o, trinity of love and pow' r. your children shield in danger's hour ♪ from rock and tempest, fire and foe, protect them where-so-e'er they go ♪ thus, evermore shall rise to thee, glad hymns of praise ♪ glad hymns of praise ♪ glad hymns of praise from land

and sea ♪ ♪

jimmy carte >> jimmy carter was as close to being a renaissance man as any president entering the oval office in modern times. he was skilled at an astonishing array of activities. farmer, businessman, nuclear engineer, naval submarine officer, woodworker, painter, fly fisherman, music lover, poet, author, sunday

schoolteacher, creator of the carter center. and yes, loving husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather and nobel peace prize winner. behind that toothy smile was a man of steel determination, discipline and self-confidence. in 1974, when he was governor of georgia, i suggested that if he ran for president and won a few southern primaries, he might get lucky and be the vice presidential nominee for regional ballots. with his broadest grin, he said, stu, i've already decided to run, but i will be the democratic nominee for president, not vice president. for one of our nation's most religious presidents, it's appropriate to celebrate jimmy carter's remarkable life in

this magnificent cathedral. his values gave him an unshakeable sense of right and wrong. animating his support for civil rights at home and human rights abroad. and propelling him to major achievements as the only democratic president-elected president elected between 1968 ask 1992. his faith to the watergate and vietnam eras. [ inaudible ] >> his faith respected other religions as well. he was the first president to light a hanukkah menorah. he created the u.s. holocaust

memorial museum, which i had the honor of sharing. he had a kosher shabbat dinnerra the camp david for the israeli delegation, and came to our house for a passover seder, only weeks after he negotiated the treaty between israel and egypt. as we lay our 39th president to rest, it's time to redeem his presidency and also lay to rest the myth that his greatest achievement came only as a former president. the test of american presidents is not the number of years they serve, but the duration of their accomplishments. by this measure, jimmy carter was among the most consequential one-term presidents in history. his intellects. discipline and mass details, were crucial to his success at home and abroad.

president carter to do what he believed was the right thing taking controversial challenges on, regardless of political consequences. and frankly, there were many. much of his agenda passed with bipartisan support, a quaint notion in today's hyper polarized politics. independent surveys indicated he had one of the highest success rates in passing his major legislation of any american president. and he was remarkably accessible to the press, and to the american people. this president, from the deepest part of the deep south

championed civil rights appointed more. he created the department and dramatically increased funding if are low and moderate-income students. and we can thank him for all the ethics in government laws, comprehensive civil service reform, the creation of fema to coordinate natural disaster relief, and rebuilding that remained crucially important today and we see it in los angeles. jimmy carter was also the greatest environmental president since theodore roosevelt, adding 80 million acres in alaska to the national park system. and his global 2000 report forecast climate change. his energy bills were critical to move our country from dependence on foreign oil to energy security. we are now, as a result, the

largest oil and gas produceir in the world. he provided the first incentives for conservation, and inaugurated the era of clean energy and symbolized it with solar panels. he installed on the white house roof. underappreciated at the time, but now, widely recognized by republicans and democrats alike. president carter was a great deregulator, winning battles to loosen the regulatory bonds and shackles on airlines, thereby democratizing air travel, on trucking and rails, therefore helping our supply chains be more efficient. telecommunications, leading to the cable tv era, and even the beer industry, which encouraged local craft beers.

and he did so without compromising health and safety. these laid the foundation for today's innovative economy. nothing better embodies plater than how he dealt with inflation that beleaguered the nation under three presidents, two republican, nixon, ford and himself, during the 1970s. over the objection of all of his advisers, he chose poll workers to lead the federal reserves, knowing in vance that volker's tough monetary policy would raise interest rates and unemployment, because paul told him that, and would do so in a presidential election year. "you take care of the economy, paul. i'll take care of the politics." inflation, indeed, dropped like

a rock, after he lost office, and remained low for decades. abroad, jimmy carter laid the building blocks for a better world. he was the first president to make human rights a priority for u.s. foreign policy. and this led directly to the release of thousands of political prisoners in latin america, and stimulated them to a lasting democratic transition. he ushered in a new era of hemispheric relations with the panama canal treaties. the toughest legislative battle of his presidency. he uniquely combined the soft power of human rights, championing freedom for the communist, east bloc countries, and tripling the emigration of soviet jews. he combined that with hard power, combining military

strength, after its post- watergate decline. he negotiated a major nuclear arms treaty with the soviets, while at the same time, initiated every single weapons system that came online in the 1980s. those new weapons helped end the cold war. he normalized relations with china, and even his critics applauded his tough measures after the soviets invaded afghanistan. jimmy carter's most lasting achievement, and then one i think he was most proud of, was to bring the first piece to the middle east through the greatest act of personal diplomacy in american history, the camp david [ inaudible ] for 14 days and nights, he negotiated with israel and egypt. personally drafting more than

