As the sun set over Lynchburg City Stadium Sept. 28, hundreds of community members gathered in memoriam of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Following his assassination on Sept. 10, event organizer Dan Abbott rallied a group of local speakers to comment on Kirk’s legacy. Abbott opened the event with the reason behind the occasion, calling Christians to be bold in their beliefs.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a time, certainly not in my lifetime in America, where we had this kind of opportunity as Christians, particularly as Christian men, to preach the gospel,” Abbott said. “We would be horribly remiss as Christians if we did not take advantage of that opportunity.”
Throughout the memorial, a call for young men to be courageous resounded through the football stadium. For Bethany Lockliear, a mother of four, this sentiment was personal.
“(Kirk) stood for all the things I teach my children,” Lockliear said. “The night that he died … my 4-year-old put his little arm around me … and he looked at me, and I told him that somebody who had spoken about Jesus was killed. And he said ‘well, Mama, maybe you and me should be the ones to tell people about Jesus.’”
Among the lineup of speakers was Pastor Virgil Hurt from Providence Church, whose speech focused on Christian martyrdom.
“Charlie’s murder has been the cause of a mighty spread of the gospel,” Hurt said. “We firmly stand against the evil violence that took Charlie from us. It is the duty of the civil magistrate to bear the sword against evil … We have all had a front seat to God working evil for good in the last couple of weeks.”
Lynchburg resident Elsie Garber attended the memorial to process and grieve Kirk’s death and reflect on what his work meant to her personally. A frequent listener of “The Charlie Kirk Show,” her views on Kirk changed over time as she engaged with his social media presence.
“I’d scroll past, and I thought he was abrasive and rude,” Garber said. “The more that I listened to him, I realized it was firmness in love and truth.”
Throughout the memorial, attendees heard the message of the gospel and engaged in worship as they reflected on Kirk’s life. As the memorial came to an end, attendees gathered in groups for corporate prayer to fellowship and stand alongside one another.
Hagen is the feature editor for the Liberty Champion.