After a week of remembrances, the nation bid farewell to its longest-living president, former president Jimmy Carter, in a hymn-laden, Scripture-laced service that stretched an hour past its expected end.
Carter, a progressive Baptist who described himself as born-again and who elevated evangelicalism to the public eye during his campaign, arranged for faith to be front and center in his state funeral.
Held at the Washington National Cathedral, the service included the hymns “Come Thou Almighty King,” “Amazing Grace,” and “Be Still My Soul.” The choir also sang “Eternal Father, Strong to Save,” also known as the “The Navy Hymn,” in honor of Carter’s service in the Navy.
Carter died December 29 at 100 years old. His flag-draped casket was met outside the doors of the church building by Marshall Hollerith, dean of the National Cathedral, and Mariann Edgar Budde, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington.
The casket entered the cathedral to the rich accents of civil rights champion and ordained minister Andrew Young—a former Democratic congressman from Carter’s home state of Georgia—reading passages from John’s gospel and Romans:
I am the resurrection and the life, saith the Lord. He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. … I know that my redeemer lives, and that he shall stand upon the latter day upon the earth. And though this body shall be destroyed, yet shall I see God, who I shall see for myself and my eyes shall behold, and not as a stranger.
On the front row sat the Carter children: Jack, Chip (James Earl III), Jeff, and Amy. Across the aisle sat the former presidents and their spouses: Bill and Hillary Clinton, George W. and Barbara Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald and Melania Trump. Vice President Kamala Harris sat in the row just ahead with husband Doug Emhoff and President Joe Biden alongside Jill Biden.
The 39th president’s grandson, Josh Carter, opened by speaking of grandfather’s commitment to Maranatha Baptist Church in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, noting that “from World War II to COVID, he taught Sunday school.”
On Sunday mornings, people from all over the country would be lined up, sometimes from the night before, to hear his grandfather preach. “My grandfather would address the most diverse Sunday school every Sunday,” his grandson said. Jimmy Carter’s final lesson, in 2019, was reportedly about “being ready to go to heaven.”
Faith, and his church, were “central to his life.”
“He worshiped the Prince of Peace,” the younger Carter said. At the end, his tribute turned into something of a gospel sermon, where he read a long passage of Scripture: Romans 8:1–18, 38–39.
Carter was very public about his faith, participating at times in door-to-door evangelism and speaking about his faith to world leaders during his time in office, according to Randall Balmer, a professor of religion at Dartmouth College and the author of a Carter biography focused on faith.
Balmer, who met with Carter multiple times, said the former president shared that he and his wife, Rosalynn, had a habit of reading the Bible every night, often in Spanish, as a way to keep their devotional lives—and their Spanish—sharp.
Carter outlived at least two people he had originally asked to deliver eulogies at his funeral. The sons of the late president Gerald Ford and Carter’s late vice president, Walter Mondale, spoke in their stead.
Steven Ford, actor and Gerald Ford’s third son, told the Carter family that “God did a good thing when he made your dad.”
He shared an anecdote, provoking laughter, about how both Ford and Carter made a pact to speak at each other’s funerals. Carter fulfilled his pledge by speaking at Ford’s state funeral service in 2006.
Former president Ford’s prepared tribute included a homage to Carter’s 77-year marriage to Rosalynn Carter, who passed a year before the president: “In a life rich with blessings, none was greater for Jimmy than his love he shared with Rosalynn and the love the two of them shared with their children,” his son read.
“We add our prayers to the prayers of tens and millions around the world,” Ford said to the Carter family at the end of his speech.
Ted Mondale, former Minnesota state senator, delivered a eulogy written by his late father that touched on Carter’s support for making human rights a centerpiece of foreign policy, striving to bring peace to the Middle East, addressing climate and environmental issues, and supporting women’s rights.
Stuart Eizenstat, Carter-era White House domestic affairs advisor, also mentioned the former president’s policy wins—and the difficulties that beleaguered Carter’s one term—stubborn inflation, foreign policy woes, a protracted hostage crisis.
Jason Carter, former Georgia state senator and chair of the board of the Carter Center, spoke of the man he knew as “Papaw” who would sometimes answer the door in shorts and Crocs. He spoke of his grandfather’s down-to-earth nature in washing Ziploc bags to reuse, struggling with adopting new technology (like the cell phone), and papering his fridge with pictures of his grandchildren.
“From the moment that he woke up until he laid his head, his life was a testament to the goodness of God,” Jason Carter said, referencing Bethel Music and Jenn Johnson’s worship song “Goodness of God.”
He also spoke about Carter’s philanthropic, post-presidency work, such as nearly eradicating diseases like the Guinea worm and building houses with Habitat for Humanity.
Another grandson, James Carter, read the Beatitudes passage in Matthew 5:1–16.
President Joe Biden’s tribute touched on Carter’s faith in God and vision for America: “Throughout his life, he showed us what it means to be a practitioner of good works, and a good and faithful servant of God.” He added, “Today, many think he was from a bygone era, but in reality, he saw well into the future.”
Near the close, Young spoke about the unlikely friendship he, a Black man, developed with Carter, who grew up in the thick of the Jim Crow segregated South. Carter would later appoint Young to be his ambassador to the United Nations.
“James Earl Carter was truly a child of God,” Young said.
One of the only secular songs, John Lennon’s “Imagine,” featured Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood serenading the crowd.
At the end of the service, clergy led a recitation of the Lord’s Prayer and circled the casket to lay their hands in a benediction, including Budde, the bishop; Tony Lowden, Carter’s longtime personal pastor from Maranatha Baptist Church; and Sean Rowe, presiding bishop and primate of the Episcopal Church.
Carter’s casket departed to the powerful sound of a 10,000-plus pipe organ and choir singing “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name.”
The state funeral is one of the last events closing nearly a week of remembrances—from military salutes, to services in Georgia, to a period of lying in state that was open to the public in the US Capitol building.
Carter was president from 1977 to 1981 before losing his reelection bid to former president Ronald Reagan.
Later Thursday, there will be a private funeral service at Maranatha Baptist Church. Then, Carter will be buried in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, next to Rosalynn, who died November 19, 2023. Carter is survived by more than 30 family members.
The post From Plains to the Presidency, Jimmy Carter Remembered at National Funeral appeared first on Christianity Today.