Tré Goins-Phillips #fundie #wingnut faithwire.com
In Scottish, “kirk” means “church,” a perhaps apt observation in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s murder — and the surge in church attendance that seems to have followed his assassination.
While speaking to Deseret News earlier this year, Kirk said the secular world needed to be pointed “toward getting back to the church, getting back to faith, getting married, having children,” adding, “That is the type of conservatism that I represent, and I’m trying to paint a picture of virtue, of lifting people up, not just staying angry.”
It seems — tragically — in his death, the Turning Point USA founder could get his wish.
Matt Zerrusen, cofounder of the Catholic college organization Newman Ministry, told the Catholic News Agency on Monday he has spoken to ministry leaders across the U.S. in the days since Kirk’s murder. He said that “every one of” the leaders he’s spoken with told him “they’ve seen bigger crowds” in Masses, including many people “they’ve never seen before.”
“I have not talked to anyone who has not seen an increase in Mass attendance,” he said. “Some schools are reporting increases of 15%.”
Many, Zerrusen added, are asking for spiritual guidance, too.
“So many people are asking, ‘What do I do?’ ‘What is evil?’ ‘How does God allow this?'” he said. “They are asking so many basic questions.”
And social media was full of people sharing they were attending church services for the first time.
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Another TikTok user posted from an unknown location he had to park several blocks away from a church service because there were so many people attending Sunday.
“Thank you, Jesus,” he said. “Thank you, Charlie.”
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Continue to pray for Kirk’s wife, Erika, their two children, and all of Kirk’s loved ones. Additionally, pray God would use the Christian and conservative influencer’s assassination to draw more people toward the Gospel.