Evangelist Billy Graham will not conduct a crusade in London in November because of the distance and health concerns, his organization announced this week.
“After much prayerful consideration, I determined I should not be that far from home,” Mr. Graham said in a letter notifying those who had invited him. “This was a difficult decision because London has played such a significant part in the life of my ministry.”
Mr. Graham, 86, has a variety of ailments, including Parkinson’s disease and prostate cancer. During his crusade last month at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens, N.Y., his nightly sermons each lasted less than 25 minutes. His wife, Ruth, is bedridden.
But on the last night of the crusade, Mr. Graham was buoyed enough by the crowds that he told New Yorkers he might return. About 242,000 people had packed the park during the three-day crusade.
“With God’s help,” he said, “we’ll be back to see you again.”
Mr. Graham then hinted he might travel to London, the site of several enormously successful crusades, including a 12-week run in 1954 that packed Harringay Arena. The crusade attracted royalty, celebrities and made believers of newspaper critics. In 1955, Mr. Graham preached in Glasgow and at London’s Wembley Stadium.
The evangelist told the crowd last month that an Anglican minister, representing the London planning committee for the crusade, was seated on stage. “This is not the end,” Mr. Graham told the crowd. “Others may think so, but I don’t.”
But the elderly evangelist had second thoughts after the New York event. It’s unclear whether last week’s bombings in London played a role in his decision, and Mr. Graham said this week he was praying for Londoners, especially the victims and their families.
Mr. Graham’s eldest son, Franklin, who has effectively replaced his father as the head of the ministry, will continue conducting crusades. A spokeswoman said yesterday the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association hasn’t yet raised enough funds to pay off the $6.8 million cost of the New York crusade.
The evangelist’s next scheduled public event is an Aug. 26 dedication of the Billy Graham Library at Billy Graham Evangelistic Association headquarters in Charlotte, N.C.
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