West Sacramento pastor speaks of community support before memorial service for children
Community support, including a public memorial service Saturday for three West Sacramento children killed last month allegedly by their father, is helping the family through “the grief and the trauma.”
“It’s a myriad of expressions and some are inexpressible,” said Pastor Micah Moreno, who became close to Mai Sheng Veng and her family after his wife started a GoFundMe account on their behalf. “However, the recovery is something that involves a day when we are able to gather and share in that burden.”
Service attendees wore yellow ribbons with the initials of the three children: Kelvin Kheng Hodges, 11, Julie KaoChong Hodges, 9, and Lucas Kong Hodges, 8 months. Moreno said he has been praying with family and providing guidance “when everything is just crashing down.”
“We’re trying to, as a community coming together, to demonstrate solidarity, unity and hope and trying to make sure they understand that we’re committed to the long process,” he said. “It’s been a roller coaster.”
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Alexei Koseff: 916-321-5236, @akoseff
This story was originally published October 7, 2017 at 4:22 PM with the headline "West Sacramento pastor speaks of community support before memorial service for children."