TEXARKANA, Ark. - A ceremony was held at a downtown chapel on Thursday to pay respects to members of the homeless population that died here this year, and to acknowledge their humanity and inherent worth.
The local Salvation Army, on this Christmas Eve, and those to follow, wants to make sure that homeless people who perish here don't go unnoticed.
To this end, on Thursday evening, the Salvation Army held its first annual Remembering Our Lost Friends vigil here, in honor and in memory of several local homeless residents of who have died this year, mostly in obscurity.
"The definition of a homeless person, quite often is someone who doesn't have a permanent address," Maj. Russell Czajkowski told a small group at the vigil. "They live on the streets and sleep in cars and have no place to stay. But we have a responsibility to meet their physical needs, their emotional needs and their spiritual needs.
"Today we going to pay tribute to those people who lived among us, who were homeless and who have since passed away."
During the ceremony performed inside the Salvation Army Church on East Fourth Street, six local residents lit and held six candles in honor of local homeless residents who've died recently. They included: Mark Samuels, Dale Eagle, Tim Hopkins, Alicia Mathis and a man who was only known by his first name, Charles. The sixth and last candle represented all other local homeless residents who may have died this year, but their deaths went unnoticed.
Prior to the vigil, Czajkowski said these types of ceremonies are usually held on Christmas Eve because its a day of anticipating the birth of Jesus Christ and the love and grace He had for all people - no matter who they were or who they are.
"Regardless of the situation that leads to a person to being homeless, a life lost is a life lost," Czajkowski said, "and all lives have meaning."