Graham’s Scots trip in telly spotlight
A new documentary about US evangelist Billy Graham’s 1955 Scottish crusade is to be screened this week.
Six Weeks To Save The World looks back at the Amer ican preacher’s residency at Glasgow’s Kelvin Hall and stadium events at Hampden, Ibrox and Tynecastle.
Graham’s All Scotland Crusade for Christianity c ame when chu rch attendances were dropping ami d s t w i d e s pr e a d austerity in the aftermath of World War II.
The fi lm, on BBC2 on Tuesday at 9pm, sheds light on how he came to Glasgow at the prompting of local Church of Scotland Minister Tom Allan and hears from people who attended the gatherings, which were relayed around the country.
Gordon Mi l ler was a young farm worker who was “saved” when he met him at St Giles Church in Elgin.
He said: “He did not mince his words. I could literally feel the flames of Hell round about me so in desperation I started ‘right from 10 down to nothing and then I’ll go’. I got as far as eight and then, before I got up from my knees, I knew I was saved.”
The evangelist, who was greeted like a Hollywood superstar when he arrived in Glasgow, reached an estimated 2.5 million people in his six-week crusade.
His closing ral ly at Hampden was attended by 100,000 and around 50,000 people are said to have been converted during his stay.
Graham died in February this year aged 99.