20 peace proposals. and shuttling them between the israeli and egyptian delegations. and he saved the agreement at the 11th hour, and it was the 11th hour, by appealing to vega's grandchildren. for the past 45 years, the egypt-israeli peace treaty has never been violated, and lays the foundation for the abraham accord. on the other side of the ledger was iran. jimmy carter did not lose iran. the shah did. but the hostage crisis was a major factor in denying him a second term. despite his support for the shah. because he placed the safe return of the hostages above his own political fortunes. he took full responsibility for the failure of the bold hostage rescue mission, and worked

tirelessly, even after his bitter re-election defeat to ronald reagan, securing their release on the last day of his presidency. in the end, jimmy carter taught all of us how to live a life fulfilled with faith and service. he said, "i have one life to live. i feel like god wants me to do the best i can do with it. so let me live my life so that it will be meaningful." well, mr. president, you've more than achieved that goal. he may not be a candidate for mt. rushmore. but he belongs in the foothills with making the u.s. stronger and the world safer. jimmy carter has earned his place in heaven. but just as he was free with

sometimes unsolicited advice for his presidential successors, the lord of all creation should be ready for jimmy's recommendations on how to make god's realm a more peaceful place. [ laughter ]

in my church, >> in my church, we sing a song that says "from the moment that i wake up, until i lay my head, i will sing of the goodness of god." i don't know how many people in here can they say that. i know i can't. but my grandfather certainly

can. from the moment that he woke up, until he laid his head, his life was a testament to the goodness of god. and i thank all of you for being here to celebrate this life. to the presidents and first ladies, it is a great honor to have you here. you know the human side of the american presidency like no others. and we appreciate you. to the vice presidents, other distinguished guests and friends of all kinds, thank you for being here. to those of you who came from all across the world, thank you for being here to celebrate and pay tribute to my grandfather. i say grandfather, but we called him paw paw, as many of you know. we called my grandmother mom carter. so we spent our time talking about mom and paw paw. and mostly, speaking of the human side of the presidency, just letting people know they

were regular folks. yes, they spent four years in the governor's mansion and four years at the white house. but the other 92 years -- [ laughter ] >> -- they spent at home in plains, georgia. and one of the best ways to demonstrate that they are regular folks and to take them by that home. first of all, it looks like they might have built it themselves. [ laughter ] >> second of all, my grandfather was likely to show up at the door in should '70s short shorts and crocs. [ laughter ] and then you'd walk in the house, and it was like thousands of other grandparents' house across the south. fishing trophies on the wall. and photos of children and great grandchildren. their main force, had a cord, of course, and was stuck to the wall in the kitchen, like a

museum piece. and demonstrating their depression-era roots, they had a little rack next to the sink, where they would hang zip lock bags to dry. [ laughter ] and demonstrating that they changed with the times, eventually, he did get a cell phone. and one time, he called me, sort of early on in that process. and on my phone, it said paw paw mobile. so i answered it, of course, and said, "hey, paw paw." he said," who is this?" i said, this is jason. he said, "what are you doing?" i said, i'm not doing anything. you called me. he said, i didn't call you. i'm taking a picture. [ laughter ] nuclear engineer, right? i mean. [ laughter ] they were small town people who never forgot who they were and where they were from, no matter happened in their lives.

