Shock, grief over fatal Bucks church shooting

State police have not yet disclosed whether the fatal shooting of a volunteer receptionist inside an Upper Bucks County church yesterday was self-inflicted or a homicide.

An autopsy on 42-year-old Rhonda Smith, who family members said had struggled with mental illness for two decades, was scheduled for today in Lehigh County.

Police have said only that the shooting at the rural Springfield Township church was "suspicious."

Smith had arrived about 9 a.m. yesterday at the office of Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church for a third day of answering phones while the pastor, the Rev. Gregory Shreaves, attended a retreat in Malvern, said Smith's father, Francis "Jim" Smith.

Judy Zellner, a church member who arrived to perform cleaning duties at Trinity yesterday, said she found Smith's body at about 1 p.m. and called 911.

Smith was taken to St. Luke's Hospital in Fountain Hill, where she died last night.

Zellner and the Smith family were among about 80 mourners gathered this morning to pray and grieve at Trinity United Church of Christ, several hundred yards from the church where Smith was found shot. Springfield Township is between Quakertown and Allentown.

"Perhaps you are here because you are frightened or scared or shocked or because you can't believe violence came to our country community," Shreaves said.

He described Smith as a daughter, sister and aunt whose brother is currently returning from Afghanistan.

"We are not here today to speculate about what might have happened in this tragedy," he said, calling on everyone at the prayer vigil to allow the police to continue their investigation.

Pennsylvania State Police last night labeled this a "suspicious death."

Before the service this morning, Bishop Claire S. Burkat of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, told reporters: "The violence that is among us needs to be stopped. . . . We are praying for peace in all circumstances."

Trinity Lutheran Church, a large brick building with an imposing spire, also on Route 212 near Township Road in the Pleasant Valley community, was founded in 1751. The rural northern Bucks County community is southeast of Bethlehem, near the Northampton County border. The church has about 150 members, said Sandy Rehrig, a church leader. Shreaves has been the pastor there since 2005.

Smith belonged to the choir and to a group at Trinity that knits for a Bucks County group called Stitches of Love. The organization makes and donates clothing and blankets to children in the Philadelphia area and in Afghanistan. The group also knits socks and helmet liners for American soldiers.

Rehrig said there had been no signs of any trouble before yesterday. "It's such a shame; everybody really liked her," she added. "We really don't know what happened or why."

Contact Inquirer staff writer Larry King at 215-345-0446 or lking@phillynews.com.