COEUR d'ALENE — Pastor Tim Remington hopes the new year will once and for all bring an opportunity for him to speak with Kyle Odom, who is accused of shooting Remington six times last March.

"What can I do to help you?" Remington said, referring to what he'd say to Odom. "I'd like to help him. I saw him in court, but he never looked at me. I want to meet with him.

"We forgave him after it happened. We're at the point now to see what we can do to help him. He's a veteran, and he came back and didn't get the help he needed, in my opinion."

Odom, 30, Coeur d'Alene, is accused of shooting Remington, founder of the Altar Church and a faith-based addiction recovery program, in the Coeur d'Alene non-denominational church's parking lot after services on March 6.

Remington said he does not know Odom, a former Marine, and only remembers seeing him at a service earlier that day.

"I plan to get to know him as soon as the defense will let me," he said.

Following the shooting, Odom reportedly drove to Spokane before heading to Boise. On March 7, he boarded a flight from Boise to Washington, D.C., and was seen throwing flash drives and other items over the White House fence prior to being arrested. He was booked into the Kootenai County jail on May 6 and is being held at the facility on a $500,000 bond.

Odom will be sent to a state mental health facility for treatment until he can adequately assist in his own legal defense. He is charged with aggravated battery and could spend as long as 30 years in prison if convicted.

The mental health decision by a judge this month put an indefinite hold on any future hearings in the case.

"Apparently he still thinks that I'm an alien," said Remington, referring to Odom's bizarre manifesto that was mailed to the media and his family.

In the manifesto, Odom said he wanted to kill Remington because he believed the pastor was part of an alien conspiracy to enslave the human race.

Six hollow-point rounds from a .45-caliber pistol ripped into Remington's shoulder and back during the shooting at the church.

"When I went to the ground, I thought I was taking my last breath and I was fine with it," Remington said. "Usually that (amount of gunfire) is death no matter how you look at it. I owe my life to Christ and the people who showed up on scene and at the hospital. It's all a miracle."

Remington has made remarkable strides in recovery that included returning to the pulpit on June 6 and being able to walk on his own now.

"I got up quick," he said with a smile. "God and the community have been firmly behind me the whole time. I'm healing at an incredible rate. I'm doing better than anybody thought I would. Doctors are amazed."

Remington still has three bullets and shrapnel inside his body.

"That may work its way out, but they're not going after it," he said. "If they go after it, the scar tissue would even be worse."

One of Remington's last major hurdles is regaining the use of his right arm and hand.

"I work about five hours a day in rehabilitation doing nothing but turning, twisting and prodding to get my arm back," he said. "It has to start my day and end my day. My fingers still shake, but hopefully I'll be playing the piano soon."

Remington doesn't have any more surgeries scheduled after undergoing stomach surgery a month and a half ago. The only medication he's still taking is for pain at night.

"At nighttime I take just enough to get me to sleep," he said. "During the day I try not to take any so I can be alert."

Remington is driving and spends an hour or two at the church per day.

John Padula, an associate pastor at the Altar Church, said Remington is an inspiration.

"He's my best friend outside my wife," Padula said "The way he's responded to all of this has been an example to myself and so many others in the community. The spirit of God is behind it."

Remington said the ordeal has made him look at veterans, especially those who return home with physical and mental wounds, differently.

"A lot of our veterans need help," he said.

Remington said his days of recovery have been filled with gratifying moments, including seeing about 1,000 people attend a fundraiser for him at The Coeur d'Alene Resort in May.

"It broke me," he said. "We've poured our hearts into this community and to see the community come right back like that was a mind-blower."

Remington said Odom's family attended a service at the Altar in May.

"They received a standing ovation," Remington said. "They're fantastic people, but they can't say much (about Kyle)."

Remington said he and others at the church pray for Odom daily.

"This will all be worth it if he comes to Christ and he's healed," Remington said. "I want him to be healed through it all."