but i recognize that we are not here because he was just a regular guy. as you've heard from the other speakers, his political life and his presidency for me was not just ahead of his time, it was prophetic. he had the courage and strength to itic to his principles, even when they were politically unpopular. as governor of georgia, half a century ago, he preached an end to racial discrimination and an end to mass incarceration. as president in the 1970s, as you've heard, he protected more land than any other president in history. 50 years ago, he was a climate warrior, who pushed for a world where we conserved energy, limited emissions, and traded our reliance on fossil fuels for expanded renewable sources. and by the way, he cut the

deficit. wanted to decriminalize marijuana, deregulated so many industries that he gave us cheap flights, and as you heard, craft beer. basically all of those years ago, he was the first millennial. [ laughter ] and he could make great play lists, as we've heard as well. maybe this is unbelievable to you, but in my 47 years, i never perceived a difference between his public face and his private one. he was the same person no matter who he was with or where he was. and for me, that's the definition of integrity. thar honesty was matched by love, it was matched by faith, and in both public and private, my grandparents did fundamentally live their lives in an effort, as the bible says, "to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with

their god." sometimes i feel -- and felt like i shared my grandfather with the world. today is one of those days. but really, he shared the world with me. the power of an atom. the beauty and complexity of a south georgia florida. when we fished, he celebrated the majesty of everything from the smallest minnow, to that grand circulation of waters. and he shared this love with my boys. taking these atlanta public school kids out into the fields to show them about rope crops and wild plums. in the end, his life is a love story. and of course, it's a love story about jimmy and rosalynn and their 77 years of marriage and service. as the song says, they were the flagship of the fleet. and rest assured that in these last weeks, he told us that he

was ready to see her again. but his life was also a broader love story. about love for his fellow humans. and about living out the commandment to love your neighbor as yourself. i believe that that love is what caught him and told him to preach the power of human rights, not just for some people, but for all people. it focused him on the power and the promise of democracy. its love for freedom. its requirement and founding belief in the wisdom of regular people, raising their voices, and the requirement that you respect all of those voices, not just some. that conviction made him a naval officer, who believed and demonstrated as you've heard, that the greatest power of america was not the military but its values. and those values were personal to him, and he lived them both publicly and privately.

as you heard stu say, as president, he gave voice to dissidense. brought countries together in peace. his heart broke for the people in israeli. it broke for the people of pawill stein. and he spent his life trying to bring teas to that holy land. and he talked about it at the dinner table. it was the same in public as it was in private. and for the last 40 years, as you've heard, he spent his time living out that love and that faith alongside the poorest and most marginalized people in the world. and that work, again, has been based, fundamentally, on love and respect. the carter center has 3500 employees. but only a couple hundred in the united states. the rest are spread throughout the countries where we work.

ethiopia, south sudan, chad, bangladesh, and all of the carter center's programs are based a respect, that same respect for the power of regular people, even if they are in tiny villages miles from anywhere else. to give one example, we've all heard a lot lately, about getting worm disease, it's an ancient and debilitating disease of poverty. and that disease will have existed from the dawn of humanity until jimmy carter, when he started working on this disease, there were three and a half million cases in humans every year. last year, there were 14. and the thing that is remarkable, is that this disease is not eliminated with medicine. it's eliminated, essentially, by neighbors talking to neighbors about how to collect water in the poorest and most marginalized villages in the world. and those neighbors, truly,

were my grandfather's partners for the last 40 years. and as this disease has been eliminated in every village in nigeria, every village in sudan, or uganda, what is left behind this those villages, is an army of jimmy and rosalynn carters, who have demonstrated their own power to change the world. and that is a fundamental truth about my grandfather. it begins where it ends. when he saw a tiny 600-person village, that everybody else thinks of as poor, he recognized it. that's where he was from. that's who he was. and he never saw it as a place to send pity. it was always a place to find partnership and power and a place to carry out that commandment to love your neighbor as yourself. essentially, he eradicated the disease with love and respect. he waged peace with love and

respect. he led this nation with love and respect. to me, this life was the story from the moment that he woke up, until he laid his head. conclues concloud with this. as andy young told me, "he may be gone, but he's not gone far." the outpouring of love and support that we have felt from you and from around the world, has showed how many lives he has touched, and how his spirit will live on in many ways, for us. he'll be in the kitchen making pancakes. or in his woodshop, finishing a cradle for a great grandchild. standing in a trout stream with mom carter. or for me, just walking those georgia fields and forests,

where he's from. thank you.

