On the second anniversary of the mass shooting that killed six adults and 20 children in Newtown, Conn., a mother of one of the victims told churchgoers that she and her husband have faith they will see their daughter again.
Nelba Marquez-Greene and her husband, Jimmy Greene, lost their six-year-old daughter Ana on Dec. 14, 2012, after a gunman opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
“We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed,” she said Sunday, speaking at the First Cathedral Church in Bloomfield, Conn. “We are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted but not forsaken.”
Marquez-Greene told reporters at a press conference last month that she believes things will never go back to “normal.”
“I go to the Christmas tree shop and still buy treats for two kids,” she said. “Except now one set of treats goes into a goodie bag and the other goes on a gravestone.”
She said that the families of victims still have “needs,” contrary to the perception that they are “all set.”
The Greene family lived in Winnipeg for three years before moving before moving to Connecticut.
Jimmy Greene, a jazz saxophonist, taught in the University of Manitoba's Faculty of Music. To commemorate his daughter, he wrote an album called “Beautiful Life,” that was released on Amazon and iTunes three weeks ago.
Greene played his saxophone at the church service held Sunday.
The 20-year-old gunman who killed Ana Marquez-Greene had previously killed his mother at home, before driving to Sandy Hook to carry out the shooting rampage. Adam Lanza then took his own life.
No public memorial was planned this year, Newtown officials said. Instead, they called for a day of private reflection and remembrance.
With files from The Associated Press
