NEWTOWN, Conn. — At the early service at Trinity Episcopal Church, an usher distributed a Kleenex box to every pew. Instead of perfunctory handshakes and peace-be-with-yous, the parishioners who packed the church opted for hugs, and held them long and tight.

The program for the service, printed last week, before the mass shooting that shocked the nation, listed only one name to be read during the weekly prayer for the deceased. But the names of 28 other individuals rang out into the otherwise silent church.