The Ladies Tea is an annual event hosted by the Billy Graham Library to inspire women of all ages with a Biblical message, music and fellowship.
Saturday's event was held in the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) dining hall, where teas and colorful plates of finger foods were placed neatly on crisp tablecloths for the hundreds of women in attendance.
This year's guest speaker was Aileen Coleman, a nurse and longtime medical missionary in the Middle East. Franklin Graham met Aileen in 1971—an encounter that helped inspire his call to world missions.
BGEA's lobby buzzing with women carrying on conversation and enjoying each other's company.
Violinists offered their talents for the Ladies Tea, which had two seatings—one in the morning and one in the afternoon.
The yearly gathering is a chance to bring young ladies into a community of women aiming to be more like Christ. Here, one girl carefully chooses her tea as the event begins.
Aileen Coleman cofounded a mission hospital in Mafraq, Jordan, in 1965. Her ongoing work has been lauded by Queen Elizabeth II of England and Queen Noor of Jordan. She is known to the Bedouin tribes as “The Angel of the Desert.”
Many women visited the Billy Graham Library afterwards and enjoyed a stroll through the Prayer Garden on a warm spring day.
