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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (June 12, 1957)
Transformations in Madison Square Sarden as Throngs Hear Evangelist Thif ti ; nn of four dupatrhei , fcv the relictna wntwr of th United I Prn on Billy Graham's w oru rrutad. Tofliv't tfupaUh takes you to a typical Gruia meeting. B7 LOUIS CASSELS United Presc Correspondent New York v At you turn off Broadway onto West 49th ft., you see the first sign that something strange is happening in the bie city. A poster nun in the window of a neon - lighted bar urges you to "attend the Billy Graham Crusade." A block far ther, the light ed m a r q u ee Louis Cassels of Madison Square Carden comes into view In the same bold letters that have announced prize fights and circuses, it proclaims: Nightly at 7:30 . . . Billy Gra hnm New York Crusade . . . air conditioned ... ill scats free." It is not yet 7 p.m., but a long line already stands outside the main entrance. No ticket 's needed to get in. Although some lections are reserved for churcn sponsored delegations, at least half of the 18.500 seats are held open each nifht for people who just walk in. S-uitle Transformations As the well-mannered crowd moves inside, you notice that the Harden has undergone a few subtle transformations. Strips of cardboard cover the beer sings. A Bible shop has been set up in checkroom. At the west end of the garden is a bi platform, about 10 feet bove the arena floor. Decorated With potted plants, it is furnish e4 with chairs, an electric organ and a piano On a narrow prom ontory extending from the front of the platform, surrounded by a wrought iron fence, is the ma hogany pulpit. From the front of the pulpit to the first row of folding chairs is a 30-foot space room for sev eral hundred people to stand. The rows of chairs are divided by aisles. Some sections are marked with signs reserved for counselors, for ministers, for the blind, for the deaf fto whom the sermon is tranlated by an ex pert in sign language.) No one tells you not to smoke, but you sense that it wouldn't be appropriate. And as you look around the fast-filling auditori um, you notice there is remark able unanimity on this conclu sion. Throughout the two hours you are in the garden, you will not see a single match-flare in the distant darkened balconies. All Wait Expectantly You also will listen in vain for the coughing, whispering, throat-clearing and chair scrap ing that usually go with a big crowd. These people have come to witness, or perhaps to ex perience, religious conversion, and they are waiting . . . some reverently, some curiously, all quietly and expectantly. There is a paper-bound "cru sade hymnal" on your seat, and promptly at 7:30 choir director Clif Barrows tells you to turn to page 38. The choir 800 wom en in white blouses, 700 men in white shirts swells out in the familiar words of "Blessed As surance." Barrows gently coaxes you to join in . . . "There's A Blessing If You Sing ..." and soon the whole crowd is sing ing. Two more hyms ... prayer by a local minister ... a vocal solo by George Beverly Shea . . . the Scriptures is read by an English clergyman . . . the of fering is taken up in cardboard ice buckets. So far the service has been except for the sheer size of choir and congregation ; just what you'd find in any Bap tist church on Sunday morning. You have been waiting for Graham to make a dramatic entrance. But now you spot him 'sitting there on the platform, i taking part in the preliminaries i like everyone else. At 8:10 p.m. without fanfare or introduction, He gets up and walks quietly to the pulpit. Portable Microphone He i3, as advertised, a hand some man, with hawklike fea tures and wavy blond hair that makes him look younger than his 38 years. His suit is well tailored, perfectly pressed. He holds a limp-backed Bible in his left hand and from it he reads his text in a lound, clear voice that never reaches a shout. A portable microphone hidden in his tie clasp carries his voice to the loudspeaker system. i He moves back and forth across the platform as he talks. He gestures frequently and viv I idly . . . you count 23 different I hand movements in the space of one minute. Many people, including Gra ham, have observed that he is not an especially eloquent preacher. His prose is lucid, grammatically correct, but rare ly distinguished by an elegant turn of phrase. Neither his voice nor his manner could be descrio ed as spellbinding yet he com mands the attention of an aud ience as few preachers are able to do. You have been told it is his "sincerity" that impresses you. But you sot n realize this is too pale a term. What comes through as you listen to Billy Graham in the hushed stillness of Madi son Square Garden is not merely sincerity, but passionate, con tagious conviction. Tone of Urgency He does not strive for emo tionalism through calculated ef fect ... he seems to bend over backwards to avoid that charge which was laid at the door of so many earlier evangeslists. But there is a tone of urgency to his message, an emphasis on the eternal and ultimate importance of "the decision you will reach here tonight," which must have a powerful emotional impact on any but the most confident Chris tain ... or the most impregnable agnostic. The message, tonight is al ways, is the Christian plan of salvation, as Graham reads it in his Bible . . . anadorned or un diluted by the insights of mod ern theology. "We are all sinners," he de clares again and again. Abund antly documenting this fact are examples of the pride, lust, self ishness, greed and worldliness which infect the lives of all men . . . even the pious . . . "in cluding the speaker." And "the wages of sin s death." Graham does not invoke the image of everlasting fire, but neither docs he pass lightly over the doctrine of final judg ment and the "sentence of eter nal death" which awaits the un repentant sinner. It is only when the dark alter native has been painted that Graham proclaims the "good news" of the gospel. 