Presidential Inauguration Prayers & Sermons by Billy Graham
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks on January 8, 2009
While Billy Graham won’t be participating in Barack Obama’s inauguration in a few weeks (though many comparisons have been made between Billy Graham and Rick Warren, who will be delivering the prayer), Graham has participated in nine presidential inaugurations. That ties Chief Justice John Marshall’s record from the early 1800s. While he didn’t participate, Billy Graham did attend a tenth inauguration, that of Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953.
The Billy Graham Center has an archive of the presidential inauguration prayers and sermons given by Billy Graham:
- 1965: A sermon at Lyndon Johnson’s inauguration.
- 1969: A prayer at Richard Nixon’s first inauguration.
- 1973: A sermon at a White House worship service following Nixon’s second inauguration.
- 1981: A prayer at a private service following Ronald Reagan’s first inauguration.
- 1985: A sermon at Washington Cathedral preceding Reagan’s second inauguration.
- 1989: An invocation at George H.W. Bush’s inauguration.
- 1993: An invocation at Bill Clinton’s first inauguration.
- 1997: A prayer at Clinton’s second inauguration.
- 2005: Opening prayer at the National Prayer Service for George W. Bush’s second inauguration.
The 2008 book Preacher and the Presidents gives more details on Billy Graham’s interactions with U.S. presidents.
