Apple Podcasts 
Spotify 
Youtube Music Sept. 18, 2026
The Great Inviter
Dick Foth remembers September 11, 2001 — and the quiet, unexpected moment three days later that he has carried with him ever since. In the aftermath of the attacks, Dick and his wife Ruth were invited to a service of prayer and remembrance at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., alongside four former presidents, members of Congress, and thousands of grieving Americans. Slipping away just before the service began, Dick found himself face-to-face with the man he calls "the great inviter": Dr. Billy Graham. In this episode, Dick recalls Graham’s simple greeting, his brief but powerful message of prayer, remembrance, repentance and hope, and the moment thousands of mourners rose to their feet in spontaneous applause. It’s a story about the difference between being told about life and being invited to it — and about a handshake Dick has never forgotten.
Chapters
- 00:00:00 Introduction: Remembering 9/11
- 00:00:52 September 14, 2001: A Nation Gathers
- 00:02:12 Arriving at the Cathedral: Security and Solemnity
- 00:02:40 A Bathroom Break Becomes a Divine Appointment
- 00:03:06 Hello, I'm Billy Graham: The Great Inviter
- 00:04:07 The Message: Foundation, Hope, and God's Blessing
- 00:05:11 A Standing Ovation: A Moment of Unity
- 00:05:46 The Lord's Prayer: Denise Graves' Sacred Song
- 00:06:34 The Power of Invitation: Being Invited to Life
- 00:07:27 Legacy of the Great Inviter: Welcome Home
WEBVTT
1
00:00:06.773 --> 00:00:07.573
Well, hello, friends.
2
00:00:07.953 --> 00:00:10.515
This is Dick Foth with Stories from the Road.
3
00:00:11.916 --> 00:00:18.921
We've just remembered 9-11-2001 over the last few days.
4
00:00:19.602 --> 00:00:27.147
And before we get completely away from it and on to other things, I wanted to add something that I feel is different.
5
00:00:27.904 --> 00:00:28.744
Pretty important.
6
00:00:29.205 --> 00:00:39.688
So I record this podcast a few days after that 25th anniversary of 9-11, when in 2001, a pristine September Tuesday morning was turned into horror.
7
00:00:40.609 --> 00:00:47.411
In the Twin Towers of New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, DC, and a farmer's field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
8
00:00:48.332 --> 00:00:51.193
That horror changed the world forever, didn't it?
9
00:00:52.533 --> 00:00:57.055
But 72 hours later, and many folks may not remember this,
10
00:00:58.379 --> 00:01:20.754
On that September Friday morning following 9-11, when shock and anger and grief and just formed a quagmire of emotion in this nation, more than 2,000 people gathered at the invitation of President George W. Bush for a service of prayer and remembrance.
11
00:01:21.488 --> 00:01:32.754
The place of that gathering sits at the highest geographic point in Washington, D.C., just just north of Georgetown University at the intersection of Massachusetts and Wisconsin Avenue.
12
00:01:33.454 --> 00:01:41.939
It's called the National Cathedral and is the place that memorial services for presidents and other honored leaders have been held over over many decades.
13
00:01:43.259 --> 00:01:47.982
On Friday, September 14th, 2001, the world came to that sanctuary
14
00:01:49.100 --> 00:01:52.782
Former presidents like the Carters, the Fords, the H.W.
15
00:01:52.822 --> 00:01:57.404
Bushes, the Clintons, all sat adjacent or near President George Bush and his wife, Laura.
16
00:01:58.105 --> 00:02:05.889
There were members of the Supreme Court, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Cabinet members, most of the House and Senate members, ambassadors from many nations of the world.
17
00:02:07.529 --> 00:02:12.212
Through a series of circumstances, Ruth and I were honored to be invited.
18
00:02:12.980 --> 00:02:17.484
It felt like the morning matched the pain in people's hearts.
19
00:02:17.844 --> 00:02:22.288
It was gray and rainy, very unlike 9-11 morning.
20
00:02:23.209 --> 00:02:24.530
Security was at a maximum.
21
00:02:24.550 --> 00:02:29.975
There were police everywhere and military troops, helicopters circling overhead.
22
00:02:31.836 --> 00:02:39.463
We got there early and found our seats down on the far left and sat quietly as people began to fill that space, that magnificent space.
23
00:02:40.788 --> 00:02:45.692
But about 30 minutes before everything began, I thought I'd just slip out to use the bathroom.
