It has recently been reported that 41 passengers of the ill-fated AirAsia Flight QZ8501 were from a single church in Surabaya, Indonesia, and the Mawar Sharon evangelical church in Surabaya put on a special show for its Sunday service. During the show, six singers swayed on stage as they belted hymns while cameras positioned around the church caught every single move in detail.

Behind the choir a massive screen showed close-ups of the singers and one would get an impression that it was akin to a rock concert rather than a church service, but the fact was that it was a congregation in mourning.

Missing from the pews were 41 people who were on board the AirAsia flight, and most of the families had young children with them and were traveling to Singapore for the New Year holidays. It seems they had made a block booking on the budget airline to avail discounts and reduced rates.

Indonesia is a predominantly Muslim country and the Christian community in Surabaya has been particularly hit hard by this accident. Many people are still not able to fully understand that single church could have suffered such a major loss.

Of course, there is some confusion on the numbers of congregation members lost, as some new reports indicate the 46. Nevertheless, this tragic loss of lives rests as one of the most disheartening in aviation history.