Celebration of Hope
“Praise God from whom all blessings flow …” now rises from the New Orleans Superdome plaza as the sun lowers in the sky, glimmering off the cracked edges of the still-blown-out glass of the city’s downtown buildings. Some onlookers collect beneath the Dome’s overhang. Among them is Carolyn Russ, a former East New Orleans homeowner who lost everything in the flood and is now staying in a trailer in her mother’s driveway.

What is hardest for Russ and thousands of others in the Gulf Coast region are the irreplaceables. “My pictures are gone,” Russ says. At the thought, her voice falters. “I don’t even have a picture of when I was skinny.” She collects herself with a small laugh. “All my things are gone, but I still have the love of God. I’ll get through all of this.”

Now, leaning up against the Superdome in the Celebration of Hope’s overflow area, Russ anticipates that others will know the love of God as well. “Billy Graham gives just what Christians need to come together and feel the presence of the Lord after there has been so much chaos in their lives,” she says. “Christians have come together and embraced people. This is indicative of God’s love–a love that transcends denominations.”

At the two-day event that culminated the Grahams’ visit to New Orleans, more than 30,000 people rejoiced in how God had brought them through six tear-filled months since Katrina and Rita had ripped apart their city and floodwaters had destroyed their homes. Celebration-goers heard from musicians like Point of Grace, Nicole C. Mullen and the New Orleans Gospel Choir; Tommy Walker and the Tommy Coomes Band led corporate times of worship. The Celebration also included videotaped testimonies of people in the community who had trusted God through the storm.

On Saturday evening, Franklin Graham focused his message on Matthew 24, where Christ speaks of the “birth pangs” that signal the end of the age. Franklin pointed to last year’s hurricane season, two world wars within the last 80 years, earthquakes, pandemics and Sept. 11. He quoted from Daniel 12:1, “There will be a time of distress, such has not happened from the beginning of nations until then, but at that time … everyone whose name is found written in the book–will be delivered.” Franklin asked, “Is your name in the Lamb’s Book of Life? Do you know Christ? Are your sins forgiven? Are you prepared to stand before Him?” Franklin explained that we all deserve death, but God does not want us to be separated from Him, so He sent Jesus to die on the cross in our place: “Jesus was on a rescue mission for us. … so we could be with Him in heaven one day.”

Of those who gathered at the Celebration of Hope to praise God for His faithfulness, more than 1,300 made commitments to Christ. Among them …

• A 47-year-old-man from the Ninth Ward said, “I need God or I’m outta here,” indicating he would be lost without hope. He said he heard God calling him, drawing him forward to give his life to Him.
• A man from North Carolina who had come with a disaster relief team said that his fiancé had broken off their engagement, and he needed God to fill that void.
• A 58-year-old woman who lived in the flooded area of Kenner. Her counselor said she could hardly fill out the commitment card because the woman was so overjoyed and kept wanting to hug her. “I love Jesus so much!” she said. “I knew I had to get down here.” The woman was also hungry for more Bible teaching. “I want to know more,” she said.

Looking Ahead …
David Crosby, co-chair for the Celebration, said that he wants to see the Church be in the forefront of the rebuilding of the city. And to an eruption of applause, Bishop J.D. Wiley, the other co-chair and pastor of Life Center Cathedral, told the crowd at the final night of the Celebration that he, Crosby and thousands of other Christians are committed to making the Celebration of Hope become a continuation of hope, as together they reach out to the area with the love of Jesus Christ.

The coming together of the Church encouraged many. Police Lt. Adams said that seeing Christians together praising God gives him a sense of hope that things will get better. “Thousands of people were [at the Celebration], listening and praying and hoping and believing in a better time–and that God is going to restore. This let us know that there’s a lot of us. We can take this city back and we can rebuild it and we can make the evil flee from this city,” said Adams. “To see all those people is something to hold on to. It’s something tangible, something we can remember.”