REUTERS
Evangelist Billy Graham speaks to thousands of people during his New York Crusade at Flushing Meadows Park in New York on Friday. NEW YORK, AP:
Rev. Billy Graham, hobbled by age and illness, opened what was to be his final American revival Friday, greeted with a standing ovation as he used a walker to reach the pulpit.
Graham, 86, was supported while he moved onstage at a city park by his son and successor, Rev. Franklin Graham, who then sat nearby, ready to step in if his father was unable to finish.
But Graham spoke for about 30 minutes, his once-powerful baritone diminished but clear, mixing his message of salvation in Jesus with anecdotes and humour. Noting the struggles of the New York Yankees and Mets, he asked the crowd to pray for both baseball teams.
Thousands of people had filled Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens for a chance to see him on the first of three daily
rallies. They came forward in large numbers as Graham invited them to approach the stage to accept Christ, an appeal that has become the centrepiece of his crusades over six decades.
mass revival
"We are Christians maybe. We go to church. We've been
baptised, we've been confirmed. But deep inside we need something else, and that something else can be brought about by Jesus," he told the crowd.
Graham made only an indirect reference to the end of his mass revival meetings in the United States, noting the event has drawn attention from around the world. He told the crowd he hoped his appearance would not be an "anticlimax."
Other speakers called the evening a historic moment and thanked Graham for his years of service.
Rev. A.R. Bernard, a New York pastor and lead organiser of the crusade, said, "Tonight, one of the most respected icons of Protestant Christianity in the 20th Century is saying, in essence, farewell and close to 60 years in ministry."
Graham is suffering from fluid on the brain, prostate cancer and Parkinson's disease. He uses the walker due to a pelvic fracture and is largely confined to his home in Montreat, N.C.
Yet the evangelist known as America's pastor has vowed to preach each day this weekend in the park. His pulpit has a movable seat hidden from view, so he can sit if he feels unsteady.
There also is an air-conditioned tent backstage, where Graham can wait to go on, and nurses are nearby if there is a medical emergency.
He noted Friday night that it had been months since he last preached and admitted he was anxious, comparing the moment with sermons he gave when he was just starting his career.
"This is like my first night," he said. Graham has said this weekend's meeting will be his last U.S. crusade.
He is considering a request to hold a rally in November in London, but Franklin Graham said his father no longer adjusts well to time-zone changes and does not like to be away from his wife, Ruth, who also is in poor health.
Graham has preached to more than 210 million people in 185 countries. He has been sought out by U.S. presidents and leaders worldwide and, more than any other religious figure, has come to represent the American evangelical movement.
He is winding up his career at the city that gave him one of his greatest triumphs.
In 1957, he held a revival meeting in Madison Square Garden that proved so popular, it was extended from six to 16 weeks. It was his longest rally.
This weekend's event had also been planned for the Garden, but organisers moved the location to accommodate the anticipated crowds. Seating will be available for 70,000, with room for overflow.
Thousands of volunteers from more than 1,300 New York-area churches have been organising the event, which is free to the public and was being translated into several languages. Many in the audience arrived hours early to get a good seat.
"Since this is his last one, I want to be here to honour him," said Mary Jo Noia, a nursing supervisor from Brooklyn.
