Bono writes song for Ruth Graham

> The evangelist geared the evening to young people, intertwining mentions of
> the rock group U2, St. Augustine and MTV. U2's lead vocalist, Bono, visited
> him and his wife at their Montreat, N.C., home, he said, and composed a song
> for Ruth Graham.
> "In his song, he said we are 'estranged by sin and bones,' " he said.

http://www.washtimes.com/functions/print.php?StoryID=20050625-104917-1617r
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Billy Graham's faith mission nears close
By Julia Duin
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published June 26, 2005
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NEW YORK CITY -- The curious and the committed arrived by the thousands
last night, the second day of New York's three-day Billy Graham
crusade, to hear the 86-year-old evangelist preach one of his last
sermons to the world.
The event, in Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens, drew
about 80,000 people, more than the revised official estimate of 60,000
for Friday night.
New York's top Democratic leaders, former President Bill
Clinton, Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Charles E. Schumer, and New
York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, a Republican, appeared on the platform
with Mr. Graham.
"I told [Mr. Clinton] he should be an evangelist," Mr. Graham
joked. "He has all the gifts, and he could leave his wife to run the
country."
Mr. Clinton informed the crowd he had attended several Graham
crusades, starting 46 years ago.
"I want to tell you what an honor it is to be here as a person
of faith with a man I love," he said.
The crowd gave the Clintons a stronger ovation than they did
for Mr. Graham, who, because of Parkinson's disease and other ailments,
is closing down his evangelistic career this year. Last night, his
speech was barely 15 minutes long.
The evangelist geared the evening to young people, intertwining
mentions of the rock group U2, St. Augustine and MTV. U2's lead
vocalist, Bono, visited him and his wife at their Montreat, N.C., home,
he said, and composed a song for Ruth Graham.
"In his song, he said we are 'estranged by sin and bones,' "
he said. Young people are sidetracked by many distractions, he added,
including loneliness and sex.
"Yes, there is pleasure in sex," he said. "Sex is given to us.
There is no harm in sex as long as it's according to the Word of God,
but you will not find answers in sex."
High-voltage performances from the South African rock 'n' roll
group Tree63, hip-hop vocalist Nicole C. Mullin and the pop group Jars
of Clay also were geared toward the young.
Mr. Graham's eldest son, Franklin Graham, now president and CEO
of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, told the crowd of his
wayward teenage days.
"I didn't want God in my life," he said. "I wanted to party. I
wanted to have fun. I wanted to enjoy life. I wanted to experience it
to the fullest."
He was 22, he said, "when I asked Jesus Christ to come into my
life. I went to church, but being religious is not going to save you."
Gesturing with a thin, black Bible in one hand, he added, "If you're
not sure where you're going to spend eternity, be sure tonight."
The thousands seated and standing in several overflow areas
ringing the stage appeared to be from every ethnic and racial group
imaginable. Rice University sociologist Bill Martin, Billy Graham's
official biographer, said this weekend appeared to be Mr. Graham's
"most diverse, polyglot gathering ever."
Event organizers have presented the three-day revival as a last
chance to hear in person a man who has preached to more people in live
audiences (210 million in 185 countries) than anyone else in history.
Event organizers said they counted 2,249 "faith commitments" Friday
night.
"We're here to hear one of God's generals close out 60-plus
years of ministry," the Rev. A.R. Bernard, local crusade chairman, told
thousands of listeners. "What better place than New York?"
"It's truly an honor for our city to host this historic
gathering," Mr. Bloomberg said. "Every nation on Earth is truly
represented on the sidewalks of New York City, and they are also
represented here on this lawn tonight."
Steven Curtis Chapman, one of the musicians picked to lead the
worship Friday night, exhorted the throng to look ahead instead of to
the past: "There's a lot of talk about tonight being the end of an
incredible era," he said, "but God's doing amazing new things."
Still, the event had the trappings of a last great hurrah,
which Mr. Graham referred to Friday night when he talked about a
photograph for which he had just posed with about two dozen
grandchildren. Mr. Graham's second-eldest daughter, Anne Graham Lotz,
said about 70 members of the Graham family, including spouses, had come
to New York for the event.
"We are quite a mob," she said. "We just wanted to be here to
support him."
A variety of other groups were drawn to the event, many of them
passing out literature advertising various Christian ministries.
Several groups of anti-Graham demonstrators -- mostly Christian groups
that disagree with his ecumenical stances -- posted picket signs near
the park entrance, which prompted shouting matches with others.
"That's not right," observed Greg Parker, who identified
himself as a Jewish resident of Huntington, Long Island, who had come
out of curiosity. "Billy Graham is a man of peace."
Also present were several dozen Mormon missionaries clothed in
their distinctive white shirts, ties and dark pants.
"A lot of people think we're not Christians, so we decided to
come," said Elder Chase Cornett of Sammamish, Wash. "We're here to
answer questions. People here are clearly searching."

Copyright © 2005 News World Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.
---
> If you read the Rolling Stone article we mentioned yesterday about the
> Bono and Pat Boone collaboration, you learned that the song is called
> "Thank You, Billy Graham." And if you still have doubts about it,
> here's video proof - the full song, Bono's intro included. (Thanks RB)
>
> http://www.patsgold.com/video/tybg_240x180.mov
>
>
>
> m2
> ___________________
> @U2
> http://www.atu2.com

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