09/10/2026
Highpoint Church Family,
Today marks one year since the tragic death of Charlie Kirk—a young life taken far too soon through an act of political violence.
We are blessed to live in an extraordinary nation. Unlike many people who live under oppressive regimes, we live in a constitutional republic that protects our freedom to worship, speak, vote, and make our own choices. We should never take these freedoms for granted.
Throughout our nation’s history, we have lost influential voices through acts of violence—people such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and, sadly, too many others to name. Regardless of our political differences, violence must never become our response to disagreement.
Today, we remember Charlie Kirk as a young man of conviction and faith who reached and inspired a generation. We also remember that behind every public figure is a family whose loss remains deeply personal.
This remembrance comes on the eve of the 25th anniversary of September 11, 2001—a day when the world stood still in shock. In the aftermath of that terrible attack, Americans set aside many of their differences, embraced their neighbors, cared for strangers, and stood together as one people.
We still have real differences in our faith, beliefs, political perspectives, and cultures. Yet we remain neighbors, fellow citizens, and people created in God's image. Our flag and the freedoms it represents remind us that we are one American people.
I encourage our Highpoint Church family to take time today and tomorrow to pray and reflect. May we ask God to heal our nation, guard us against hatred and violence, and help us rediscover what we share while extending grace across our differences.
Above all, may we reflect the character of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ—loving our neighbors, praying for others, speaking truth with grace, and becoming peacemakers in a divided world.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”
—Matthew 5:9 ESV
Pastor Shawn York
Highpoint Church