24
00:02:45.712 --> 00:02:52.839
As it turns out, that room was located way at the back of the entrance of the cathedral, or near the entrance of the cathedral.
25
00:02:54.300 --> 00:03:05.009
I walked quickly to the back as people were coming in by now the hundreds, and as I reached for the door, it swung open, and I was standing face to face with
26
00:03:06.107 --> 00:03:12.548
the person that would be, I think, from my perspective, the main speaker for the service, Dr. Billy Graham.
27
00:03:13.508 --> 00:03:32.052
This tall, elegant, white haired, 82 year old man who'd spoken to hundreds of millions of people around the world in the previous 50 years, just smiled as he reached out to shake my hand and simply said, hello, I'm Billy Graham.
28
00:03:33.172 --> 00:03:34.652
I am so glad you've come.
29
00:03:36.718 --> 00:03:49.822
Ever since I'd first seen Billy Graham on television in the late 1950s in his great gatherings with mass choir singing at the close of the service, just as I am without one plea, but that your blood was shed for me.
30
00:03:50.742 --> 00:03:58.564
With hundreds of people streaming forward to offer their lives and futures to Jesus, I always saw him as the great inviter.
31
00:03:59.764 --> 00:04:05.606
And that September morning in the National Cathedral, I didn't just see it, I felt it.
32
00:04:07.414 --> 00:04:13.239
Later in that service, when he spoke, it was an interfaith service, they helped him up to the high pulpit.
33
00:04:14.640 --> 00:04:23.108
Whatever physical limitations he had did not affect his voice, and it was a number of stairs up to the pulpit, but it didn't affect his voice.
34
00:04:24.229 --> 00:04:30.234
And for 11 1⁄2 minutes, he called us to prayer and remembrance and repentance.
35
00:04:31.375 --> 00:04:34.358
He reminded us that God is our sure foundation
36
00:04:35.942 --> 00:04:41.585
and referencing the moment that even though the towers had collapsed, their foundations had remained.
37
00:04:43.105 --> 00:04:47.567
And he remembered or reminded us that we have hope in Jesus.
38
00:04:49.228 --> 00:04:51.669
And he closed with a simple, God bless you.
39
00:04:54.150 --> 00:05:02.714
Then those 2,500 people were silent for almost a minute as a priest came up to help him down the stairs.
40
00:05:03.560 --> 00:05:10.922
in his sort of instability physically, to where he sat with the other officiants and they sat facing us.
41
00:05:11.942 --> 00:05:17.323
As he reached the bottom step, the dean of the cathedral began to do this.
42
00:05:20.864 --> 00:05:25.825
And all of a sudden, spontaneously, everyone was on their feet applauding.
43
00:05:26.625 --> 00:05:29.386
I mean, it felt like it went on and on.
44
00:05:29.586 --> 00:05:31.566
It was almost a minute, I think.
45
00:05:32.407 --> 00:05:35.109
But that minute was a moment.
46
00:05:46.058 --> 00:05:56.226
There was another quiet moment and then the opera singer Denise Graves, sort of mirror imaging Billy's invitation, started singing the Lord's Prayer.
47
00:05:57.447 --> 00:06:01.370
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
48
00:06:02.660 --> 00:06:07.723
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
49
00:06:08.644 --> 00:06:16.549
Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
50
00:06:17.789 --> 00:06:22.092
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
51
00:06:23.793 --> 00:06:29.957
For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
52
00:06:29.977 --> 00:06:31.818
Amen.
53
00:06:31.838 --> 00:06:32.098
Amen.
54
00:06:34.297 --> 00:06:41.220
The great inviter, Billy Graham, had invited us again to trust in the face of tragedy.
55
00:06:42.561 --> 00:06:44.742
It's one thing to be told about life, isn't it?
56
00:06:46.302 --> 00:06:48.543
It's quite another thing to be invited to it.
57
00:06:51.345 --> 00:06:55.206
I'll always cherish that strong handshake, that moment in time.
58
00:06:55.867 --> 00:07:02.770
And at the risk of sounding cheesy, that hand that had milked a lot of cows as a boy on a dairy farm in North Carolina,
59
00:07:03.548 --> 00:07:13.774
That hand that would shake the hands of scores of world leaders and multiplied thousands of ordinary folk, wherever he found us, captured a moment of invitation.
60
00:07:15.955 --> 00:07:22.559
Dr. Billy Graham would die 17 years later on February 21st, 2018, just nine months before his 100th birthday.
