the white house. i was also told by the secret service that agents spanning the 38 years that she was a protectee have come in from around the country to pay their respects as well. brian. >> that's what so many people don't understand, kelly, is the life inside the white house is so unique. it can be so closet closetphobic depending how you're wired. and you can either rebel and push against it or make life long friends out of it. and the bushes chose the latter. >> reporter: very much so. there are agents who have said she was the first protectee to ever speak to them, to inquire of them how they were doing. very striking. staffers across both white house 41 and 43 have been here. a sense of everyone being called home to serve the bushes today.

a lot of the organization that's been happening, this is a large-scale event, has really been staffers who have jumped in to help. to organize. to bring people together. to help with the planning. so there has been an entire bush operation behind the scenes as well. i spoke with the pastor who will be among the speakers today who talked about the deep faith of barbara bush but a faith she did not wear on her sleeve. his hope at the end of this that people will be inspired to do for others. >> kelly o'connedonnell outside. at some point we'll recede. for the life and service and the faith of barbara pierce bush, would you please stand, turn to page 3, and let us sing with strength our opening hymn "praise to the lord."

♪ ♪ "praise to the lord the almighty ♪ the king of creation my soul parade him now to his temple draw near ♪ ♪ join me in glad adore raciati♪ ♪

♪ praise to the lord ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪

with a sense of your goodness, lift up you're countenance upon them and give them peace through jesus christ our lord. amen.

>> with the resurrection and the life save the lord be there the believer in me though he were dead yet shall he live. and he who sees the liveth and believer in me shall die. i know the liveth that he shall stand by body on earth though this body is destroyed that i shall see god and thyne eyes shale behold and not as a stranger. for none of us liveth up to himself and nay a man die to himself. for if we live, we live unto the

lord. if we die, we die unto the lord. whether we live or therefore die, we are the lord's. blessed are the dead who die in the lord. even so save the spirit for they rest from their labors. the lord be with you. >> and with your spirit. >> for many standing. let us pray. oh, god whose mercies cannot be numbered, accept our prayers on behalf of thy servant barbara pierce bush. and grant barbara an entrance into the land of light and joy and fellowship of our saints through jesus christ our son, lord who liveth and reign with these in the holy spirit one ga god, now and forever. amen. please be seated for the lessons.

a reading from ecclesiastes. for everything there is a season. and a time for every matter and a heaven. a time to be born. and a time to die. a time to plant. and a time to pluck up what is planted. a time to kill and a time to heal. a time to break down. and a time to build up. a time to weep. and a time to laugh. a time to mourn. and a time to dance. a time to throw away stones and a time to gather stones together. a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing. a time to seek. and a time to lose. a time to keep and a time to throw away. and time to tear, a time to sow, a time to keep silent. a time to keep quiet and a time to speak. a time for war and a time for

peace. what gained the workers from their toil. i have seen the business that god has given to everyone to be busy with. he has made everybody suitable for its time. moreover, had hassing put a past and future into their minds. yet, they cannot find out what god has done from the beginning to the end. i know there's nothing better for them than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live. moreover, it is god's gift that all should eat, drink and take pleasure in the toil. i know whatever god does, nothing can be added to it nor anything taken from it. god has done this so that all should stand in awe before him. the word of the lord. >> thanks be to god. ♪

♪ i come to the garden alone while the dew is still on the roses ♪ and the voice i hear falling on my ear ♪ ♪ the son of god disclose discl♪ ♪ and he walks with me and he talks with me ♪ and he tells me i am his own

♪ and the joy we share as we tarry there none other has ever known ♪ ♪ he speaks and the sound of his voice is so sweet the birds hush their singing ♪ ♪ and the melody that he gave to me within my heart is ricalling♪

♪ and he walks with me and he talks with me ♪ and he tells me i am his own ♪ and the joy we share as we tarry there none other has ever known ♪ ♪ i stay in the garden ♪ and the night around me be falling ♪

♪ but he bids me go through the voice of woe ♪ ♪ and his voice to me is calling ♪ and he walks with me and he talks with me ♪ and he tells me i am his own ♪ and the joy we share as we tarry there none other has ever known ♪

