Rabbi Gary Fink of the Oseh Shalom congregation in Laurel celebrated Purim on Thursday, and he said the case was in the thoughts of many families: "This has motivated many people to call their attorneys and go online to complete living wills so that others might know what their preferences are at times like these."
For those who will mark religious traditions this week, Campbell said, the conversations about Schiavo carry the added weight and symbolism of death, suffering and resurrection.
At the Landover service, Pastor Freddie Jones of Parkview Baptist Church speaks, getting a pat from Pastor B. Louis Colleton of Shiloh Baptist Church.
(James A. Parcell -- The Washington Post)
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Rick Bell, 48, who attended services yesterday afternoon at All Saints Catholic Church in Manassas, said he thought Schiavo's feeding tube should be restored and that the holy holidays are reminders that suffering is a natural part of being human.
"We don't know how to suffer anymore -- that's what Good Friday is about. Our desire for higher quality of life is bringing us to the point where we prefer death than living with disabilities," said Bell, a trombone player in the U.S. Navy Band. "The Holy Father has been visibly dying before our eyes, showing us how to suffer, and that's nothing to be ashamed of."
Ann Brien, a retired saleswoman, said she prayed Thursday night at a Clifton church for Schiavo when her name was announced during "petitions for the sick." Brien was blunt about her beliefs: "It's disgraceful. I'm pro-life. I'm against euthanasia. You have to give everyone a chance."
But at other churches observing Easter this weekend, people had a wider range of views. Flannery, the director of youth and Christian education at Grace Lutheran Church, said: "Every case is different. The judges are playing God. But I don't want to see her suffer.
"It's a real gray area. I don't think it's up to us."
At the First Baptist Church of Highland Park in Landover yesterday, where nearly 2,000 people filled the sanctuary for a Good Friday worship service, which included liturgical dance and several sermons, Patricia Pea echoed that sentiment. "I have been praying for the family and not looking to the government, because only God can call us home."
Lemuel Pearsall, a seminarian at Bethel United Methodist Church in Woodbridge, didn't want to say whether he believed Schiavo should be kept alive. He said only: "I hope the parents and son can reconcile. That is my prayer for Terri Schiavo."
Staff writers Leef Smith, Hamil Harris and Manny Fernandez contributed to this report.
