Marie Works looked up at the photo montage flashing on the big screen and saw her two daughters on a church-sponsored trip to China.

Then there was a photo of Rachel and Stephanie Works in Brazil. One of them at the pinnacle of Pikes Peak. Usually, the two sisters were smiling. Sometimes, the teenagers were making funny faces.

Marie Works laughed. She blew kisses at the images of her daughters while music reached a crescendo. She stretched out with both arms open wide, reaching for what she will never get to hold again.

Stephanie and Rachel Works were killed 11 days ago when a gunman stormed the parking lot and then the interior of New Life Church. The family and church have grappled with the tragedy of losing the Stephanie, 18, and Rachel, 16.

Senior Pastor Brady Boyd, who presided over Wednesday's funeral, said it was the hardest thing he's done as a minister.

'Heaven is a real place'

A few hours after burial, about 2,500 people gathered at the main sanctuary of New Life Church and listened to father David Works read a Bible passage that was once framed and hung inside his grandparents' home in Gilpin County. They heard friends talk of the sisters' dedication to God, and Boyd used the Book of Revelation to describe the heaven they all believe they reside in now.

"Heaven is not some myth. Heaven is not some carrot that God hangs out on a stick hoping to control our behavior on Earth," Boyd said. "Heaven is a real place. Heaven is where you were built to live. It is where you were designed to live."

Proceeding on a stage built for a Christmas celebration - at least a hundred red poinsettias and a choir dressed in black, framed by decorated street lamps from a Charles Dickens-like era - the memorial for the slain sisters lasted about two hours. The church brought out 200 boxes of tissues and lined each row with them. Many of the tissues were used as the service toggled between hope and sadness.

David Works, who was released from a hospital Tuesday after being shot by the gunman, 24-year-old Matthew Murray, arrived in a wheelchair and held a bag with a tube snaking up his side. He got up gingerly when it was time for him to speak.

He thanked everyone for coming, thanked God and quoted an old spiritual. "We've come a long way, Lord, a mighty long way." He thanked the church, his family and those who responded to the shooting. He quoted the Bible passage that starts, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want."

Mom twirls during song

When he sat down, the choir and church band began performing the song Here in Your Presence. While he sat, Marie Works, holding a baby, stood and began to dance and twirl. As she danced, the entire church stood, watching her defy her grief - if only for a few moments. Her husband soon joined her, standing up with his palm open, singing along.

The congregation wept.

Then, Marie Works blew final kisses to the photos of her smiling daughters.

And once the music was over, the smiles vanished.

Grace and Stephanie's twin, Laurie, the two surviving daughters, each got up and spoke - each reading passages from the Bible.

'Why did I live and she die?'

Four close friends of Stephanie's and Rachel's also spoke, though it was Aimee Donahue who evoked the most emotion.

Dressed in black - even her fingernails were painted black -- Donahue was supposed to see Rachel this week. Donahue lives in Virginia and the two have been close friends for two years.

She lamented the moment she got the news her friend had been shot and killed, saying she "cried for 13 hours." She said they both loved The Lord of the Rings and called each other Sam and Frodo - the duo of protagonists from the J.R.R. Tolkien trilogy.

"I think what hurts the most is that all I think about is the things she'll never get to do, but I can do," Donahue said. "Why did I live and she die?"

And then she referenced the end of the The Lord of the Rings, when Frodo leaves Sam behind and tells his best friend to complete the story he began to write.

"There are still some pages left for you, Sam. Your story will go on," Donahue said. "So, I have to finish my pages - maybe some of hers too - because my story is still going on whether I like it or not."

Boyd said the church was stronger in the wake of the tragedy, and he also tried to bring comfort to the Works parents during the eulogy at the end.

It was addressing the nightmare all parents have when something tragic befalls their children. Did they do enough? David Works fought to keep his composure.

"You're a good dad. David, you did all you could to protect your children. You're a good man," Boyd said. "Marie, you're a good mom. You did everything you could."

And then the service was over. David Works was helped into a wheelchair. Then the family began to file out through a silent, standing congregation, the images of two beaming sisters looking down on them as they left.

Prayer rally

Pastors in north Denver are calling on the public to come to a prayer rally tonight on behalf of the victims and families affected by the shootings.

* The event: "Light the Night With Prayer" is scheduled for 7 p.m. at St. Stephen's Lutheran Church, 10828 Huron St. in Northglenn.

* The service: Led by John Connor, one of the leaders at Youth With A Mission- Denver.

* The gathering: Sponsored by the North Area Pastors' Prayer Group, a clergy network.