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Daniel Whyte III, President of Gospel Light Society International, who campaigned for Over 14 Years to Have Dr. Billy Graham’s Statue Join Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s Statue on the National Mall for God Raised up These Two Baptist Prophets Around the Same Time in History to Challenge and Change America and the World, Says, Glory be to God the United States is Honoring One of the Greatest Prophets/Evangelists in the History of the World by unveiling His Statue in the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, May 16, 2024. Whyte Believes the Lord Ought to be Honored Through Billy Graham’s statue in the U.S, Capitol, but Whyte also Believes the Lord ought to be honored through Dr. Billy Graham’s statue on the National Mall so that for generations to come our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren will know that these two Christian Prophets were sent by God to try to save the soul of America and the World.

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File image of the late Rev. Billy Graham. (Photo courtesy: Billy Graham Evangelistic Association)

 

Daniel Whyte III, President of Gospel Light Society International, who campaigned for Over 14 Years to Have Dr. Billy Graham’s Statue Join Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s Statue on the National Mall for God Raised up These Two Baptist Prophets Around the Same Time in History to Challenge and Change America and the World, Says, Glory be to God the United States is Honoring One of the Greatest Prophets/Evangelists in the History of the World by unveiling His Statue in the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, May 16, 2024. Whyte Believes the Lord Ought to be Honored Through Billy Graham’s statue in the U.S, Capitol, but Whyte also Believes the Lord ought to be honored through Dr. Billy Graham’s statue on the National Mall so that for generations to come our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren will know that these two Christian Prophets were sent by God to try to save the soul of America and the World.

 

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — A statue of the late Reverend Billy Graham will be unveiled in the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

The seven-foot-tall bronze statue was made by Charlotte-based artist Chas Fagan and depicts Graham gesturing toward an open Bible in his hand.

“This is a great honor, and my father would be humbled and grateful,” Franklin Graham, president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan’s Purse, said in a written statement. “At the same time, he would not want the attention on himself but on God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Graham spent over 80 years preaching to more people in live audiences than anyone else in history. He died in 2018 at the age of 99 at his home in Montreat, North Carolina.

“The legacy of Rev. Billy Graham is based on his simple message of forgiveness based on John 3:16. His lifelong commitment to preaching the Gospel, his fight for civil rights, his opposition to communism, and his spiritual guidance provided hope to hundreds of millions,” Senator Ted Budd (R-NC), who was part of the bipartisan effort to place the statue in the Capitol, said in a written statement. “He was the first private citizen from North Carolina to lie in honor in the United States Capitol and his likeness should stand in the U.S. Capitol forever.”

Graham was named North Carolina’s “Favorite Son” by a unanimous vote of the state General Assembly in 2013. In 2015, then-North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory signed House Bill 540 into law, which decreed that a statue of Graham would be commissioned to represent the state in the U.S. Capitol.

The Statue:

According to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, the statue was created in his hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina, at Chas Fagan Fine Art. It was cast in bronze at Carolina Bronze Sculpture, a foundry in Seagrove, North Carolina, and the statue base is Salisbury granite from a quarry in Rowan County.

The base is inscribed with two Bible verses—John 3:16 and John 14:6—and also features a plaque similar to Graham’s grave marker on the grounds of the Billy Graham Library: “Preacher of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

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The statue’s unveiling will take place during a private dedication ceremony in The National Statuary Hall. Members of the Graham family, along with House Speaker Mike Johnson, other congressional representatives, and the North Carolina Statuary Hall Committee, will be present for this event. There will also be special music from three-time Grammy-winner Michael W. Smith.

The Unveiling:

The statue’s unveiling will take place during a private dedication ceremony in The National Statuary Hall. Members of the Graham family, along with House Speaker Mike Johnson, other congressional representatives, and the North Carolina Statuary Hall Committee, will be present for this event. There will also be special music from three-time Grammy-winner Michael W. Smith.

Each state has two statues representing important historical figures from their state on display in the Hall, Crypt, or subsequent Capitol Visitor Center. With only 100 statues on display at any given time, the addition of a sculpture for the National Statuary Hall statue is a rare and unique opportunity.

Rev. Graham holds the distinction of being one of the only private citizens to receive three of the highest honors from Congress—the Congressional Gold Medal, to have laid in honor at the U.S. Capitol, and to have a statue commissioned for Statuary Hall.

Source: https://www.wlos.com/news/local/reverend-billy-graham-statue-unveiled-us-capitol-north-carolina-charlotte-bronze-artist-chas-fagan

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