Birthday Bash: The Billy Graham Cove

 

When Ryan and I were in Asheville a few years ago – in the winter – we went to the Billy Graham Cove and Training Center to tour it, but alas, they were closed because of the snow. So when we knew we were going back, we made sure to put this on the list again.

            In my pretty itinerary, we planned to spend all of Friday at the Biltmore and then spend the first part of Saturday at the Billy Graham Cove before traveling on to Mt. Airy, North Carolina Saturday afternoon to see the rest of what we didn’t get to see there the last time we were in town.

            But when we ended up with all of Friday afternoon free, we decided to just go ahead and go on over to the Cove, and then we would have more time to go to Mt. Airy the next day.

            So after our lunch at the Juicy Lucy, we headed to the Billy Graham Cove. If you’re not familiar, Billy and Ruth Graham created a whole beautiful place of worship, prayer, and training, right there in Asheville. It’s free to visit and so pretty.

            Our first stop was at the chapel. There was a sweet gentleman who gave us a tour and some background on the property and the design ideas behind the chapel. It’s a gorgeous building.

            Then we went inside, and another tour guide talked to us a little about the ministry as it is today, and we watched a short video, too.

            Next, we went to a museum-type room within the chapel that held pictures from throughout Billy’s ministry – and my favorite thing: one of his traveling pulpits. I know it’s so dumb to be excited about having my picture taken with a traveling pulpit, but it was one of the highlights of the trip for me.

            They had some of his notes on the pulpit, and it was fascinating to see the lights system he had for keeping himself on a time track.

            (Note, in case you ever go there: they do have tour guides in each room, but once you get past the first couple of stops, they are mostly there to answer questions and you can tour at your own leisure.)

            We moved on to the sanctuary, which Billy Graham’s wife, Ruth, was instrumental in designing. It was a gorgeous space, and I really enjoyed the chance to see it. There happened to be several others touring at the same time, so we didn’t get to sit in there alone, but it was still a sweet place to visit.

            Above the chapel sanctuary is a prayer room, and we were able to visit it also before moving along.

            We wandered through the gardens outside the chapel and then drove on up to the Training Center.

            They host speakers and musical artists at this venue, and when we stopped by, there were a handful of groups on site for weekend events: a women’s retreat, a marriage retreat, and something else, too, I believe. I loved seeing people come in for some time away and rest.

            Ryan and I found coffee and sat out on the huge back deck to look at the mountains and Lexi-shaped clouds. We were right there in Asheville, but it felt like a million miles out in the middle of nowhere. So peaceful and serene!

            All in all, we stayed for a couple of hours before heading back to the hotel. I would love to go back one day for one of their events. (Check out the lineup here!) A beautiful, special place to visit.

            This trip was heavy on activities and light on rest, so we took advantage of the evening and got some rest. Ryan picked up Chick-fil-A, and we ate in our room, and then we just took it easy the rest of the night.