Hundreds of area residents, perhaps more than a thousand, gathered Monday night at the Lampasas County Courthouse for a candlelight vigil organized over the weekend to honor the legacy of slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
This was not a protest event. It was not a political rally. It was not a concert such as typically draws a crowd at the courthouse bandstand. It was a time of reflection, of coming together to share a bond with others, and a time to commit to continue proclaiming the principles of faith and freedom that Kirk championed so effectively.
It was profoundly moving and a display of unity and purpose.
What drew participants of all ages and backgrounds to the candlelight vigil was not a riveting speaker or foot-stomping music, but rather a heartfelt desire to see God change the nation.
Some who attended probably had followed Kirk for years. Dispatch Record writer Erick Mitchell had worked for Kirk’s Turning Point organization before coming to Lampasas. Others may have barely been familiar with the conservative speaker until he was shot last week in Utah. But his untimely death evoked deep emotion within most.
Event organizer Renee Purdy said she felt a strong connection to the Kirk family because she has young children the same ages as theirs. She wants to stand bold in her faith and teach her children and others not to back down from their beliefs in the face of opposition.
Wendy Daugherty said she has collegeage children – students on campuses not so different than the one where Kirk was gunned down last week. This is a generation that often faces the kind of radical thinking that turns students against their parents and their country, yet Charlie Kirk was so effective in reaching this younger generation.
Many of the participants Monday evening were young residents, but the vigil also drew older citizens – those who could recall the 1968 assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., one of the last prominent political speakers gunned down in our nation. They recognize this could be another pivotal moment, a true turning point for America, for families and their children … and their children and their children.
The candlelight vigil offered a time to honor Kirk’s sacrifice, to reflect on the frailty of life, to shine a light of hope that illumines the darkness and to consider the role each individual can play toward that goal of bringing our nation together to secure its liberties.
-- Gail Lowe, publisher