Honoring Charlie Kirk

Sunday, September 21st at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona will live with me the rest of my life. It was a day of worship unlike any I’ve ever witnessed.

Let me explain my experience from the beginning. I left my home at 3:00am to drive through the mountains from Prescott Valley to Glendale (a suburb of Phoenix). There wasn’t much traffic so I made the trip easily. There wasn’t much traffic until I got off the freeway at Glendale Ave. It was only 3 blocks to the stadium but it took an hour and a half to go those three blocks. The directions to get to the parking lot would have kept me in this line at least an hour more so I turned onto a side street out of frustration. In about 2 blocks I saw an AMC parking lot was allowing people in. I found a parking place and as I got out of my car I realized I was right across the street from the end of the line to get into the stadium about a block away.

I got in line that was moving at a good pace but realized it was taking us around blocks of apartment buildings. Behind me was a nice looking couple. I asked them how far they traveled and they said from Tennessee. They drove for 2 days to get there. My friend Sue texted me and said her brother flew from Europe to LA and drove all night to get there. People were there from all over the country and some from other countries.

When we finally got to the parking lot in front of the stadium the line came to a stop. There was a narrow opening in the fencing for everyone to enter. Around that area were dozens of folding chairs and empty water bottles and food wrappers left by people who had spent the night waiting to get in. We were directed to the middle of the lot where the snaking back and forth line to security began. The beginning of this process the line was about 20 people wide so it was just a mass of bodies shuffling slowly forward. It was hot. People were nicely dressed. Many men in suits or slacks and nice shirts. Many women in dresses. We were squished together, sweating, bumping into each other, stepping on toes but everyone was polite, would let others go ahead. Some people brought babies (I can’t imagine doing that) and people were helpful. The broad line snaked about 15 times until it fed into a line 2 people across that snaked about 15 times more until it ended at security. It took 5 hours to go through those lines and my legs were now like rubber.

We had been told we couldn’t bring a purse or backpack even a see through plastic one. They said everything had to fit into your pockets. We had to wait in line to go through security then. People had to empty their pockets and go through metal detectors. Once through we had to go half way around the stadium to the entrance. We then were directed to escalators that took us to the top tier of the stadium. We could hear the most glorious music being played by the best worship bands in the country.

It looked like there were seats available on the Left side so I thought I go to the far end where it looked like the most empty seats. As the crowd moved down the hallway most people were going into the nearest entry to a section so I kept thinking I was doing the right thing. When I got to the point that if I went further the seats would be behind the stage I went up the stairs to find a seat. There were none in the first 20 or so rows. There were at least 20 or more rows past that. By this time my legs were simply not going to take me farther up so I came down.

I wondered if I’d find a seat where I could see the stage. I saw some seats in the section below and asked a security guard how to get there. He said there was an elevator at the end of the hall. I struggled through the crowd to find the elevator and when I did there was a security guard who said no one could use the elevator. I asked how to get to the level below and he said there was a ramp in the opposite direction. Now I’m swimming against the tide. Everyone was coming toward me but still everyone polite. People lined up for food or the restrooms as well. I found the ramp and went down. The middle section is where there are special sections. I was really exhausted by this time and just wanted to get off my feet. I went to the first section but there were no seats. I started for the second section and said a quiet prayer for God to put me where he wants me to be. I opened the door to the second section. There were several empty seats and I asked if they were free, no, sorry. I asked about another seat, no, sorry. I turned to leave and a voice called out, wait! She asked if I was alone. I said I was. She said she thought the seat in front of her was free. She asked the people on each side if they were saving that seat and they said no. It was the second seat from the end of a row. I thanked her and thanked her. I sat down and thanked God. I don’t think my legs could have taken me further. It was perfect, facing the stage one section to the left.

The young man sitting next to me was nicely dressed in slacks and a shirt. He said he was originally from New York. He is in the National Guard and he said he had been told they may be called out that day but he was glad they weren’t because he wanted to come to this.

The worship bands seemed to be singing with even more passion. As the program started the people in the bottom section stood and held up signs. Each section had different signs. Red, white or black, saying “good and faithful servant’, “Turning Point USA” and “Never Surrender”. But when the VIP section in front of the stage that included Cabinet Members, Congressmen, Senators, Talk Show hosts, family members and the richest man in the world, Elon Musk, stood and turned to the audience and held up white signs with a sketch of Charlie on them I was in tears…..and so were people around me.

Charlie’s pastor, Rob McCoy, spoke of Charlie’s devotion to the Lord and his vast knowledge of the Bible. He asked if there were any on the audience who wanted to turn their lives over to the Lord to stand and many did.

Larry Arnn of Hillsdale College spoke about Charlie asking his advice and coming back later with certificates that showed he had completed 31 online Hillsdale courses.

I thought Marco Rubin’s speech was wonderful and JD Vance saying that although the Lord and his faith were foremost in his life, he had never spoken of it publicly as much as he had in the last week and would continue to.

Ben Carson, Stephen Miller, Tucker Carlson, Tulsi Gabbard, Pete Hegseth, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Donald Trump Jr., spoke and, of course, Erika Kirk and President Trump.

Erika was amazing. Speaking as she dabbed away tears. Pausing and looking skyward, she said that Charlie was trying to g to reach young men like the one who killed him…..and then she forgave his killer.

Trump held Erika and comforted her and spoke about how Charlie helped him win by bringing in the most young people in history who voted Republican.

Leaving the stadium wasn’t as difficult as entering but I passed a handful of morons protesting the event. I hadn’t eaten the entire day. I had carried an unopened bottle of water through the lines because they said you could bring unopened water. That was all I had and I had an hour and a half drive home. It was OK, I was fine.

This event was one that lives with you your whole life. It changed people. Being in that stadium, you knew every person there felt the weight of Charlie’s passing as you did and was compelled to be there.

Charlie wanted to challenge young people to use critical thinking…reason, logic, something colleges didn’t do….didn’t want done….and the kids listened. Kids listened, his crowds grew along with followers. The Left couldn’t have that. They edited videos, they called him a racist and hater and people too lazy to learn for themselves believed it. Charlie was killed because he was too effective. God bless him.

Rest well, Charlie Kirk, good and faithful servant. Rest well.

Source: https://madderthanhell.wordpress.com/2025/10/03/honoring-charlie-kirk/