61
00:07:27.814 --> 00:07:41.143
And his is a name, as you know, that in the history books would be seen as a power for good for most of the 20th century as he presented the Jesus story around the world and invited us to discover and follow him.
62
00:07:42.644 --> 00:07:43.425
The great inviter.
63
00:07:44.565 --> 00:07:45.986
I love even saying that.
64
00:07:46.967 --> 00:07:55.933
My imagination sees him coming into the presence of his heavenly father on that February day and hearing the father say,
65
00:07:57.971 --> 00:07:58.671
Hello, Billy.
66
00:08:00.452 --> 00:08:01.793
I'm so glad you've come.
67
00:08:06.355 --> 00:08:07.696
That's it for now.
68
00:08:08.977 --> 00:08:10.518
I'll catch you the next time around.
69
00:08:10.718 --> 00:08:11.298
God bless.
1
00:00:06.773 --> 00:00:07.573
Well, hello, friends.
2
00:00:07.953 --> 00:00:10.515
This is Dick Foth with Stories from the Road.
3
00:00:11.916 --> 00:00:18.921
We've just remembered 9-11-2001 over the last few days.
4
00:00:19.602 --> 00:00:27.147
And before we get completely away from it and on to other things, I wanted to add something that I feel is different.
5
00:00:27.904 --> 00:00:28.744
Pretty important.
6
00:00:29.205 --> 00:00:39.688
So I record this podcast a few days after that 25th anniversary of 9-11, when in 2001, a pristine September Tuesday morning was turned into horror.
7
00:00:40.609 --> 00:00:47.411
In the Twin Towers of New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, DC, and a farmer's field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
8
00:00:48.332 --> 00:00:51.193
That horror changed the world forever, didn't it?
9
00:00:52.533 --> 00:00:57.055
But 72 hours later, and many folks may not remember this,
10
00:00:58.379 --> 00:01:20.754
On that September Friday morning following 9-11, when shock and anger and grief and just formed a quagmire of emotion in this nation, more than 2,000 people gathered at the invitation of President George W. Bush for a service of prayer and remembrance.
11
00:01:21.488 --> 00:01:32.754
The place of that gathering sits at the highest geographic point in Washington, D.C., just just north of Georgetown University at the intersection of Massachusetts and Wisconsin Avenue.
12
00:01:33.454 --> 00:01:41.939
It's called the National Cathedral and is the place that memorial services for presidents and other honored leaders have been held over over many decades.
13
00:01:43.259 --> 00:01:47.982
On Friday, September 14th, 2001, the world came to that sanctuary
14
00:01:49.100 --> 00:01:52.782
Former presidents like the Carters, the Fords, the H.W.
15
00:01:52.822 --> 00:01:57.404
Bushes, the Clintons, all sat adjacent or near President George Bush and his wife, Laura.
16
00:01:58.105 --> 00:02:05.889
There were members of the Supreme Court, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Cabinet members, most of the House and Senate members, ambassadors from many nations of the world.
17
00:02:07.529 --> 00:02:12.212
Through a series of circumstances, Ruth and I were honored to be invited.
18
00:02:12.980 --> 00:02:17.484
It felt like the morning matched the pain in people's hearts.
19
00:02:17.844 --> 00:02:22.288
It was gray and rainy, very unlike 9-11 morning.
20
00:02:23.209 --> 00:02:24.530
Security was at a maximum.
21
00:02:24.550 --> 00:02:29.975
There were police everywhere and military troops, helicopters circling overhead.
22
00:02:31.836 --> 00:02:39.463
We got there early and found our seats down on the far left and sat quietly as people began to fill that space, that magnificent space.
23
00:02:40.788 --> 00:02:45.692
But about 30 minutes before everything began, I thought I'd just slip out to use the bathroom.
24
00:02:45.712 --> 00:02:52.839
As it turns out, that room was located way at the back of the entrance of the cathedral, or near the entrance of the cathedral.
25
00:02:54.300 --> 00:03:05.009
I walked quickly to the back as people were coming in by now the hundreds, and as I reached for the door, it swung open, and I was standing face to face with
26
00:03:06.107 --> 00:03:12.548
the person that would be, I think, from my perspective, the main speaker for the service, Dr. Billy Graham.
27
00:03:13.508 --> 00:03:32.052
This tall, elegant, white haired, 82 year old man who'd spoken to hundreds of millions of people around the world in the previous 50 years, just smiled as he reached out to shake my hand and simply said, hello, I'm Billy Graham.
28
00:03:33.172 --> 00:03:34.652
I am so glad you've come.