'He Bore Our Sins' God has sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to redeem mankind from its self-condemnnation, Graham intones. When Jesus died on the cross, "in a mysterious and glor ious way that theologians can ex plain, he bore our sins." If wo will accept his sacrifice on our behalf, will "receive him" into our hearts as Lord and Master, we will "pass from death into life" ... an eternal life of pow er and peace and joy." Now the evanglist is inviting you to make your "decision for Christ" tonight . . . now "before you leave this building." "I am going to ask you to get our of your seat and come quiet ly down here ta the front ... as an indication of your decision," the words pour out. "Just get up and come quietly . . . come now." The choir begins to sing softly It is the old revivial hymn, "Just As I Am, Without One Plea." For an excruciatingly long minute, it seems that this time, no one is coming forward. Too Many To Count Then a -teen-age boy walks for ward, sobbing quietly. An elder ly man with gleaming bald head comes from the side. There is a smartly dressed woman in a mink stole . . . and a platium blonde who could be a show girl ... a tough-looking kid in a leather jacket and ducktail haircut ... a boy and girl hold ing hands . . . now they are coming by fives and tens . . . too many to count. . . A few have tears on their cheeks ... A few are smiling nervously . . . most of them are salemn, quiet, their heads bow ed. They seem to represent every age, sex and race . . . every economic bracket. You may still have reserva tions about why they are there . . . or whether their "conver sion" will last. But they plainly evident fact is that they arc there, hundreds of them, and so far as anyone can judge by out ward appearance, they are ut terly sincere. It is a deeply moving sight. Tmorrow: Is Bill Graham's crusade a success? 'BAGGED' AN ELK East Rutherford, N.J. W Mrs. Jerome Harris reported to police that someone had stolen a bag of laundry from her back porch. Officers learned that a volunteer from the Lyndhurst Elks Lodge had mistaken Mrs. Harris' home for another and picked tip her laundry as a clothing drive donation. Wednesday, June 12, 1957 MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE SEVEN Service Center at Blind School Opens Portland IP) A S200.000 service center and industrial school for blind persons was ded icated here Tuesday night. Named the Ella Munro Burdin Memorial Center for the Blind, the modern structure was built mainly with funds bequeathed in 1947 for the needy blind by Mrs. Burdin. The center provides space for meetings and offices for the com mission for the blind, as well as shop space for industries con ducted by the commission. No tax money was used in the con struction. Mayor Terry Schrunk, in a welcoming address, said "This building is going to help some of our citizens to help them selves. None of us want charity. All we want is the opptunity to do something constructive." City-County Structure Visioned in Portland Portland IP City planning director Lloyd Keefe advised the city council here to buy a down town business block between the city hall and the Multnomah county courthouse yesterday, en visioning a new city- county structure connected by tunnels. Keefe estimated a half-block initial purchase would cost about S200.000. Two Portland city councilmen, William A. Bowes and Ormond R. Bean, said they heartily approved Kcefe's idea. They added however, they would not approve the construction of a temporary building to relieve city hall space shortages. Earthquakes Rock North, Central Luzon Manila IP Earthquakes ranging from feeble to strong rocked Northern and Central Lu zon Island for several seconds today. The Department of Volcano! ogy here said the quakes were tectonic (slipping of a fault in the earth's crust) and that the epicenter was some 220 muc northwest of Manila. No damage to property was re ported immediately, but experts expected damage to poorly con structed buildings to be reported later today. Use Mall Tribune Want A&K The Community BieeeM Him hntoe Portland Rabbi Speaks At Southern Oregon Ashland Rabbi Joshua Stampfer, of Congregation Ah avai Sholom in Portland address ed students and faculty members at Southern Oregon college at a summer assembly today. Rabbi Stampfer also delivered several class lectures at the college. The rabbi lectures on college campuses under the auspices of an organization disseminating in an organization disseminatnig in formation concerning Judaism as part of an educational program. Dead line Sunday Classified Is fit noon Saturday: 10 a.m. Monday lor Monday: other days 5:30 previous da Top-speed relief for sour stomach, gas, sad indigestion yZJfi- FOR THE TUMMY IT'S VACATION TIME! 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