KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A group of Christmas carolers took over a Kansas City, Kansas, Walmart on Sunday. Shoppers and employees stopped to listen and even joined in.
This idea quickly turned into a magical moment, reminding us of the reason for the season.
“When my wife started singing, of course a few church members went with her. But the crowd started forming and everyone started singing,” said Rev. Kelly Lohrke from the Cure Church.
“It brought so much joy to me where I paused for a second and I began to weep because seeing people come out of the register – literally everybody just stopped,” Esther Lohrke said.
On Sunday, Esther had a wise idea to spread the Christmas cheer at a KCK Walmart, not for personal gain but simply to pass out a little hope.
“I just wanted to do something sporadically in a sense but also with a purpose,” Esther said.
So Esther, her husband and 60 parishioners came to the Walmart near The Legends and began singing Christmas carols. Then they began to minister through song.
“I was overwhelmed to see the response because you don’t know how someone is going to respond to this. But when I see the employees crying, people that were there shopping stopping,” Kelly said.
Before they knew it, a crowd had grown, workers pausing their shifts to witness this amazing and organic moment.
“We all know there’s been a lot of craziness going on in the world, and you see a lot of videos in department stores and fights and arguments and hate. Jesus is the prince of peace, and we wanted to bring peace there,” Kelly said.
The two hope that the people in this Walmart, on that day walked out with a little more joy, some peace and better than when they came in.
“Be the light. Be the light for the world wherever you’re at. Have a good attitude,” Esther said.