Pastor Brady Boyd told a media gathering today he had openly encouraged his flock to talk about the multiple shootings which enveloped New Life Church here a year ago this week.

"It's a very tender time for us," he said. "This anniversary will stir up the trauma underneath, (but) it will help us move forward."

Last Dec. 9, 24-year-old Matthew Murray killed sisters Rachel and Stephanie Works at the 10,000-plus-member church. About 12 hours earlier, Murray had gone to Youth With a Mission in Arvada and killed Philip Crouse and Tiffany Johnson.

Boyd suggested it was also time for the New Life flock to openly discuss the abrupt resignation of his predecessor, Ted Haggard, who resigned two years ago in the midst of a sex scandal.

He said it was important to mourn all sorts of losses, including the sudden departure of their founding pastor.

"What started today was an opening of dialogue," he said.

The news conference capped a solemn morning at the church, when David Works addressed the congregation about the loss of two daughters and received a standing ovation.

In the news conference, Boyd spoke with "the real hero" at his side, Jeanne Assam, the church security guard who brought down killer Matthew Murray in a series of shots from 63 feet away. He then committed suicide.

The moment changed Assam's life, she said. She is testing for a spot now on the Colorado Springs police department. She is still on security detail at the church, but is reserved about talking about her personal matters.

"I have 1,000 cameras pointed at me," she said, answering a reporter's question about why she was being reserved. "I don't feel bad about what I had to do; I just feel bad people had to die. It still feels a little surreal to me for some reason."

Earlier, the packed auditorium crowd rose to greet the Works family.

A year ago, Murray opened fire on them as they were in the parking lot leaving the Sunday service, on their way to get lunch. Daughters Stephanie and Rachel died in the attack, and David Works was wounded.

"Physically we are doing OK," Works told the 9 a.m. congregation, in a brief address. "Emotionally that's always more difficult." The auditorium applauded when Works said counselors had assured the family that they did not suffer from post traumatic stress disorder.

"Our family has been incredibly graced," Works said. Standing beside him were his wife, Marie, daughters Grace and Laurie, and Laurie's boyfriend, Jesse.

Yet, Works said, quoting from an inspirational work, "there is a reward for every sorrow."

The anniversary was used by Boyd, who has been pastor for 16 months, to preach on all aspects of grief and mourning, which in these times, he told the filled auditorium, can be for loss of a career, a home or a livelihood.

Boyd also suffered from his own deep grief this week. A favorite nephew, Austen, was killed in a car accident Monday in Louisiana. Boyd told how he had just been playing football with the young man on Thanksgiving Day.

Boyd, who returned to Colorado Saturday from the funeral, said he would be canceling upcoming appointments, starting this week, to grieve privately. He urged the congregants to let their own mourning come out, no matter how long ago or what it was. He said Jesus wept to show people that it's good to fully grieve.

Until a person completly grieves, "you're just not emotionally available," Boyd said.

On Tuesday the church will dedicate the Works Memorial in honor of the family. The memorial, flanked by two blue spruces, is on the church grounds near where Rachel and Stephanie Works were killed.