Wednesday was just like any other day on the Natchez bluffs. The sun shone, the breeze blew and the Mississippi River loped by on its way to the sea.

But the water was not just any water. The water flowing by Natchez was the water that flowed by the Minnesota bridge as it collapsed last week.

A small group of clergy, members of the Natchez-Adams Ministerial Alliance, gathered at the bluff’s gazebo Wednesday evening for a short memorial service.

“It takes about a week for the water from there to get down here,” the Rev. John Larson, minister of First Presbyterian Church and alliance president, said. “It seemed appropriate. It’s the same river water, and they are our neighbors. We should pray for them.”

Divers continued to search Wednesday for victims of a Minneapolis interstate bridge that collapsed last week, killing at least five and injuring roughly 80 people.

At the impromptu service, alliance members took turns praying — for peace and comfort for the victims and their families and giving thanks for those who risked their own safety to help others.

“A lot of disasters seem so distant,” Larson said. “It hit me like a ton of bricks. We are on the river — we are connected. We are tied together by a ribbon of water.

“They are our sisters and brothers, even though we don’t know them by name.”