>> a reading from proverbs. a capable wife who can find. she is far more precious than jewels. the heart of her husband trust in her and he will have no lack of gain. she does some good and no harm all the days of her life. she seeks wool and flax and works with willing hands. >> she is like the ships of the merchant. she brings her food from far way. she rises while it is still night and provides food for her household. and for her servant girls considers a girl and buys it. with the food of her frand plan

vineyard. >> she guards her strength and makes her arms strong. she perceives her merchandise is profitable. her lamp does not go out at night. he puts her hands to the distaff and her hands hold the spindle. she opens her hands to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy. >> she is not afraid. for her household when it snows. for all her household are clothed in crimson. she makes herself coverings. her clothing is fine linen and purple. her husband is known in the city gates. taking a seat among the elders of the land. >> she makes linen garments and sells them. she surprised the merchant with sashes. strength and dignity are her clothing and she laughs at the time to come.

she opens her mouth with wisdom. and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. she looks well to the ways of her household. and does not eat the bread of idlene idleness. her children rise up and call her happy. her husband, too. and he praises her. many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all. >> charm is deceitful and beauty is vain. give her the fruit of her hands and let her works praise the city gates.

>> about a decade ago, i was on the washington mall for the national book festival. on my way to give a talk about a book i'd written. when i woman ran up to me. which doesn't happen enough, believe me. and she said, oh, my god, it's you. i said, well, yes, you know. kind of hard to argue with. she said, i just admire you so much. i love your books. you've meant a lot to me and really to my family. would you wait right here. i want to go by your new book and have you sign it. and i said, yes, ma'am, and i stood there. let us confess in this

ecclesiastical feeling, when she came back her john grisham's latest novel. it gets worse. that had been on a saturday in september. and i was on my way to maine to see the 41st president of the united states and mrs. bush. and i was feeling rather sorry for myself. and i told this story. and mrs. bush looked across the table, looked me in the eye. and i was thinking here comes some motherly sympathy. it's called telegraphing. here it comes. and she said, well, how do you k poor john grisham would feel, you know? he's a very handsome man. so, i was 0 for 2. put it was a fair and funny

point. as were so many of the points that barbara pierce bush made in her long and consequential life. known as barbara, bar, mom, mother, begsilver fox, she was comforting, sateadfast and honet and loving. barbara bush was the first lady of the generation. as a fiancee and wife of a naval aviator, she waited and prayed in the watches of the night. during the war she worked in a nuts and bolt factory in port chester, new york. and she joined george h.w. bush in the great adventure of texas. moving to distant owe ses dessa

1948. from rye, mrs. bush's mother would send boxes of soap and detergent to her daughter on the grounds they probably didn't have those kinds of things in west texas. mrs. bush raised a family. endured the loss of a daughter to leukemia. and kept everything and everyone together. and as the wife of one president and the mother of another, she holds the distinction that belongs to only one other american in the long history of the republic. abigail adams who was present at the creation. from the white house to camp david to walker's point, in hours of war and of peace, of tumult and a calm, the bushes governed in a spirit of congeniality. of civility, and of grace. instinctively generous, barbara

and george bush put country above party. the common good above political gain. and service to others above the settling of scores. the couple had met at a christmas dance in greenwich in 1941. not quite three weeks after pearl harbor. she was wearing a red and green holiday dress. he endeavored to get introduced. she was 16. he was 17. he was the only boy she ever kissed. her children, she remarked, always wanted to throw up when they heard that. until a letter to barbara during the war, george h.w. bush wrote, i love you, precious, with all my heart, and to know you love me means my life. how often i have thought about

the immeasurable joy that be ours some day. how lucky are children will be to have a mother like you. and if you ask them, they'll be the first to say, they were. i once asked president bush if he had known, even in the beginning, how resilient mrs. bush would be. no, he said. tears coming to his eyes, and he went on, she's the rock of the family, the leader of the family. i kind of float above it all. but she's always there. always there for me and for the kids. just amazing. debutante from rye, willing to make our own way, have adventures. wasn't always easy for her, but never a word of complaint. just love and strength. opinions, too, of course.

