Given his public testimony about what Christianity meant in his life, perhaps it was fitting that a vigil for Charlie Kirk was held at The Crossing, a Methodist church in Washington Crossing, on Sunday afternoon.
Kirk, a Republican activist and founder of Turning Point USA, was gunned down as he was speaking to a crowd at a college in Utah last week. Vigils honoring Kirk were also held in Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties and Philadelphia on Sunday.
In addition to prayers, hymns, and sermons by several ministers, including Lead Pastor George Clash, Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Bucks), and state Sen. Frank Farry (R-Bucks), spoke to several hundred people who packed the sanctuary, filling the seats and standing.
Iryna Zarutska, a young Ukrainian immigrant who was stabbed to death as she was riding public transit in Charlotte, N.C., was also honored during the vigil.
“Aug. 22 was when we lost Iryna,” said Fitzpatrick. “Sept. 10 was when we lost Charlie. I did not know Iryna. I did know Charlie. And both of them wanted something very simple. I can’t think of a better way to honor Iryna’s memory than to support our amazing law enforcement officers and let them do their jobs.” He pointed to Upper Makefield Officer Harry Vitello. “He saved lives during the (2023) flood,” said Fitzpatrick.
“And Charlie Kirk. I can’t think of a better way to honor his memory than to start right here at home and start a Turning Point USA chapter at Bucks County Community College,” said Fitzpatrick to thunderous applause.
“The pastors say, ‘It’s the responsibility of every human being, every living and breathing human being on this planet, to be a voice for the voiceless,’” Fitzpatrick added. “Iryna and Charlie have had their voices silenced, but they will not be silenced because every single one of you in this room have the power to make sure their spirit carries on.
“And I cannot wait to connect with Erika, Charlie’s amazing wife, and his two kids. By the way, nobody knows their names because he was so protective, so loving, he did not want to put them through any of this.
“And they have to grow up without a father now,” said Fitzpatrick.
“But I think if we start right here at home and we can commit to Iryna and to Charlie, and to their families, that we are going to let their memory live on. And lift their voices by spreading it. Count us all in.”
“Kirk lost his life using freedom of speech,” said Farry.
“Charlie Kirk quite often said when people stop talking, that’s when the violence happens,” said Farry. “What we saw last week, the violence happened when they were trying to talk, and that should be very concerning.”
Farry recalled how the country came together after the Sept. 11 terror attack 24 years ago.
“Those firefighters went into those buildings, many of them knowing they weren’t coming out. But they were trying to save lives, which we take an oath to do,” said Farry, who is also a volunteer firefighter and fire chief at Langhorne-Middletown Fire Company.
Farry said that while he was a state representative and now as a state senator, elected officials worked in a bipartisan way to serve their constituents.
But things have changed.
“I’ve watched the politics of governing change,” said Farry. “We’ve moved away from bipartisanship. We’ve moved away from being able to disagree on a bill today and come together on a different piece of legislation tomorrow, to it being about the lust for power within politics. And that is driven by a few, but those few have a lot of influence.”
Farry mentioned the recent dispute over funding SEPTA.
“It was a simple policy disagreement that could have been solved very quickly,” said Farry. “But it was overshadowed by the power of politics and driven by the lust for power in politics. And the people who depend on SEPTA were harmed by those service cuts. But we also have a responsibility to our taxpayers.
“It became very ugly, unnecessarily,” said Farry. “If there’s one thing we can take from the tragedy of last week, we can open the door for more dialogue. We can pull back the curtain on those who are more driven by the power of politics than by making your lives better.
“And there can be a decision date for those folks,” said Farry. “It’s the first Tuesday in November.”
“I think it’s important that this gives us pause,” said Farry. “It’s not just about what happened to Charlie Kirk, which was a terrible, terrible thing. But the Minnesota lawmakers, some of whom were shot with their family members in their homes … the arson at the governor’s mansion … we can’t let this become the norm. We can’t let this become the norm for elected officials. Hopefully, we can build the wall to stop that. But the political discourse needs to be moved back to policy.
“We need public servants, not politicians,” said Farry.