♪ amazing grace, how sweet the sound ♪ that saved a wretch like me ♪ ♪ i once was lost, but now i'm found ♪ was blind, but now i see ♪

♪ 'twas grace that taught my heart to fear ♪ and grace my fears relieved ♪ how precious did that grace appear ♪ the hour i first believed ♪

♪through many dangers, toils, and snares ♪ i have already come ♪ 'twas grace that brought us safe thus far ♪

and grace will lead me home ♪ ♪ and grace will lead me home ♪ ♪

leaders of the clergy, distinguished guests, clergy, distinguished guests, most important, the carter family. in april 2021, jill and i visited rosalynn that spring

day. rosalynn met us at the front door, with her signature smile. together, we entered a home that they had shared through almost 77 years of marriage. an unassuming ranch home, reflects their modesty, more than any trappings of power. we walked in the living room, where jimmy greeted us like family. that day, just the four of us sat in the living room and shared memories that spanned almost six decades. a deep friendship that started in 1974. i was a 31-year-old senator and i was the first senator outside of georgia, maybe the first senator to endorse his candacy for president. it was an endorsement, based on what i believe is jimmy

carter's enduring attribute, character, character, character. because of that, character i believe is destiny. destiny in our lives, and quite frankly, destiny in the life of the nation. it's an accumulation of a million things built on character, that leads to a good life and a decent country. life of purpose, life of meaning. now, how do we find that good life? what does it look like? what does it take? to build character. do the ends justify the means? jimmy carter'sfriendship taught me, and through his life, taught me, strength of

character is more than title or the power we hold. it's the strength to understand that everyone should be treated with dignity, respect. that everyone -- and i mean everyone -- deserves an even shot. not a guarantee, but a shot. you know, we have an obligation to give hate no safe harbor. and to stand up to what my dad used to say is the greatest sin of all, the abuse of power. that's not about being perfect, because none of us are perfect. we're all fallible. but it's about asking ourselves, are we striving to do things, the right things? what value -- what are the values that animate our spirit? do we operate from fear or hope?

ego or generosity? do we show grace? do we keep the faith when it's most tested? we're keeping the faith with the best of human kind and the best of america, is a story, in my view, from my perspective, of jimmy carter's life. the story of a man. to state the obvious, we heard today, some great, great eulogies, who came from a house without running water, nor electricity. and rose to the pinnacle of power. the story of a man who was at once driven and devoted to making real the words of his savior, and the ideals of this nation. the story of a man who never let the politics divert him

from his mission to serve and shape the world. the man had character. jimmy held a deep christian faith in god. and that his candidacy spoke and wrote about. faith, as the substance of things hoped for. and evidence of the things not seen. faith founded on commandments of scripture. >> love the lord thy god with all thy heart, all thy mind, and soul and love thy neighbor as thyself. easy to do, but very, very difficult to do and in this life, any walk can be difficult. it can be lonely. but it requires action.

to be the doers of the world. but in that commandment lies the essence, in my view, found in the gospel, found in many faith traditions, and find in the very idea of america. because the very journey of our nation is a walk of sheer faith. to do the work, to be the country we say we are. to be the country we say we want to be. a nation where we all are created equal, in the image of god. and deserve to be treated equally, throughout our lives. never walked away from it either. because of patriots jimmy carter. throughout his life, he showed

us what it means to be a practitioner of good works and a good and faithful servant of god and the people and today, many think he was from a bygone era. but in reality, he saw well into the future. a white southern baptist, who led us on civil rights. a decorated navy veteran, who brokered peace. a brilliant nuclear engineer who led a nuclear nonproliferation. a hard-working farmer, who championed conservation and clean energy. and a president who redefined the relationship with a vice president. jimmy and i often talked about our dear friend walter mondale, whom we all miss very much.

together, they formed a model partnership: collaboration and trust. because both were men of character. and as we all know, jimmy carter also established a model post presidency. by making a powerful difference as a private citizen in america. and, i might add, as you all know, around the world. us how character and faith start with ourselves and then flows to others. at our best, we share the better parts of ourselves: joy, solidarity, love, commitment. not for reward, but in reverence for an incredible gift of life we've all been granted. to make every minute of our

time here on earth count. that's the definition of a good life, the life jimmy carter lived during his 100 years. to young people, to anyone, in search of meaning and purpose: study the power of jimmy carter's example. i miss him. but i take solace in knowing that he and his beloved rosalynn are reunited again. and to the entire carter family, thank you. and i mean this sincerely. for sharing them both with america. and the world. we love you all. jill and i will cherish our business with concluding that last one in their home. we saw jimmy as he always was:

at peace, with a life fully lived. a good life of purpose and meaning, of character, driven by destiny, and filled with the power of faith, hope, and love. say it again, faith, hope, and love. as he returned to plains, georgia, for his final resting place, you can say goodbye, in the words of the prophet micah, who jimmy so admired until his final breath. jimmy carter did justly, loved mercy, walked humbly. may god bless a great america and a dear friend and good man. may he rise up, be raised up on

eagle's wings, buried on the breath of dawn, and make it shine like the sun, and hold you in the palm of his hand. god bless you, jimmy carter.

