Melanie Ward, bottom, passes out candles at the Memorial for Nicholas West, a 23-year old man who was kidnapped, beaten and killed 20 years ago on November 30, 1993. Herb Nygren Jr /Staff

Twenty years after Nicholas West was abducted from Tyler, beaten, robbed and killed in a clay pit in Noonday, approximately 125 people gathered Saturday to remember him and to promote acceptance of gays and lesbians.

The service was conducted at a memorial marker for West in Bergfeld Park, which reads, “We will remember.” A wreath topped by a cross stood beside the marker as the crowd listened to several speakers.

The service concluded with music, the reading of scripture and lighting of candles.

West was killed because he was perceived to be gay, said Pastor John David Creamer, senior pastor of Life Covenant Church, which hosted the event.

“It was a hate crime,” Creamer said. “We are hoping that people are going to realize there is still division within the community and separation. … We need to realize that we can still love one another, we can still accept one another and allow each other to get past that diversity and learn to accept one another in friendship and love because that is what the Bible is built on.”

Jerry Bailey, special events and activities director of Life Covenant Church, recalled when the church discovered the memorial marker for West, which led him to Google the story of West.

“Nicholas’ only mistake on Nov. 30, 1993, was trusting that someone would not do him harm. … Sadly, he trusted someone who targeted him and wished him harm,” Bailey said. “We need this memorial to remind us of Nicholas and the act of violence that resulted from his trust. But most importantly, we need this memorial to remind us to be a person that others can trust (and to remember) the need for kindness, trust and safety.”

Another speaker, Wesley Beard, said he read about West’s death on the front page of The New York Times. Beard spoke of the loneliness, social isolation and fear of danger, which marked the lives of gay people.

Tyler Area Gays, now referred to as Project TAG, was formed, Beard said, and eventually he proposed the idea of a memorial for West in Bergfeld Park. Steps were then taken to make it a reality.

About 7,240 hate-crime incidents of various types are listed in FBI crime statistics for 2011, Beard said.

“Adopting the phrase, ‘We shall remember,’ allows us to approach hate as a widespread phenomenon affecting millions,” Beard said, citing the Holocaust as an example.

Rabbi Neal Katz, of Congregation Beth El Tyler, said he personally supports gay marriage.

The Bible contains many possibly outdated commandments, Katz said.

“We have to understand and appreciate that the Bible says a great many things that can lead us to a fundamentalism that cuts us off from one another,” he said.

But Katz added, “The Bible is also full of wonderful ethical teachings and values that teach about the sanctity of human life, how we are all created in God’s image, about the importance of religious tolerance, about the values of hospitality, the righteousness of caring for the less fortunate in our societies and the benefits of being holy messengers. We must pick and choose the texts that guides to a life of good deeds.”

While saying he understands there is prejudice against gays, Katz said remembering West should call the community together to reflect on the tragedies of the past. Countless people have suffered throughout the ages because of their sexual orientation, Katz said.

“But those who oppose the civil equality of the gay community are seeing their numbers decrease, and their ideas are dying,” Katz said.