Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks on February 9, 2009
Dedicated on May 31, 2007 with a crowd of dignitaries and former U.S. presidents,the Billy Graham Library is a vital stop on any Billy Graham pilgrimage tour. Located next to the BGEA headquarters, the Library is part museum, part memorial and part on-going crusade. But that’s not how the BGEA would prefer to describe it.
“The new Library will not be a memorial to Billy Graham,” said BGEA board member Graeme Keith. “Nor will it be a museum. It will be a ministry that we believe will touch and change the lives of thousands of people in the years ahead as they visit this facility.”
Though the memorial aspect of the Billy Graham Library is hard to miss, especially since Graham’s wife, Ruth Bell Graham, is buried at the Library and Graham himself will be buried next to her when he dies. Ruth Graham had reservations about being buried at the Library, calling it a “circus” and a “tourist attraction,” before apparently relenting and agreeing to be buried there.
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Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks on
The Billy Graham Library is a tourist attraction in Charlotte, N.C., dedicated to the lanky evangelist who has spread the gospel throughout the world.
Wait, no. That’s not right. It’s dedicated to that gospel message, not the lanky evangelist who the Library is named for. Hmm. Suffice it to say, the barn-shaped not-a-museum has its share of controversy.
But the attraction itself tells the story of Billy Graham and the gospel he preached. Visitors enter through a 40-foot glass cross and meet Bessie, the animatronic cow. The 40,000-foot facility covers Graham’s lifetime of ministry, from his roots in a Charlotte dairy farm (hence the cow and a theme that permeates the place) to a tent revival in Los Angeles that pushed him into national prominence, to a recreation of the Berlin Wall and his efforts to share the gospel behind the Iron Curtain.
The Library includes a gift shop and a cafe dubbed the Graham Brothers Dairy Bar. Outside the Library you can also find the grave of Graham’s late wife, Ruth Bell Graham. Nearby is Graham’s boyhood home, restored and open for tours.
What you won’t find at the Billy Graham Library is books or scholarly research. You can find that at the Billy Graham Center in Wheaton, Ill.
The Billy Graham Library is open Monday through Saturday (yep, closed on Sundays) and there is no charge for admission. The Ashville Citizen-Times offers a virtual tour of the Billy Graham Library, complete with video.
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks on February 7, 2009
Billy Graham’s coffin is ready and waiting for the day the 90-year-old evangelist passes away. He’s been looking forward to heaven for a long time, and his earthly preparations have been made. The simple coffin is made of birch plywood, lined with a foam mattress pad covered with fabric, and is adorned with brass handles on the sides and a cross on the top. It cost $215, matches the casket Graham’s wife Ruth was buried in when she died in 2007, and was made with care by a convicted felon.
Serving a life sentence at Angola State Penitentiary for second degree murder, Richard Liggett handcrafted simple plywood coffins for his fellow prisoners. The simplicity of the coffins struck Billy Graham’s son, Franklin Graham, who saw the coffins on a tour of the prison and requested a pair be made for his parents. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association supports a Bible college and chapel at the prison. Liggett became a Christian while at the prison and was honored to build the caskets for the Grahams.
They were among the last caskets he made. Richard Liggett died of cancer in March 2007 and was buried in one of his own caskets.
Despite controversy over the burial site, when Billy Graham dies he will be buried next to his wife at the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte.
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