(From the Washington Examiner ... )
We are not OK, but there is hope
The sign outside the little Baptist congregation in Sewickley read simply: “In Memory of
Charlie Kirk 1993-2025.” It was one of dozens of images on
Facebook feeds showing houses of worship honoring Kirk since he was
murdered while speaking at Utah Valley University.
On the steps of the
Pittsburgh City-County building on Grant Street in the center of the city, hundreds graced the portico, joining in prayer and remembrance. Over in Harrison City in Westmoreland County, the next evening, hundreds parked their cars at Nicassio Fields and filled the building. All joined in prayer for unity.
Not far from there, my family’s little
Catholic parish has grown with mostly new families joining, something records show was already happening in the past year.
The Diocese of Greensburg said it will not know what the increase looks like until it does its annual count in October. However, some parish priests said privately they have found more engagement with young people after Mass in the past two weeks.
Pastor Jason Howard of The Sanctuary Church in Pittsburgh, a nondenominational Christian congregation that is made up predominantly of young people, said the surge of people who came to services the first Sunday after Kirk’s murder didn’t wane last Sunday. “There were still public transportation buses filled with kids pouring into church last week,” he said, adding, “Since the Pitt Purpose revival we had on campus last week, we’ve been overwhelmed with young people curious to attend our services this week.”
The Pitt for Jesus revival was a student-athlete event held on campus that attracted over 600 young people, 80 of whom were baptized at the event. To date, over 30 athletes at the University of Pittsburgh have made public declarations of faith and have even started a Pitt football team Bible study.
It was begun by senior tight end Jake Overmanz when he sensed a calling to reach his teammates and other student athletes with the Gospel.
These are all anecdotal accounts of a growth in people, young and not so young, who have been moved toward faith and purpose. That movement has accelerated since the assassination of Kirk, but it has been an undercurrent in our culture since last summer.
Since his murder on Sept. 10, posts have flooded X, Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram — celebrating Kirk’s words in life while lamenting how vilified he was in death — offering testimony to a renewed return to faith.
In many ways, we are not OK. The decline of faith has left a void, and people have tried to fill it with politics, social media, gaming, and countless other distractions. Yet, none of these substitutes provides the deeper sense of purpose we were made to seek.
