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Vigil honors two School District 38 students who passed away

Posted at 11:01 PM, Oct 20, 2018
and last updated 2018-10-21 15:41:48-04

MONUMENT – The Lewis-Palmer School District 38 in the Tri-Lakes area is coping with the tragic deaths of two students in the past week.
Saturday night, parents, kids and religious leaders in the community hosted a candlelight vigil in their memory.

Several different churches planned the vigil in just a couple of days and more than a hundred people showed up.
They say they all they wanted was to be there to support this community of teachers parents and kids.
And just let them know they don’t have to go through this alone.

A candlelight vigil at Limbach Park in Monument honored young lives gone much too soon.

“[It’s] just about our community coming together,” said Patrick Tanton, a local pastor.
“This week we faced two deaths in our community with teenagers that lost their lives and so this is an opportunity for all the churches in the community to come together,” he explained.
“When life hits hard, we just don’t want people to have to go through that alone.”

Different churches from across the city, none wanting individual recognition, all joining forces to be the guiding light for these grieving families.

“[We’re] praying over the friends and family that are grieving the most, that have lost loved ones,” Tanton added.
“And praying over the youth in the community and then praying over the city as a whole, the schools and all the administrators here.”

Parents and kids held onto each other a little tighter Saturday night, a reassuring reminder that they’ll be able to walk out of these dark times together.

“In the darkness, when we face really difficult things in life, God meets us there,” Tanton said.
“[He] walks through it with us and He can make beautiful things happen even out of dark places.”

School District 38 has offered some resources for students who would like to reach out to counselors for help.
One of those is the “Below the Surface Campaign” which offers a free, confidential text line to help teens.
Teenagers who are struggling can text “TALK” to 38255 and get help 24/7 from trained counselors.