a reading from the a reading from the gospel, according to st. matthew. now, when jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountain side

and went down. his disciples came to him, and he began to teach them, saying, blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. blessed are the pure in heart for they will see god. blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of god. blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. >> blessed are you when people insult you, perse cute you and say all kinds of evil because

of me. rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven. for in the same way, they persecuted the prophets who were before you. you are the salt of the earth, you about if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? it is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. you are the light of the world, a city on a hill cannot be hidden. neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. in the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your father in heaven, the word of the lord. >> thanks be to god.

the apostle paul in >> the apostle paul, in writing to the ephesians, the fourth chapter of the 42nd verse. be kind and compassionate to one another. forgiving each other just as in christ, god forgave you. jimmy carter, for me, was something of a miracle. i was born in the deep south shortly a few years after him. and it was always a place of miracles. i couldn't see how we could have had the differences in background, the coming from different places on the planet,

the experiences of slave and slave owner, the diversity of color and creed and national origin. and still become the great nation that we are in the united states of america. it was something of a miracle. and i i don't mean this with any disrespect, but it's still hard for me to understand how you could get to be president from plains, georgia. [ laughter ]

i knew plains from my pastor in thomasville, georgia, about 60, 70 miles south of there. and i was even nervous driving through plains. and plains and sumter county gave us one of the meanest experiences that we had in the civil rights movement, so much so that martin luther king said that the sheriff of plains -- of sumter county, he really thought was the meanest man in the world. and when i first met jimmy carter running for governor and said the only thing i know about plains and sumter county is fred chapel. and he said, oh, yes.

he's one of my good friends. [ laughter ] and that was the last thing i wanted to hear. and yet time and time again, i saw in him the ability to. >> the ability to achieve greatness by the diversity of his personality and his upbringing. dr. king used to say that greatness is characterized by an antithesis, strong mark, you have to have a tough mind and heart. and that was jimmy carter. and he grew up in the tremendous diversity of the south, and he embraced both sides. he was a minority in sumter

county, just about 20, 25% of the population was white. but growing up as a minority, he became the friend of the majority. and when he went to the naval academy, he asked that his roommate be the first black midshipman to come to annapolis. and he said, i know minorities. i've been a minority most of my life, and maybe i can help him in his adjustments. and he went out of his way to embrace those of us who had grown up in all kinds of

conflict. but that was the sensitivity, the spirituality, that made james earl carter a truly great president. james earl carter was truly a child of god. not only a good farmer, but a nuclear physicist, chosen by admiral rick over, to assist him in developing a nuclear navy. but at the same time he was working on a nuclear navy, he was thinking of peace on earth and good will toward all men, and especially women and children. i've known president carter for

more than half of my life. and i never cease to be surprised. i never cease to be enlightened. i never cease to be inspired. by the little deeds of love and mercy that he shared with us every day of his life. it was president james earl carter that for me symbolized the greatness of the united states of america. and i am truly grateful for him because in spite of the harshness of the depression, and the explosions of inflation, he never wavered from his commitment to god almighty and his love of all of god's children.

jimmy carter was a blessing that helped to create a great united states of america. and for all of us, and many who are not able to be here, i want to say thank you. you have been a blessing from god. and your spirit will remain with us. as jason said, he may be gone, but he ain't gone far. thank you, president carter. and thank you, almighty god.

that's. ♪imagine there's no heaven ♪

it's easy if you try ♪ no hell below us, above us, only sky ♪ imagine all the people ♪ living for today ♪ ♪ imagine there's no countries ♪ it isn't hard to do ♪ nothing to kill or die for ♪ and no religion too ♪ imagine all the people ♪

living life in peace ♪ you, you may say i'm a dreamer ♪ but i'm not the only one ♪ i hope some day you'll join us ♪ and the world will be as one ♪ imagine no possessions ♪ i wonder if you can ♪ no need for greed or hunger ♪ a brotherhood of man ♪

imagine all the people ♪ sharing all the world ♪ you, you may say i'm a dreamer ♪ but i'm not the only one ♪ i hope someday you'll join us ♪ and the world will live as one ♪

our father who art in heaven, >> our father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name on earth as it is in heaven. give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever and ever. amen.