lots of those. she was strength itself. and if her tongue were sometimes sharp, she was as honest with herself as she was with all of us. when she once unwisely described a female political opponent of her husband's as a word that rhymed with "rich" she reported that her family had begun calling her the poet laureate. and she loved the story of how when her eldest son, the 43rd president of the united states took up painting. his instructor asked him if he'd ever used the color burnt amber. no, 43 replied but he did remember that from his mother's cooking. brings down the house she would say aprovingingly.

mother and son needled each other to the end. in her final days while the 43rd president was visiting, mrs. bush asked one of her doctors if she'd like to know why george w. had turned out the way he had. then she announced i smoked and drank while i was pregnant. she was a point of light. in 1989, when many americans lived in ignorance about hiv/aids, mrs. bush went to a home with infected victims and hugged children there as well as an adult male patient. and it was a message of passion, love and acceptance. she believed literacy a fundamental human right and gave the cause her all. at a televised event, commemorating the bicentennial of the constitution, mrs. bush

met a man named j.t. pace. the 63-year-old son of a former share cropper. mr. pace, who had only recently become literate was scheduled to read the constitution's preamble aloud. backstage, he was nervous. mrs. bush asked if it would help if they read it together on the broadcast. mr. pace agree. soon, the two of them stood on stage, reading in unison. as mr. pace grew comfortable, mrs. bush lowered her voice and lowered again and then again. until at least, j.t. pace was reading entirely on his own. he wept and he read. supported by barbara bush who stood to his side now silent.

her work was done when his voice spoke of the unending search for a more perfect union. j.t. pace had found his voice, not least because barbara bush had lent him her heart. just last summer, on a sunny day on the bush's porch in maine, talk turned to world war ii. and that terrible saturday september 2nd, 1944. when lieutenant junior grade george herbert walker bush was shot down on a bombing raid two of his crewmates didn't make it, becoming casualties of war. lieutenant bush parachuted out of the bomber. plunged into the sea. came up to the surface. flopped on to a life raft and waited scared and wretching.

had young bush been captured by the japanese, he would have been captive to an island home to horrific war crimes, including can c cannibalism. he would say, bar, i could have been an hors d'oeuvre. in last july in their great old age, lost in innocence, you must have been saved for a reason. i know there had to be a reason. president bush sat silent for the briefest of moments, then raised that big left hand and pointed his finger across the table at his wife. you, he said hoarsely, you were the reason.

>> a reading from the second letter of paul to the corinthians. we do not lose heart. even though our other nature is wasting away. our innernature is being renewed day by day. for the slight momentary affliction is preparing us for eternal wait of glory bond all measure because we look at what can be seen for what can not be seen. for what we see is temporary, for what cannot be seen is eternal. we have a building from god. a house not made with hymns, eternal from the heavens.

from this tent, we grow, longing to be clothed with our heavenly developing. if indeed we have taken it off, we will not be found naked. for while we're still in this tent be grown under our burden. because we wish not to be unclothed but to be further clothed. so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. he who has prepared us for this very thing is god who has given us the spirit as a guarantee. so we are always confident, even though we know that while we're at home in the body, we are away from the lord. for we walk by faith, not by sight. yes. we do have confidence and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the lord. so whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. the word of the lord. >> thanks to god.

>> would you please stand and together let us sing on page 11 the verses from "amazing grace." ♪ ♪ amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me ♪ ♪ i once was lost but now am found and i was blind but now i see ♪

♪ ♪ when we've been there 10,000 years bright shining as the sun ♪ ♪ we no less days to sing god's praise than when we first begun ♪ ♪ amazing grace >> lord jesus christ, according to john. >> glory to you lord. >> jesus said, everything that the father gives me will come to me and anyone who comes to me i

will never drive away. for i have come down from heaven. not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. and this is the will of him who sent me. that i should lose nothing of all that he has given me. but raise it up on the last day. this is, indeed, the bill of wi father. that all who see the son and believe in him may have eternal life. and i will raise him up on the last day. the gospel of the lord. >> praise to jesus christ.

