Thousands Turn Out for Rev. Falwell Funeral
Pastor Dale Morgan
Thousands Turn Out for Rev. Falwell Funeral*
Tuesday May 22, 2007 6:01 PM
By SUE LINDSEY
Associated Press Writer
LYNCHBURG, Va. (AP) - Thousands of mourners arrived Tuesday for the
funeral of the Rev. Jerry Falwell, the folksy evangelist who built the
Moral Majority into a conservative Christian empire that influenced
national politics.
The funeral returns Falwell to his roots - the Thomas Road Baptist
Church, where he started as a young preacher in 1956 with just 35
parishioners in an old abandoned soda bottling plant.
Today, his son Jonathan Falwell leads Thomas Road Baptist, and the
sanctuary seats 6,000.
More than an hour before the service, crowds already were being directed
to overflow seating in Liberty University's 10,000-seat basketball arena
and its football stadium. About 300 police and other personnel were
helping manage the crowd, said Lynchburg Police Chief Charles W. Bennett
Jr. said.
More than 33,000 people had viewed Falwell's body over four days as it
lay in repose.
``He was a champion of the fundamental values that we hold dear,'' said
fellow Virginia evangelist Pat Robertson, citing Falwell's stance
against abortion and homosexuality. ``He stepped on some toes.''
Some Republican figures were expected for the funeral, but none of the
party's presidential candidates said they could attend. The White House
was sending a midlevel aide. Among Virginia Republican leaders, Lt. Gov.
Bill Bolling and Attorney General Bob McDonnell were expected.
Falwell, 73, died a week ago after collapsing in his office at Liberty
University. His physician said Falwell had a heart condition and
presumably died of a heart rhythm abnormality.
Falwell founded the university in 1971 and became a force in Republican
politics in the 1980s after starting the Moral Majority and organizing
the conservative Christian vote to send Ronald Reagan to the White House.
Even as a young preacher, he broke new ground, launching television
evangelism with the ``Old Time Gospel Hour'' in 1956.
He built the Thomas Road Baptist congregation to an estimate 24,000 over
the years by knocking on doors and listening to the people who answered.
To the end, he stayed in touch with his congregation.
Wendell Walker, who moved from Macon, Ga., 33 years ago to attend the
Liberty Baptist College that preceded the university, said he had helped
Falwell with baby dedication ceremonies two days before his death.
``All the parents were coming forward to dedicate their babies,'' Walker
said. ``I'd hand him the cards.''
Walker said he ``just loved helping a godly man.''
Falwell also made careful preparations for a leadership transition after
his death of both the church and his Liberty University to his sons.
Jonathan's brother, Jerry Falwell Jr., is already vice chancellor at
Liberty.
Falwell ``changed the way people thought about some issues,'' said Jay
Seculo of the American Center for Law and Justice as he filed into the
service Tuesday.
Other conservative leaders attending included the Rev. Franklin Graham,
son of evangelist Billy Graham and a scheduled speaker; former U.S. Sen.
George Allen; onetime Republican presidential candidate Gary Bauer, and
Paige Patterson, president of the Southwestern Baptist Theological
Seminary in Fort Worth.
``So many in politics aren't recognizing the social and moral issues in
our society,'' said Roy Moore, the Alabama judge who gained a national
following with his unsuccessful fight to display a Ten Commandments
monument. ``People like Jerry Falwell were bold enough to speak out.''
A private burial was planned on the grounds of Liberty University near a
former mansion where Falwell's office was located.