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Billy Graham to Be Memorialized at Funeral, With Trump in Attendance As in Life, Billy Graham Draws a Huge Crowd as Thousands Pay Their Final Respects
(about 11 hours later)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Rev. Billy Graham, for half a century the world’s most famous evangelist and a pastor to presidents, will be memorialized at his funeral on Friday by his family and some of the preachers he inspired from around the globe. CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Standing at the simple wooden pulpit that the Rev. Billy Graham once used to preach his global crusades, his five children and evangelists from around the world gave tribute on Friday to a man who for half a century was the world’s best known living apostle of evangelical Christianity.
Mr. Graham, who died last week at 99, planned the details of his funeral 10 years ago, befitting a man known to choreograph his mass crusades to the last altar call. The coffin is built of pine plywood by inmates at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola. The setting is in front of the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, N.C., under an enormous white tent reminiscent of the “canvas cathedral” where Mr. Graham conducted his breakout crusade in Los Angeles in 1949. Mr. Graham, who died last week at 99, was eulogized in front of the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte under an enormous white tent reminiscent of the “canvas cathedral” where Mr. Graham conducted his breakout crusade in Los Angeles in 1949. Mr. Graham’s funeral served to give a podium to his disciples — including evangelists from India and South Korea — and his children, who offered tributes that were sometimes very personal.
When the funeral was planned, the expectation was that it would draw all or most of the living former presidents who were healthy enough to attend. Three of them came and spoke at the opening of the Billy Graham Library in 2007. But in the end, the only president to attend the funeral will be Donald J. Trump, who had less of a relationship with Mr. Graham than the five former presidents who are still alive, historians say. Ruth Graham, one of his daughters, spoke of how her father welcomed her home after her second marriage ended.
Mr. Trump is expected to attend with the first lady, Melania. The president is not scheduled to speak, but it is possible he could be invited to offer remarks by Mr. Graham’s oldest son, Franklin, said Mark DeMoss, the spokesman for the Graham family. “He wrapped his arms around me and said welcome home,” she recalled through tears. “There was no shame. There was no blame. Just unconditional love. My father was not God. But he showed me what God was like that day.”
Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen, are also expected to attend. Franklin Graham, who inherited his father’s mantle as leader of his ministry, will preach. Franklin has been a vocal supporter of Mr. Trump and Mr. Pence. President Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and their wives attended the funeral, the details of which had been meticulously planned by Mr. Graham himself 10 years ago, befitting a man known to choreograph his mass crusades to the last altar call. The coffin was built of pine plywood by inmates at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola. The pulpit was the same one Mr. Graham used in his crusades in the 1990s.
Mr. Graham died at his mountain home in Montreat, N. C., on Feb. 21. His body was carried in a motorcade down the mountain and 130 miles east to Charlotte, as thousands waved farewell from gathering spots along the country roads and the interstate. He was carried into the Billy Graham Library, and on Monday and Tuesday, former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton came to greet the family and pay their respects. When the funeral was planned, the expectation was that it would draw all or most of the living presidents who were healthy enough to attend. Three spoke at the opening of the Billy Graham Library in 2007 and former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton came to Charlotte earlier this week to pay their respects to the Graham family.
But in the end, the only president who attended the funeral was Mr. Trump. He did not speak on Friday, but in remarks on Wednesday when Mr. Graham’s coffin was laid in honor at the Capitol Rotunda, the president called him an “ambassador for Christ who reminded the world of the power of prayer and the gift of God’s grace.”
Mr. Graham died at his mountain home in Montreat, N.C., on Feb. 21. His body was carried in a motorcade down the mountain and 130 miles east to Charlotte, as thousands waved farewell from gathering spots along the country roads and the interstate.
The funeral on Friday, under the 28,000-square-foot tent, drew other political dignitaries besides the president and vice president, including Ben Carson, the housing secretary, and the former New York City mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani.
Some attendees remarked that it was an unprecedented gathering of some of the evangelical world’s leading names. They included the megachurch leaders Joel Osteen, Rick Warren and A.R. Bernard, the best-selling author and speaker Beth Moore, the radio and television host David Jeremiah, and the Rev. Jim Bakker, who has returned to television ministry after a corruption scandal that sent him to prison.
Franklin Graham, Mr. Graham’s eldest son and designated heir of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, delivered a sermon that included the kind of direct appeals to Christian conversion that were his father’s trademark:
“Are you saved? Are you forgiven? Are you trusting in your Lord as your savior? If you’re not sure, there is no better time than at Billy Graham’s funeral.”
Franklin Graham did not veer into politics, though he has served as a frequent champion of Mr. Trump on Fox News and in other media. But he did include the kind of explicit, exclusivist claim of Christian faith that he has consistently used in his public appearances, including presidential inaugurations, when he insisted on always giving his prayer “in the name of Jesus.” He even wrote a book about the controversy it had caused.
“The world with all its political correctness would want you to believe that there are many roads to God. It’s just not true,” Franklin Graham said. “My father would want me to share this with you today.”
