HARTFORD — Governor Dannel P. Malloy is calling for houses of worship to mark the first anniversary of the Newtown school shooting by ringing their bells 26 times, once for each of the victims killed inside Sandy Hook Elementary School on 12/14.

Last year Gov Malloy asked for bells to toll on December 21, exactly one week after the shootings that took the lives of 20 children and six women.

In an op-ed piece posted on December 8, “Honoring A Solemn Day In Our State’s History,” the governor acknowledges that “many of us will seek an outlet for the grief and loss that remains close to our hearts.

“We saw time and again last year the basic goodness of human character, as the people of Connecticut came together in the aftermath to help each and every one of us persevere,” his note continued.

The governor asks all of Connecticut’s residents to recall the spirit of kindness, “of compassion and tenderness,” that was felt in the days following the shootings. He calls on everyone to remember to help fellow residents.

“Donate to a local charity, volunteer your time in service to your community or simply come together with friends and family and appreciate the time that we have together,” he said.

The governor also sees the need to take a moment “to grieve for all that was lost.” 

This week Gov Malloy is asking house of worship “and other organizations to ring their bells 26 times at 9:30 in the morning as a way to honor each life. I want to renew that call this year and ask those same institutions to toll their bells again at 9:30 am on December 14,” he wrote.

“It’s my hope that, with every milestone we pass, those who lost a loved one will continue to take steps through their healing. There is not a day that goes by that I don’t think of them,” he wrote. “I can imagine no way to better share in their grief than to resolve to make the world a better place than we found it.

“It’s my hope the way we observe this solemn day takes us even the smallest step forward to that goal.”