Three days after a gunman killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., residents in Mahwah, NJ – less than a two-hour drive from the Connecticut town – are looking to honor the lives lost in the tragedy.

The township announced Monday afternoon it would be hosting a prayer vigil for the Sandy Hook Elementary School and the Newtown Conn., community Monday night in the Mahwah High School auditorium. The event is set to start at 7 p.m.

In a simple statement released on the event, Mayor Bill Laforet said “our community needs an opportunity to express its emotion during this tragic event.”

Though he said details about the exact program of the vigil are still being determined, Mahwah’s spiritual leaders will likely conduct the ceremony, which he said will honor the victims and their families and community, as well as the first responders to the scene of the shooting.

The vigil is expected to last about 45 minutes, he said. All are invited to attend.