In a powerful Easter message, photographed from smoldering ruins in a region with severe fires in California, Pastor Franklin Graham calls on countries that remember that devastation has not lost hope.
“Easter from Ashes,” filmed in the ashes of a house lost in a wildfire in Southern California, will premiere at Noon ET on Fox News.
“Is there hope in place of ashes?” Graham asks that he stands special in the tile ble in Los Angeles’ Parisades district. “This is a message of hope for those who feel forgotten.”
The program, which also features performances by Grammy-winning worship leader Michael W. Smith and artist Charity Gale, was recorded in and around the area still damaged by the flames.
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The music section was filmed on the Pepperdine University campus, just a few miles from the levelled neighbourhood.
The broadcast is the latest in the long tradition of Easter messages from Billy Graham’s Missionary Society, but this can literally be said not only for spiritual needs, but also for the physical and emotional pain felt throughout the country in the wake of natural disasters.
Volunteers carrying Samaritan wallets are looking for meaningful personal items for members of the Alvarado family in the tile ble of their home, which burned in the Eton fire on February 5th in Altadena, California. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Over the past few months, Americans have endured a series of catastrophes. West Coast wildfires, floods and tornadoes in the Midwest and South, and Hurricane Helen in the southeast. In both cases, the Samaritan wallets, the international relief organization led by Graham, are mobilized for help.
“Easter this year isn’t the same for many people,” Graham told Fox News Digital. “So many people have experienced catastrophic tragedy and loss. But I want people to know that God hasn’t abandoned them.”
Samaritan’s Purse deployed disaster relief teams across the United States to provide everything from physical labor to moral support.
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In California, volunteers have helped families sift through ashes to restore precious belongings. In particularly memorable cases, women were looking for porcelain vases. My grandmother’s heirloom was brought from overseas. The team realized that it was not hidden under a mountain of ashes in a basement corner.
“It wasn’t cracked. It wasn’t chipped,” Graham said. “For anyone else, it was just a vase. But for her, it was precious. It’s the kind of healing we’re trying to bring.”
In other parts of the country, Samaritan wallets helped restore mobility and shelter by replacing cars and rebuilding homes. In partnership with Rick Hendrick of Hendrick Automotive Group, the organization supplies vehicles to families who have lost everything.
“When people lose their cars to disasters, they’re stuck,” Graham said. “We have seen people walk to the store and rely on their neighbors.
Currently, Samaritan’s wallets have plans to continue rebuilding for at least the next three years, with more than 12 homes under construction.
Physical reconstruction is essential, but Graham’s Easter message focuses on spiritual renewal through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He draws his attention to the Bible reality, both in heaven and in hell. The theme is often overlooked, but one Graham said he believes that today is urgently needed.
“In this special we talk about how Jesus preached in Hell. “He died for our sins. He was buried. And on the third day he rose again. That’s the hope we have.”
A volunteer with Manuel and Emma Alvarado holding a Samaritan wallet after helping to find personal items in ashes at their home in Altadena, California. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
He told stories from disaster survivors who described their experiences as near death or even miraculous. One woman, caught up in the flood, was able to grab a branch that was later not found.
“Some people say the angels saved them,” Graham pointed out. “There’s something that’s not what you mean otherwise.”
Graham also spoke about his recent visit to the White House during Holy Week. There, he joined around 40 pastors for private dinners and worship services with President Donald Trump. He described the president’s remarks as “the clearest gospel message I have ever heard from the President of the United States.”
“I don’t think we’ve heard anything like that since George Washington,” Graham said. “He doesn’t just believe it, he’s not afraid to say it.”
“We have a president who is not afraid of his faith,” Graham said Friday. Ingraham’s angle. “He’s not embarrassed by it. He’s very bold about it and makes clear what he believes.”
Graham described Trump’s message at dinner as one of the clearest affirmations of the gospel he has heard from the US president. “He speaks of Jesus Christ, and of his own faith,” he said. “He will tell you that when the bullet went through his ears in Butler, Pennsylvania, it was God who saved his life.”
Volunteers in Samaritan’s wallet pray with Manuel and Emma Alvarado. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
The day after dinner, Graham joined the Rev. Greg Laurie and Jentezen Franklin, who were administering the Holy Communion, to serve White House staff members, including lawyers and administrative experts. “It was a great time for worship,” he recalls.
Graham believed the Trump administration helped get through the bureaucratic red tape that often delayed recovery efforts in disaster zones.
“California was very difficult,” he said. “We face a lot of delays at the state and local levels. But the president pushed FEMA to act faster. It helped open the door.”
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Once the interview was over, Graham returned to his core season message.
“Easter is a very special time as Jesus Christ conquered death,” he said. “He took our sins to the cross. He died. He was buried. But on the third day he rose from the dead.
