{"id":8839,"date":"2005-06-24T14:00:53","date_gmt":"2005-06-24T18:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/?p=8839"},"modified":"2013-05-10T15:14:59","modified_gmt":"2013-05-10T19:14:59","slug":"june-24-2005-billy-grahams-new-york-crusade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2005\/06\/24\/june-24-2005-billy-grahams-new-york-crusade\/8839\/","title":{"rendered":" Billy Graham&#8217;s New York Crusade"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>BOB ABERNETHY<\/strong>, anchor: A grand finale this weekend for evangelist  Billy Graham, who is leading what he says will be his last U.S. crusade at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in New York City. The three-day meeting  is his 417th. In a ministry spanning nearly 60 years, Graham has  preached in person to more than 210 million people around the world. He  says his age and poor health are now forcing him to bring the crusades  to an end. Kim Lawton reports.<\/p>\n<p><strong>KIM LAWTON<\/strong>: In 1957, New York City played a key role in making  the young and vigorous evangelist Billy Graham an international  phenomenon. He preached at Madison Square Garden six nights a week for  16 weeks from May to September. More than two million people attended.<\/p>\n<p>Today, the 86-year-old evangelist says he chose New York to finish off his nearly six decades of crusades.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/files\/2011\/05\/post04-billygrahamnyc.jpg\" alt=\"post04-billygrahamnyc\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-8843\" \/>Reverend BILLY GRAHAM: This will be the last in America, I&#8217;m sure. But  we do have an invitation to go to London, and we&#8217;re praying about that  and thinking about that.<\/p>\n<p><strong>LAWTON<\/strong>: Graham&#8217;s physical ailments make it difficult for him to  preach. He suffers from Parkinson&#8217;s disease, fluid on the brain, a  recently-broken pelvis and other problems.<\/p>\n<p><strong>WENDY MURRAY ZOBA<\/strong> (Writer-in-Residence, Gordon College): He&#8217;s  aging as we all know, and there is some bittersweet aspect to watching  this one-time towering giant more enfeebled. His message is still as  robust as always, but it&#8217;s very obvious that his physical disposition  and state is much diminished.<\/p>\n<p>Rev. GRAHAM (preaching): But God is love. And God is grace and mercy.<\/p>\n<p><strong>LAWTON<\/strong>: Author Wendy Murray Zoba has written widely about the  evangelical community. She says while Graham&#8217;s basic message hasn&#8217;t  changed over the years, he has toned down much of his rhetoric.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/files\/2011\/05\/post03-billygrahamnyc.jpg\" alt=\"post03-billygrahamnyc\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-8842\" \/>Ms. <strong>ZOBA<\/strong>: He did start out with a very flamboyant, zealous, kind  of in-your-face approach. But he quickly understood his role in a more  circumspect way. He mellowed his approach to his public persona, and he  truly became a unifier.<\/p>\n<p><strong>LAWTON<\/strong>: Graham admits there were times in his past when he got  too politically involved, particularly during the Nixon era. He says he  now avoids politics altogether.<\/p>\n<p>Rev. GRAHAM: If I get up and talk about some political issue, it divides  the audience. And what I want is a united audience to hear only the  Gospel. There are many times that I went too far in talking about such  issues, and I think this time I want to stick only to the Gospel.<\/p>\n<p><strong>LAWTON<\/strong>: This week, Graham told a packed news conference he&#8217;s very aware that he&#8217;s coming to the end of his ministry and his life.<\/p>\n<p>Rev. GRAHAM: I&#8217;ve been asked so many times lately, do I fear death No, I  look forward to death with great anticipation. I&#8217;m looking forward to  seeing God face to face. And that could happen any day.<\/p>\n<p><strong>LAWTON<\/strong>: He says he has confidence in God for the future.<\/p>\n<p>Rev. GRAHAM: The Bible says that Jesus is coming back to this earth. And  someday he&#8217;s going to reign. And there&#8217;ll be no tears, no suffering, no  death &#8212; a wonderful future. And I hope I&#8217;ll meet all of you there. And  bring your camera, because I may have one too!<\/p>\n<p><strong>LAWTON<\/strong>: I&#8217;m Kim Lawton reporting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Billy Graham is preparing for what he says will be his last U.S. crusade at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in New York City. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2005\/06\/24\/june-24-2005-billy-grahams-new-york-crusade\/8839\/\" class=\"more\">More <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":72,"featured_media":17373,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[4774,1050,1774,2833,1288,557,9834,4771],"class_list":["post-8839","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-billy-graham","tag-evangelicals","tag-evangelists","tag-gospel","tag-ministry","tag-new-york-city","tag-parkinsons-disease","tag-richard-nixon","topics-faith-and-spirituality","faith-christian"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>June 24, 2005 ~ Billy Graham&#039;s New York Crusade | June 24, 2005 | Religion &amp; 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