By Danica Kirka, Associated Press, 03/24/02

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Limping, bandaged or on crutches, survivors of a grenade attack on a Protestant church gathered in prayer Sunday, grieving together for the first time since five people died in the assault aimed at foreigners in Pakistan.

About 50 members of the Protestant International Church attended the service a week after at least one attacker hurled grenades into their congregation, sending shrapnel through the crowd and splattering their sanctuary's walls with blood and bone.

The dead included U.S. Embassy worker Barbara Green and her 17-year-old daughter Kristen Wormsley. More than 45 people were injured, most of them foreigners. The church is about 400 yards from the U.S. Embassy compound in Islamabad's guarded diplomatic quarter.

"Just like the World Trade Center was considered invincible, the church was considered very safe," said James L. Killgore, the former pastor, who flew to Pakistan from Atlanta for the service, held at another church. "It wasn't an easy place to get too."

No group claimed responsibility, but suspicion fell on Islamic extremists who are angry that Pakistan has chosen to cooperate with the United States in its war on terrorism. President Gen. Pervez Musharraf has cracked down on Islamic extremists in recent months.

Days after the attack, the State Department ordered all dependents and nonessential U.S Embassy staff to leave Pakistan, the first mandatory departure since the Sept. 11 attacks and the launch of the U.S.-led war in neighboring Afghanistan heightened security risks.

Members of the congregation said that a week after their ordeal, they wanted to start putting their church and their lives back together -- and they did not want to spend Sunday alone.

So they borrowed another local Christian church for Sunday's service -- theirs is being cleaned and combed for evidence -- printed new programs and made plans for Easter.

They met each other with hugs, sang so loud they sounded like a much larger congregation and stood up one at a time to thank God for the precious gift of life.

They also thanked a Pakistani police unit that was investigating the grenade attack and investigators from the U.S. Embassy. Members of both groups attended the service.

What began as a very somber service became less downcast as it progressed and the pastor expressed hope that something good would come out of the tragedy. "Your tears are not in vain," Killgore said. "They will become tomorrow's seeds of hope."

Mark Robinson, 32, of San Clemente, Calif. who was injured in the leg and buttocks, came with his wife and two small daughters, wiping his eyes as Killgore spoke. Robinson rose stiffly after it was over and as the girls in crisp white party dresses danced at his feet. He admitted that coming back to church so soon after the attack had given him pause.

"I'm not going to say it didn't cross my mind," he said.

But Robinson, who works for a non-governmental organization, said he would not leave Pakistan even though the U.S. Embassy has advised Americans to do so amid what the State Department has called a continued threat

"I still believe my life is in God's hands," he said.