♪ ♪ ♪ amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me ♪

♪ >> it's hard to think about life without that force of nature that a special friend with barbara bush. she was smart, strong, fun and feisty. even sometimes making the headlines she regretted. the world saw that, and like we did, they admired and loved her for it. the world saw a remarkable and selfless companion to her

beloved husband george. it was extraordinary how she managed their rambunctious household in 29 different homes in 17 cities. at the same time, she fully participated in his amazing career, including too many political campaigns to count. starting from the time he was chairman. harris county republican party to becoming president of the united states. once back in houston, they continued their dedication to volunteer ism and costing rounds of good works. rather than bemoan their many moves, barbara just laughed and said, one thing i can say about george, he may not be able to keep a job, but he's certainly not boring.

the world saw a compassionate but strict mother who inspired her children with tender love and firm lessons. and when needed, the fear of god. when we saw her and george together with their five children, with their 17 grandchildren and seven great-grands, we knew they represented the very best. as we watched their brood wisecrack with one another or work together on a volunteer program or campaign, we thought how wonderful it would be if more families could be so cohesive. barbara, the tough but loving enforcer was the secret sauce of this extraordinary family. the world respects barbara bush's deep passion and great effectiveness in equipping those

who cannot read with the skill to do so. we all celebrate her vision and tenacious dedication to literacy. of course, the world has seen barbara's many public contributions. but what the world may not have seen is what an amazing, caring and beautiful friend that bar was to so many of us. when jim and i first arrived in washington in 1975, i was overwhelmed trying to manage a newly blended family of seven children in an intimidating environment. fortunately, bar took me under her wing. she encouraged me. she offered suggestions. and she invited us to lunch almost every sunday lunch. those hamburger lunches that always ended with an incredible

dessert included famous personalities as well as many unknowns who they loved. and this really helped us become part of the washington world. when we returned to washington in 1981, george was vice president and jim was white house chief of staff. bar encouraged me to use jim's position in the reagan administration to promote the causes that i cared about. this really pushed me out of my comfort zone, but i followed her wise lead. she supported my efforts to help the homeless by holding meetings in the vice president's house. what a blessing. this meant that many came who otherwise would not have given our group the time of day. she also hosted controversial

homeless advocates so we could help people understand about the flight of those who live on the street. even though that was not a popular position in the administration. bar taught us volumes about who our neighbors are. and how to love them. because of their own tragic loss of daughter robin, barbara knew how to comfort those who were suffering. my jim was among them. as she helped him during his first wife's losing battle with cancer. barbara's motivation to help others was never about herself. but about giving love and support to those in need. her friendship didn't stop with people she knew. barbara bush was pen pals with people she had never met.

she corresponded for several years with a young girl who named her heifer after barbara. the child sent frequent updates on the bovine barbara bush which competed in the houston rodeo and live stock one year and finished and ate the place. i was sorry for my little friend barbara said later but was slightly relieved as i am not sure i could have stood the headlines, barbara bush wins the fat stock show. an friendship, bar said the moat important yard stick of your success will be how you treat other people. your family, your friends and

co-workers. and even strangers you meet along the way. she washe gold standard of what it meant to be a friend. because she was motivated by the desire to show god's love to each and every one of his children that she met. c.s. lewis once defined friendship as the instrument by which god reveals to each of us the beauties of others. bar's beauty was evident in everyday of her life. saying good-bye to our special friend is painful. but it's a great comfort in knowing that we will see this good and faithful servant again one day. thank you, dear lord, for bringing barbara pierce bush, this vibrantly beautiful human being into the world. and especially for bringing our

friendship into our lives. amen. >> amen. >> as i stand here today to share a few words about my mom, i feel her looming presence behind me. and i know exactly what she's

