SARASOTA, Fla. - The abduction and murder of Carlie Brucia was the topic of sermons across Florida Sunday as ministers addressed the ensuing shock of their congregations.

The Associated Press reported that community anger prompted Rev. Paul Kirbas to speak of Brucia to a thousand Presbyterian parishioners at the Church of the Palms.

"God is big enough to hear your anger and not be angry back," Rev. Kirbas said.

The Rev. Stephen E. Palm delivered a similar message about outrage Sunday to about 100 attendees at Gateway Community Church.

"This week we are angry," Palm said. "That is not a sin. You can't look at that 11-year-old girl being led to her death and not be angry."

Police found the girl's body in the woods behind a Proctor Road church four days after surveillance video revealed a man grabbing her at a car wash. Joseph P. Smith, the man charged with her murder, is being held without bail at Manatee County Jail.

Beyond addressing anger, both Palm and Kirbas preached a message of hope, saying that the heinous act could have some positive consequences.

But John Malone, a member of Gateway, said, "It's hard to imagine what good will come of this," though the death has brought the community together.

"It's causing people to look at their own families, to realize there's something bigger than themselves, that they have faith to fall back on."

Kirbas called for churchgoers to channel their rage into hope. The Church of the Palms is organizing a forum for parents to address concerns about child safety.

Brucia's slaying has prompted Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist to investigate stiffening penalties for offenders who violate the terms of their release. Smith had been free despite violating his probation, and Carlie's family has called for an investigation of how his numerous arrests were handled.