In his later years, Billy Graham forged relationships with leaders of other Christian denominations, and his funeral reflected those efforts, with Roman Catholic, Russian Orthodox and Greek Orthodox leaders among those in attendance.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Roman Catholic archbishop of New York, said he had been planning to lead an ecumenical prayer service to honor Mr. Graham on Friday at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, but changed his plans when he received an invitation to the funeral in Charlotte.
“It means a lot to me personally because Billy Graham had a big impact on me growing up in the 50s and 60s,” the cardinal said, adding that hearing Mr. Graham’s preaching on TV affected his decision to join the priesthood.
For about half a century, as tastes changed and celebrities peaked and faded away, Mr. Graham remained a household name with consistently high public approval ratings. As late as 2007 — two years after his last crusade in New York City — three-quarters of the Americans surveyed who knew of Mr. Graham had a favorable impression of him, according to a poll by the Pew Research Center.For about half a century, as tastes changed and celebrities peaked and faded away, Mr. Graham remained a household name with consistently high public approval ratings. As late as 2007 — two years after his last crusade in New York City — three-quarters of the Americans surveyed who knew of Mr. Graham had a favorable impression of him, according to a poll by the Pew Research Center.
On Wednesday and Thursday, Mr. Graham’s body lay in honor in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington. Again, thousands lined up outside waiting to say goodbye. He was only the fourth American who was not an elected official or a military member to be given the honor. (The others were the civil rights icon Rosa Parks and two Capitol police officers who gave their lives in the line of duty). On Wednesday and Thursday, when Mr. Graham’s body lay in honor in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, thousands lined up outside waiting to say goodbye. He was only the fourth American who was not an elected official or a military member to be given the honor. (The others were the civil rights icon Rosa Parks and two Capitol Police officers who gave their lives in the line of duty).
Some objected to giving Mr. Graham such an honor, citing the country’s guiding principle of separation of church and state, as well as Mr. Graham’s record of remarks that were offensive to Jews and to gay people. But at the Capitol, members of Congress from both parties gathered under the dome, with the coffin in the center. Mr. Trump gave homage to the evangelist, reading from prepared remarks, and recalled the time he had attended a Billy Graham crusade at Yankee Stadium in New York. Some objected to giving Mr. Graham such an honor, citing the country’s guiding principle of separation of church and state, as well as Mr. Graham’s record of remarks that were offensive to Jews and to gay people. But at the Capitol, members of Congress from both parties gathered under the dome, with the coffin in the center.
“My father said to me, ‘come on son,’” the president said, “‘let’s go see Billy Graham at Yankee Stadium.’ And it was something very special. Mr. Graham will be buried in the prayer garden at his library next to his wife, Ruth Bell Graham, who died in 2007. They had met as students at Wheaton College and were married for 64 years. His wife’s grave marker is inscribed, at her instruction, with words she once saw on a road sign: “End of Construction. Thank you for your patience.”
“Americans came in droves to hear that great, young preacher. Fred Trump was a big fan. Fred Trump was my father,” Mr. Trump said. The inscription on Mr. Graham’s grave describes him as “Preacher of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Mr. Graham was particularly close to Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson, Ronald Reagan and George Bush, said Grant Wacker, emeritus professor of Christian history at Duke Divinity School and the author of “America’s Pastor: Billy Graham and the Shaping of a Nation.” President Clinton called and visited Mr. Graham, even after he left the presidency. President Barack Obama prayed with Mr. Graham at his home on the mountaintop in 2010.
Mr. Trump met Billy Graham for the first time at the evangelist’s 95th birthday party, a fancy gala hosted by Franklin Graham. Billy Graham was in a wheelchair and said little, Professor Wacker recalled.
“I was there. I can attest there was no interaction between Trump and Graham at that party, at least publicly,” Professor Wacker said.
But it was not the presidents who made Mr. Graham so famous. It was the millions — more than 200 million, according to the tally kept by his organization — who heard him preach the Gospel around the world.
Some 100 international guests from 50 countries will attend his funeral, his spokesman said. Many will be evangelicals, but some will be leaders of other Christian churches, including Roman Catholic, and Russian and Greek Orthodox. Evangelists from Lebanon and South Korea have been chosen to offer tributes.
“For a generation, he was the North Star of the church, always reminding us that there are hurting and broken people outside who don’t know that they’re loved,” said Nick Hall, a 30-year-old evangelist in Minneapolis who took Mr. Graham as a mentor and now leads his own mass revivals. “It didn’t matter if you asked him about politics, about the latest social issue or controversy. He would always bring it back to his message that God loves everybody, and there is a hope for you.”
Mr. Graham had five children, all of whom will speak at the funeral, as well as 19 grandchildren and many great-grandchildren. Some of them have founded their own ministries. The seats under the tent will mostly be occupied by this extended family, their friends and the board members of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and other Christian organizations run by the family, such as Samaritan’s Purse.
Mr. Graham will be buried in the prayer garden at his library next to his wife, Ruth Bell Graham, who died in 2007. They had met as students at Wheaton College and were married for 64 years. The inscription on Mr. Graham’s grave describes him as “Preacher of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.” His wife’s grave marker is inscribed, at her instruction, with words she once saw on a road sign: “End of Construction. Thank you for your patience.”