Remembering Ruth

Religion: Thousands journey to North Carolina retreat center to celebrate “the glue that held many parts” of the Graham lives together | Joel Belz

If the folks charged with planning the funeral of Mrs. Billy Graham miscalculated a bit on one or two logistical details, consider the difficulty of their assignment: Plan for a gathering of thousands, they were told—give or take a few thousand. The crowd will include some prominent people, both as hosts and as guests, so security will be an issue. The media might well swarm the place; but then again, the media might just ignore it. Summer thunderstorms are possible.

And oh, yes. No one knows exactly when all this will happen.

That's the nature of a VIP funeral. The guest list is a guess list—especially when the service is for an older person. Ruth Bell Graham's osteoarthritis had crippled her for many months; she was receiving nourishment via a feeding tube; then came word late in May that pneumonia was also taking its toll. The end seemed near—but "near" doesn't tell several hundred waiting volunteers exactly when they'll need to spring into quiet action, implementing months of painstaking preparation.