{"id":3203,"date":"2023-08-17T13:55:56","date_gmt":"2023-08-17T13:55:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/foreverinourhearts\/?p=3203"},"modified":"2023-08-18T23:51:35","modified_gmt":"2023-08-18T23:51:35","slug":"thousands-gather-for-memorial-service-for-beloved-pastor-tim-keller","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/foreverinourhearts\/2023\/08\/thousands-gather-for-memorial-service-for-beloved-pastor-tim-keller.html","title":{"rendered":"Thousands Gather For Memorial Service For Beloved Pastor Tim Keller"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Tim Keller\/Facebook<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Over 2,000 people filled the pews of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan to bid a final farewell to a man whose special brand of writing, intellectual preaching, and speaking changed their lives. At the same time, thousands watched the streamed service online.<\/p>\n

Dr. Timothy Keller was senior pastor at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York for 28 years, a congregation he established in 1989. His goal was to change the city and bring the gospel to a metropolis that the rest of the world sees as a den of iniquity than a city ready for a revival. Still, Keller lived by the mantra that God loves cities because many of God’s image-bearers reside in cities, especially New York.<\/p>\n

Every creed, color, shape, and size lives there. It’s a land ripe for planting seeds of faith. Keller’s teaching ministry helped nurture Redeemer into a church with a weekly attendance of over 5,000. Keller’s longtime friend, Glen Kleinknecht, said his specialty was “listening to people who were most opposed to his faith.” He transformed lives by hearing people’s wants and providing what they needed.<\/p>\n

Keller died May 19 after a four-year\u00a0battle with pancreatic cancer at 72.\u00a0 He was buried within three days of death in St. Michael’s Cemetery near LaGuardia Airport, meaning that thousands of followers and church members never had the chance to come together and grieve their loss until the memorial service. The fact that Keller’s service was at one of the most known Catholic cathedrals in the world is a testament to his appeals to make the gospel central to his teachings.<\/p>\n