29
00:03:36.718 --> 00:03:49.822
Ever since I'd first seen Billy Graham on television in the late 1950s in his great gatherings with mass choir singing at the close of the service, just as I am without one plea, but that your blood was shed for me.
30
00:03:50.742 --> 00:03:58.564
With hundreds of people streaming forward to offer their lives and futures to Jesus, I always saw him as the great inviter.
31
00:03:59.764 --> 00:04:05.606
And that September morning in the National Cathedral, I didn't just see it, I felt it.
32
00:04:07.414 --> 00:04:13.239
Later in that service, when he spoke, it was an interfaith service, they helped him up to the high pulpit.
33
00:04:14.640 --> 00:04:23.108
Whatever physical limitations he had did not affect his voice, and it was a number of stairs up to the pulpit, but it didn't affect his voice.
34
00:04:24.229 --> 00:04:30.234
And for 11 1⁄2 minutes, he called us to prayer and remembrance and repentance.
35
00:04:31.375 --> 00:04:34.358
He reminded us that God is our sure foundation
36
00:04:35.942 --> 00:04:41.585
and referencing the moment that even though the towers had collapsed, their foundations had remained.
37
00:04:43.105 --> 00:04:47.567
And he remembered or reminded us that we have hope in Jesus.
38
00:04:49.228 --> 00:04:51.669
And he closed with a simple, God bless you.
39
00:04:54.150 --> 00:05:02.714
Then those 2,500 people were silent for almost a minute as a priest came up to help him down the stairs.
40
00:05:03.560 --> 00:05:10.922
in his sort of instability physically, to where he sat with the other officiants and they sat facing us.
41
00:05:11.942 --> 00:05:17.323
As he reached the bottom step, the dean of the cathedral began to do this.
42
00:05:20.864 --> 00:05:25.825
And all of a sudden, spontaneously, everyone was on their feet applauding.
43
00:05:26.625 --> 00:05:29.386
I mean, it felt like it went on and on.
44
00:05:29.586 --> 00:05:31.566
It was almost a minute, I think.
45
00:05:32.407 --> 00:05:35.109
But that minute was a moment.
46
00:05:46.058 --> 00:05:56.226
There was another quiet moment and then the opera singer Denise Graves, sort of mirror imaging Billy's invitation, started singing the Lord's Prayer.
47
00:05:57.447 --> 00:06:01.370
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
48
00:06:02.660 --> 00:06:07.723
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
49
00:06:08.644 --> 00:06:16.549
Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
50
00:06:17.789 --> 00:06:22.092
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
51
00:06:23.793 --> 00:06:29.957
For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
52
00:06:29.977 --> 00:06:31.818
Amen.
53
00:06:31.838 --> 00:06:32.098
Amen.
54
00:06:34.297 --> 00:06:41.220
The great inviter, Billy Graham, had invited us again to trust in the face of tragedy.
55
00:06:42.561 --> 00:06:44.742
It's one thing to be told about life, isn't it?
56
00:06:46.302 --> 00:06:48.543
It's quite another thing to be invited to it.
57
00:06:51.345 --> 00:06:55.206
I'll always cherish that strong handshake, that moment in time.
58
00:06:55.867 --> 00:07:02.770
And at the risk of sounding cheesy, that hand that had milked a lot of cows as a boy on a dairy farm in North Carolina,
59
00:07:03.548 --> 00:07:13.774
That hand that would shake the hands of scores of world leaders and multiplied thousands of ordinary folk, wherever he found us, captured a moment of invitation.
60
00:07:15.955 --> 00:07:22.559
Dr. Billy Graham would die 17 years later on February 21st, 2018, just nine months before his 100th birthday.
61
00:07:27.814 --> 00:07:41.143
And his is a name, as you know, that in the history books would be seen as a power for good for most of the 20th century as he presented the Jesus story around the world and invited us to discover and follow him.
62
00:07:42.644 --> 00:07:43.425
The great inviter.
63
00:07:44.565 --> 00:07:45.986
I love even saying that.
64
00:07:46.967 --> 00:07:55.933
My imagination sees him coming into the presence of his heavenly father on that February day and hearing the father say,
65
00:07:57.971 --> 00:07:58.671
Hello, Billy.
66
00:08:00.452 --> 00:08:01.793
I'm so glad you've come.
67
00:08:06.355 --> 00:08:07.696
That's it for now.
68
00:08:08.977 --> 00:08:10.518
I'll catch you the next time around.
69
00:08:10.718 --> 00:08:11.298
God bless.