Sometimes it takes a tragedy to unite, be that nationally or locally.
Tracy DeGraaf, of Christ Community Church, a stand up comedian and podcaster, felt more grief in her heart over someone she didn’t know when she heard Charlie Kirk was murdered. Kirk was 31, and Degraf admitted she has five sons between the ages of 24 and 35, and maybe that was the reason it hit so close to her heart.
More importantly to DeGraaf, she’s Christian, and she found the way Kirk shared his faith was truly inspiring.
Degraaf decided she would organize an event to bring people together and pray for the country.
And that she did. On September 23, with nothing more than social advertising, more than 250 people brought their own lawn chairs, came together, and prayed.
Tracy DeGraaf addresses the crowd on September 23. -Photo by Andrea Arens.
The service was only about an hour long but was centered around praying for the Seven Mountains of Influence, a concept provided by the National Day of Prayer. The concept stems from the idea there are basically seven areas of influence in any given community: faith, family, government and military, arts and entertainment, business, media, and education.
Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, came up with this concept in the mid-1970s. He believed if Christians would commit themselves to prayer over these seven areas and get involved that the country would be better.
Community representatives, such as State Rep. Jackie Haas, Will County Board member Judy Ogalla, and many other local community members were present.
Immanuel United Church of Christ Rev. Pastor Terry Krouskoupf led the reading of the Lord’s Prayer.
While the event received some negative commentary online, the goal never changed.
“The goal of the event was prayer, unity, and love in Jesus Christ,” said DeGraaf.
The prayer vigil excluded no one; not only praying for Kirk’s family at the end of the seven areas of influence, but also his alleged killer.
DeGraaf added, “It’s hard to do an event with a goal of unity and love when we live in a culture that is so divided. Obviously, Charlie Kirk was a conservative Republican, who was very vocal about where he stood on deeply held beliefs.”
“Some people wanted the vigil to be less Charlie Kirk-focused and other people wanted it to be more Charlie Kirk-focused. In the end, we did our best to promote unity and love.”