Large crowd gathers at Rochester's Soldiers Field to honor Charlie Kirk, other victims of violence
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By Matthew Stolle | Rochester Post Bulletin
An estimated 1,500 to 2,000 people gathered at Soldiers Field Veterans Memorial Thursday for a mournful candlelight vigil to honor slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk and other recent victims of gun violence within the last several months.
Brad Trahan, a Rochester resident who organized the vigil, told the silent arc-shaped gathering that the event was both about remembrance and hope.
“We’re here to honor Charlie Kirk and all victims taken by cowardly acts of violence, regardless of who they are, what they believe and what they stand for,” Trahan said. “We come together to dedicate ourselves to peace. Charlie’s life symbolized dialogue, peace, faith and that goodwill will always supersede evil.”
Trahan said the vigil was held to honor Kirk, House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, 10-year-old Harper Moyski and 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel, both victims of a mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis last month, and victims of a Colorado school shooting last week.
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“Violence takes many forms, in words and actions and in silence when we should speak,” Trahan said. “It leaves scars on families, on communities and our shared humanity. But tonight, we declare that violence will not have the last word. Dialogue is stronger than division, compassion is stronger than cruelty, and hope is stronger than hate.”
People held candles during a moment of silence and as the songs “On Eagle’s Wings” and “There Be Peace on Earth” played. At the end of the 20-minute program, the mournful tolling of the Bells for Eternity bell rang out repeatedly over the park as people took turns to ring the bell.
Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, was assassinated last week while addressing an audience on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Kirk was known for engaging students and others in debate-style settings. The outdoor event in Utah was the first stop of his American Comeback Tour, a speaking and debate series.
Visits were also planned at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis and Rochester, where he was scheduled to appear on Winona-Rochester Bishop Robert Barron’s show later this month.
Ilene Blanche, a Rochester pastor, prayed that the “Lord stir our hearts to be right and do right like he (Kirk) did … and that we would look at his example, how he did not back down from speaking truth.
“He set an example for all the rest of us — like Esther. He went forward and he said, ‘If I perish, I perish.’ He knew there was a price to be paid, and he was willing to do it,” Blanche said.
Madison Foster, a 26-year-old resident of Byron, held a sign that read, “We Are Charlie Kirk,” while standing on the periphery of Thursday’s vigil. She said she had been for many years watching Kirk and “his message of peace for our country and the best things for our country and the love of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
“How to live your life as a strong man or woman in the United States of America, regardless of your skin color or anything like that, was very inspirational to me, and it restored my faith in the United States of America,” Foster said. “And in his passing, it just touched so many people in their souls, even if they didn’t know him personally.”
Morgan Brannick, a 24-year-old resident of Dodge Center, stood next to Foster, holding a sign with the words of the biblical verse from John 3:16.
Brannick said showing up to the vigil was important, because after Kirk’s tragic death, “people thought we’d be too scared to come out.
“I know a lot of people are scared to come out today, so it’s important to show them that we're not scared, and you will never take Christians down,” Brannick said. “The Lord wins in the end. You can take our physical body, but you can’t take our soul. And we’re here to show that.”
