Memorial Celebration to be Held for Habitat for Humanity Co-Founder
A memorial celebration will be held this weekend as a tribute to Millard Fuller, the millionaire entrepreneur who gave it all away to help establish the Christian house-building charity Habitat for Humanity.
The event, to be held Saturday at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, is open to the public and will be attended by former president Jimmy Carter, who will speak about Fuller's work and influence on the lives of the people whose homes were built by Habitat and the Fuller Center for Housing, another organization that Fuller had founded.
Serving as the keynote spokesperson for the celebration will be charismatic speaker Tony Campolo, who has become a leader of the "Red-Letter Christian" movement, which puts emphasis on the reported words of Jesus.
"The memorial service will be both a tribute to and a joyous celebration of the man who founded both Habitat for Humanity and The Fuller Center for Housing with his wife Linda," organizers say.
Saturday's service will be opened by current senior pastor of Ebenezer, the Rev. Raphael G. Warnock, and feature uplifting music performed by the Ebenezer Baptist Church Choir and Atlanta's Feed & Seed Band. Also performing will be popular Australian-born country music entertainer Jamie O'Neal, who will sing "Look What Love Built," which she composed in honor of the Fullers.
Prior to the celebration, The Fuller Center of Greater Atlanta will dedicate two houses built for two families whose homes were damaged by a tornado last March.
Following Saturday's event, the celebration will continue on Sunday with a worship service and visit to Fuller's final earthly resting place at the southwest Georgia farming collective where he developed the concept of building houses for the poor.
Fuller died on Feb. 3 at age 74, after falling ill with a severe headache and chest pains. His son said last month that a preliminary autopsy report indicated congestive heart failure.
On the Web:
Live broadcast of the Millard Fuller Memorial Celebration (Mar. 14, 2 p.m. ET) at www.FullerCenter.org
