wfn.org | Numerous Presbyterians Attend Capitol Ceremony

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16 May 1996 
 
 
96179    Numerous Presbyterians Attend Capitol Ceremony  
               Honoring Billy and Ruth Bell Graham 
 
                      by Jerry L. Van Marter 
 
LOUISVILLE, Ky.--A number of invited Presbyterians attended the May 2 
ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington honoring Billy and Ruth Bell 
Graham.  The world's most famous Christian evangelist and his wife received 
the Congressional Gold Medal --  "the only thing we've voted on unanimously 
this year," according to Senator Robert Dole (R-Kan.). 
 
     Only 114 Congressional Gold Medals have been awarded in the nation's 
history.  The first went to George Washington.  The Grahams were the third 
couple so honored, and Billy Graham is only the second minister. 
 
     Ruth Bell Graham is the daughter of the late Nelson Bell, a former 
moderator of the Presbyterian Church in the United States and a missionary 
for the denomination.  Ruth is an elder in the Montreat Presbyterian Church 
in North Carolina. 
 
     Her brother, the Rev. B. Clayton Bell Sr., pastor of Highland Park 
Presbyterian Church in Dallas, attended the Capitol ceremony with his 
family, as did the Rev. Leighton Ford of Charlotte, N.C., Billy Graham's 
brother-in-law. 
 
     Other Presbyterians in attendance were current General Assembly 
moderator Marj Carpenter; the Rev. Frank Harrington, pastor of Peachtree 
Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, and his wife; the Rev.  Ted Nissen, pastor 
of Colonial Presbyterian Church in Kansas City; the Rev. Don McCullough, 
president of San Francisco Theological Seminary; the Rev. John A. Huffman 
Jr., pastor of Newport Beach (Calif.) Presbyterian Church; the Rev. Louis 
H. Evans Jr. and Colleen Evans; and the Rev. M. Craig Barnes, pastor of 
National Presbyterian Church in Washington. 
 
     Also in attendance: the Rev. Lloyd Ogilvie, chaplain of the U.S. 
Senate; Deb Halverson, widow of former U.S. Senate chaplain Richard 
Halverson; Betty Moore of Florence, S.C.; the Rev. Jerry Kirk of 
Cincinnati; and William Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ. 
 
     Numerous Presbyterians who serve in the U.S. Congress were also 
present for the ceremony. 
 
     Upon accepting the award, Billy Graham said, "We are a society poised 
on the brink of self-destruction.  If ever we needed God's help, it is now. 
If ever we needed spiritual renewal, it is now." And, he added, "Love is 
the big thing.  We're to love." 

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