(Riverton, WY) – Around 50 attendees held a walk and community prayer vigil in Riverton last week, in honor of the passing of conservative media figure Charlie Kirk, who was shot and killed while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University on September 10.
The peaceful gathering began at Brown Sugar Coffee Roastery and culminated in the bandshell at Riverton City Park, where Rev. Philip Strong recited a prayer, and other vigil-goers shared words in remembrance of Kirk.
Folks make their way through City Park. Rev. Strong leads the prayer. “He was a father; he had a family,” Riverton City Council member Karen Johnson said of Kirk. “It is not okay, because you do not agree with somebody, for what they believe, to enact violence of any kind at any time. That’s on a national level and in our community. We need to do better. “ Meg Ross said that having spent time overseas, she feels that “people have no idea how blessed they are” in terms of “the 2nd amendment, freedom of religion and the right to speak freely,” without being “persecuted or being shut down.” “I hope it doesn’t get to the point where we have lost those rights…” “One thing that really stands out to me (about Kirk) is that he did not argue, he discussed, and we could all learn to do better at discussing our differences rather than arguing about them,” Wayne Dick told the crowd. “What happened yesterday was tragedy, heartbreaking,” Leyha Spoonhunter shared. “Charlie inspired so many young people. I work with youth, and I’ve seen just among the young people, how Charlie made such a huge impact on their lives and how he impacted my life. Because of him, I started going to church more. I started praying. I started following the gospel, following scripture. …I come from a military family, and every single day my father reminds me how blessed we are to be in a country that is free, a country where we can pray openly. Our Christian voice wasn’t silenced yesterday. It was only strengthened. And what I believe is that what happened yesterday, 10 more, 10,000 more, 10 million more Charlie Kirks have emerged because of that.” Folks gather at the bandshell for the prayer and testimonials.
