Members of Bridgeport's religious community paid tribute to civil rights icon John Lewis Sunday.

They say their sermons focused on the longtime Lewis, who died after a battle with cancer at the age of 80.

MORE: Remembering John Lewis, rights icon and 'American hero' 

Mary McBride-Lee says she marched with Lewis in the 1960's and learned from his gritty, never-say-die approach to promoting social progress.

"I'm hoping and I pray that those of us that are left behind, you know, we will remember those things that he taught us and we won't forget we've lost a giant," she says.

Rev. Charlie Stallworth, of East End Baptist Tabernacle, says "We know Congressman John Lewis represents toughness and fortitude and effort. He was one who did not have the voice or the language of Dr. King but one who worked just as hard."

The religious leaders also called on millennials "to learn from the old-school approach" of great civil rights leaders like Lewis, who they say embraced non-violence in their push for change.