thinking right now, jeb, keep it short, don't drag this out. people have already heard enough remarks already. and most of all, don't get weepy. remember, i spent decades laughing and living a life with these people. and that is true. barbara bush filled our lives with laughter and joy. and in the case of her family, she was our teacher and role model on how to live a life of purpose and meaning. on behalf of our family, we want to thank the thousands and thousands of expressions of condolence and love for our precious mother. we want to thank mom's caregivers for their compassionate care in the last lives of their life. i want to thank neil and ma maria for eloquent words and

meach meacham, you might have been a little long but it was beautiful. we want to thank all that are gathered here to celebrate the life of barbara bush. now, it is appropriate to express gratitude, because we learn to do that at a very early age, you see, our mom was our first and most important teacher. sit up. look people in the eye. please say -- say please and thank you. do your homework. quit whining and stop complaining. eat your broccoli. yes, dad, she said that. the little things we learned became habits. and they led to bigger things like be kind. always tell the truth. never disparage anyone. serve others. treat everyone as you would want to be treated. and love your god with your heart and soul. what a blessing to have a teach are like that 24/7. now to be clear, her students weren't perfect.

that's an understatement. mom got us through our difficult times with consistent take it to the bank, unconditional but tough love. she called her style a benevolent dictatorship. but honestly, it wasn't always benevolent. when our children got a little older, they would spend more time visiting her gampy and ganny. all it took is one week and when they came ohome, all of a sudde they were pitching in around the house. they didn't fight as much and they were actually nice to be with. i attribute it to the ganny feature. even into her 90s, mom could strike fear in nephews, nieces, grandchildren.

there are no safe or micro regressions from barbara bush. in the end, every grandchild knew their ganny loves them. we learned a lot more from our mom and ganny. we learned not to take ourselves too seriously. we learned that humor is a joy that can be shared. some of our greatest memories are participating in family dinners when pmom would get int it, most of the time with george w. and have us laughing to tears. and the best role mother in the world. her authentic plastic pearls. her not coloring her hair. by the way, she was beautiful until the day she died. her hugging of an hiv/aids patient at the time when her own mother wouldn't do it. her standing by her name with rhyming poetry in the 1980 election. in a thousand other ways, barbara bush was real and that's why people admired her and loved her so.

finally, our family has had a front row seat for the most amazing love story, through a multitude of moods from new haven to odessa from bakersfield, from compton, to midland, to new york, to d.c., to new york to beijing, to d.c., back to houston and kennebu kennebunkpo kennebunkport, woo. their love is a constant. my dad say phenomenal writer. here's one of them written on january 6th, 1994. will you marry me? oops, i forgot we did that 49 years old. i was very happy on that day in 1945, but i'm even happilyier today. you have given me joy that few men know. you have made our boys into men by balling them out and then right away loving them. and our sweetest greatest daughter in the whole world. i'm climbed perhaps the highest mountain in the world, but even

that cannot hold a candle to being barbara's husband. mom used to tell me, now, george, don't walk ahead, little did she know, i was only trying to keep up, keep up with barbara pierce from rye, new york. i love you. the last time my mom went in the hospital, i think dad got sick on purpose so he could be with her. that's my theory at least. literally, a day later, he showed up with an illness. he came into the room where she was sleeping. his hair was straight up, he was wearing a hospital gown, in other words, he looked like hell. mom opened her eyes and said, my god, george, you are devastatingly handsome. every nurse, doctor, staffer had to run to the hallway because they all started crying. i hope you can see why we think our mom and our dad are teachers

and models for our entire family and many others. finally, the last time i was with her, i asked her about dying, was she ready to go? was she sad? without missing a beat, she said, jeb, i believe in jesus, and he is my savior. i don't want to leave dad but i know i'll be in a beautiful place. mom, we look forward to being with you, and all of god's children. we love you. >> bow your heads in prayer for just a moment. almighty god the source of all comfort be close to us in our grief. let the source of all gifts give us grateful hearts.

and the source of new life, may we celebrate barbara's new life with you. this i pray in christ's name, amen. >> amen. >> okay. so, i begin with an apology. i realize this is a historic moment and i messed up a minute ago. i skipped a priest a time ago. i announced him a little too early. thank you for going along with the hymn. i have to tell you, we planned this service carefully, about three weeks ago, barbara said to me, and this isn't my remarks. i don't know if i want to sing "amazing grace." everybody sings that. and i said, bar, everybody knows that. and then i messed it up. so, it's like bar got the last laugh on me on that one. so, thanks, again.

