The Love March Movement (LMM) and the Jamaica Coalition for a Healthy Society (JCHS) joined thousands around the world to remember the work of Christian activist Charlie Kirk by hosting a vigil in his honour on Thursday.
The vigil was held in Kingston and was well-attended. Kirk, a Christian political activist who often engaged in debates on college campuses, was shot and killed on September 10 during the first stop of his “American Comeback Tour” at the Utah Valley University (UVU) in the United States.
Leader of the LMM, Dr. Daniel Thomas, said between thirty and forty people attended the vigil, where they spent the night reflecting on Kirk’s life and what he stood for.
“We shared his favourite scripture, which is Ephesians 5:25-27, ‘Husbands, love your wife as Christ loves the church,’ so that was one of the readings. We played two videos, one of a Black conservative talking about him and how he was so empowering, and saw in him what he didn’t see in himself; and another one with him talking about the importance of standing up for your faith, and that at the end of his life, what he wants to be remembered for is his courage.”
Dr. Thomas said that those who had gathered shared ways in which they were impacted by what Charlie Kirk said and taught.
“It was a really good time of reflection on his life, his accomplishments, and we had the opportunity to share how he has impacted us in all our different testimonials from different people,” said Thomas.
“We had a number of persons sharing how they felt about the entire thing. Dr. Sarah Buckland spoke about how she has been following him for the last ten years, and it was interesting; those who spoke and all of us concurred that we had never cried for someone that we didn’t know personally before, but when we heard, we cried like it was a family member,” he added.
Dr. Thomas said that he closed the service with a call to action. In it, he called for the return to Biblical truth, the return to Biblical love, and the return to Biblical boldness.
In light of what has taken place, Dr. Thomas believes a shift has occurred spiritually as a result of Kirk’s death.
“I think the fact that it was viewed, the gruesome nature of the video that circulated, and what persons have been exposed to, which is really the shedding of the blood of a martyr on an international platform, has caused a shift in the spirit,” he said. “There is something happening. There is a difference in the spirit realm, and the impact of this has been felt globally and very personally by different people.”
Tyler Robinson, the suspect in Kirk’s death, has been charged with aggravated murder. He was reported to the authorities by his family members and taken into custody, where he is being held without bail. He is also facing other charges, including felony discharge of a firearm, obstruction of justice, two counts of witness tampering, and committing a violent crime in the presence of children.
Evidence against him has also been presented to the police by the suspect’s roommate and partner, who is a biological male who identifies as a woman.
