get as low to the ground as possible.

Three days later, it is difficult for members of this tight-knit community to feel like they have emerged at all from that lowest place, said the Rev. Dennis Zehren, the pastor at Annunciation, recalling the sound of gunfire raining down on the church Wednesday morning.

“That first bullet came through the window and the voices cried out, ‘Down. Down. Get low. Stay down. Stay down. Don’t get up,’” Father Zehren said at the Saturday evening Mass, his voice breaking. “My good people of Annunciation, my good people of Minneapolis and beyond, we are in a very low place. We are in a lower place than we could have ever imagined.”

In remarks to reporters before the Mass, Father Zehren and Archbishop Bernard Hebda acknowledged that some may have been surprised to see they were holding a Mass so soon after the tragedy. But both stressed the importance of providing a space where the community could grieve and heal together.