The Great Smoky Mountain Journal
Source:
Posted: Thursday, February 22, 2018 03:11 PM
Funeral Arrangements In Place For The Late Great Billy Graham Who Passed Wednesday At Age 99
Graham’s body was moved from his home in Montreat, N.C., to Asheville, where a funeral home was handling the arrangements.
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"I have one message: that Jesus Christ came, he died on a cross, he rose again, and he asked us to repent of our sins and receive him by faith as Lord and Savior, and if we do, we have forgiveness of all of our sins." —Billy Graham https://memorial.billygraham.org/the-message/?utm_source=bgea+us+twitter&utm_medium=tweet&utm_campaign=wp&utm_content=BY000WTUS&SOURCE=BY000WTUS
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The body will be taken from Asheville to Charlotte on Saturday in a procession expected to take 3 ˝ hours and ending at the Billy Graham Museum and Library, said Mark DeMoss, spokesman for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
It will lie in repose Monday and Tuesday in the Charlotte house where Graham grew up, which was moved from its original location to the grounds of the Graham library.
A private funeral for Graham will be held Friday, March 2, in a tent at the library site and he will be buried next to his wife there, DeMoss said. Ruth Graham, to whom the reverend was married more than 60 years, died at age 87 in 2007.
Invitations to the funeral will be extended to President Donald Trump and former presidents, DeMoss said.
The president tweeted condolences Wednesday, soon after the news of Graham’s death was reported.
“The GREAT Billy Graham is dead,” the president wrote. “There was nobody like him! He will be missed by Christians and all religions. A very special man.”
Former President
Barack Obama said Graham "gave hope and guidance to generations of
Americans."
Graham was a counselor to U.S. presidents of both parties, from Dwight
Eisenhower to George W. Bush. In 1983, President Ronald Reagan awarded
him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian honor.
When the Billy Graham Museum and Library was dedicated in 2007 in
Charlotte, George H.W. Bush, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton attended.
More than anyone else, Graham built evangelicalism into a force that
rivaled liberal Protestantism and Roman Catholicism in the U.S. His
leadership summits and crusades in more than 185 countries and
territories forged powerful global links among conservative Christians
and threw a lifeline to believers in the communist bloc.
A tall, striking man with thick, swept-back hair, stark blue eyes and a
firm jaw, Graham was a commanding presence in the pulpit, with a
powerful baritone voice.
"The Bible says," was his catchphrase.
His unquestioning belief in Scripture turned the Gospel into a "rapier"
in his hands, he said.
Graham reached multitudes around the globe through public appearances
and his pioneering use of prime-time telecasts, network radio, daily
newspaper columns, evangelistic films and satellite TV hookups.
By his final crusade in 2005 in New York City, he had preached in person
to more than 210 million people worldwide. No evangelist is expected to
have his level of influence again.
"William Franklin Graham Jr. can safely be regarded as the best who ever
lived at what he did," said William Martin, author of the Graham
biography "A Prophet With Honor."
Graham had suffered from cancer, pneumonia and other ailments.
DeMoss said Graham spent his final months in and out of consciousness.
He said Graham didn't take any phone calls or entertain guests.
Graham died at 7:46 a.m. Wednesday at his home, where only an attending
nurse was present, DeMoss said.
Both the nurse and Graham's longtime personal physician, Dr. Lucian
Rice, who arrived about 20 minutes later, said it was "a peaceful
passing," DeMoss said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.