Friday September 14 7:42 PM ET

By RACHEL ZOLL, AP Religion Writer

Patriotism mixed with prayer Friday as Americans packed churches and clogged public squares on a day of remembrance for the victims of this week's sneak attacks. At dusk, the flicker of candles illuminated city streets, as people responded to call for unity spread on the Internet.

In places, the ceremonies felt like funerals. In others, they were like pep rallies for a wounded nation. Mourners at St. Paul's Church in Concord, N.H., called out the names of loved ones missing or hurt in the destruction. Outside, a crowd softly sang "Amazing Grace." Thousands in Chicago's Daley Center Plaza waved American flags and chanted "USA! USA!"

Midday services gave way to vigils in the evening. A widespread Internet message urged people to light candles and "show the world that Americans are strong and united together against terrorism." Untold numbers answered the call: all over New York, in Boston, in Birmingham, Ala. and elsewhere.

On Manhattan's upper west side, hundreds met at a Mexican restaurant that had advertised the event in fliers in Spanish and English earlier in the day. The restaurant handed out candles and flags as the crowd spilled into the street and blocked traffic. People cheered and sang "God Bless America" as military jets flew overhead. "I've been in the house for the last three days in shock. This is my first day out," said Millie Cintron, a Wall Street worker who saw the twin towers collapse.

Earlier, Cincinnati police had to shut down two streets in the heart of downtown when thousands of people united to attend a service in that city, which was torn by racial violence just months ago.

The bells in Bristol, Tenn., tolled for fallen firefighters. "The feeling I personally had all week, I guess you could describe it as a five-pound weight hanging from your heart, pulling on it," said Gary Madden, Bristol's deputy fire chief.

The mighty gathered in Washington. President Bush, who called for the day of remembrance, attended a service at the majestic National Cathedral with a who's who of American politics, including four former presidents. The president wove words of comfort in with messages of American resolve. "This nation is peaceful, but fierce when stirred to anger," Bush said. "This conflict was begun on the timing and terms of others; it will end in a way and at an hour of our choosing."

Everyday citizens assembled in their own houses of worship or city streets, remembering those who lost their lives in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, and finding inspiration in the volunteers working around the clock to clean the wreckage.

At the Oklahoma City National Memorial, the site of the 1995 bombing of the Murrah federal building, several hundred people sang "God Bless America" under an Amer