this distinguished gathering today, i have to tell you i think there are only two who can fill this place the way it's filled today. the first of those is jesus christ and the second of those is barbara bush. so we're grateful for your gathering today. the word offering came to mind. and then i heard barbara say don't even think about it. ganny's garden, given by friends and loved ones of barbara pierce bush is a lovely spot to rest and reflect near downtown kin knee bu kennebunkport. there you'll behind a brimmed hat the kind barbara wore in her garden and an open book jane

austen "pride and prejudice." jane austen used a portion in that book to declare a truth, i declare there's nothing more than reading. how much does anyone tire of anything than a book. reading, literacy for all, as you know, was barbara bush's great passion. every great book has a great beginning but also a wonderful end. nd so, the live story of barbara bush is best described as a consummate good read. we gather today in this holy space which has been the worshipping of president george h.w. bush and first lady barbara bush for more than 50 years. it's a humbling experience to speak as her pastor, priest and confidant. what an interesting thing to be a confidant to a woman who has

no secrets. what you saw is what you got. what was in here came out here. the author of our lessons in proverbs, muses on the gifts of a loving wife and mother, a godly woman, all of which barbara had. she believed in and practiced the principles of honesty, toleran tolerance, decency. courage. and strength. and perhaps above all humility. she lived according to the mantra of the bush family for many years, don't get caught up in the big me. one day, we were walking together on the beach in kennebunkport. barbara was washing off her own shoes and a fellow came up to her and said hey, you look a lot like barbara bush. and without missing a beat, barbara just said, yes, i hear

that a lot. she was a friend to people of every political persuasion and race and religion. her generosity of spirit did not draw lines that kept others out. hers was a life of circles that sought to bring others in. here until houston, we saw her at major galas. behind home plate at the astros games, praying here in the pews, catching up with a neighbor while pushing her own buggy through walgreens. and her humor. we've heard so much. hundred stories we could sell. one day after sharing prayers and communityian with the president and bar, my wife laura leaned over to kiss the president on the cheek. at which point, bb, one of her beloved dogs nipped my wife on the calf. this is a badge of honor, by the

way. apologies came but the next morning on our door step was a beautiful orchid with a handwritten note. dear laura i'm so sorry about the bite. you just look good enough to eat. my word, we could talk endlessly about how great this woman is. but we're reminded in the lesson from ecclesiastes that there comes the time for everything. even the end of a great story. the least of barbara's virtue, i think was patience. if you're sharing a meal or waiting on her favorite drink bourbon and water, for the record, apart to say with all of the talk about drinking and all of the language from the pulpit, we've done a great deal of evangelism for my church today,

thank you. if things were slowing up, barbara would say why the holdup barbara liked to see things move along and i think that's why we're here today. i think barbara was becoming impatient. she was tired on waiting on the next chapter. so, well, she welcomed it on april 17th. but perhaps it will help all of us who are left behind, jesus was barbara's pathway to god. she honored and believed that others found god in their own way but for her being a christian mattered. we were talking a few years ago, and she paused and looked me in the eye and said i am a christian, i do believe. then she said i want to be confirmed. then she said, do i have to take a class? i said, take one, bar, you could teach one. so, in may 2015 she and some

family gathered in our chapel as she confirmed her faith in christ. not something she wore on her shoulder, just something very personal and very real. she simply confirmed what we believe, what we read in the lesson from 2nd corinthians, that we live not by what we see, but by our faith and those things that we don't see. so as paul wrote, even on days like today, we don't lose heart. yes, barbara's health declined, but as we just heard, the outward nature is wasting away. our innernature is being renewed every day for what is mortal, paul writes. by the grace and mercy of god is swallowed up by life. we find barbara's jesus in the gospel lesson. a jesus who says, all, all who come to me will be welcomed. her jesus