Light of Hope

Tomorrow came tonight at Second Presbyterian Church. I gathered with at least 1,000 others Knoxvillians at the Candlelight Vigil for the TVUUC. People from across the faith community attended, primarily from the Unitarian and Jewish congregations. But nearly half of the crowd were from congregations beyond these. We've all been touched, and we lit candles of hope.

Throughout the evening, you could hear the cries of children break the silence of the service. Their sobs were soothing reminders that life continues to break into grief. The surprise of tomorrow literally came at the end. The students whose Sunday performance of "Annie" was so tragically interrupted were stationed on the platform during tonight's vigil. On cue, they sang a rousing version of the popular song "Tomorrow" from the musical to close the service. We raised our candles together knowing that tomorrow has already come. Light has dawned. Hope is here because we were together as a community.