Evangelist Billy Graham turns 95

ASHEVILLE, N.C., Nov. 7 (UPI) -- Some 800 celebrities and other well-wishers were invited to the 95th birthday party of evangelist Billy Graham, the Asheville (N.C.) Citizen-Times reported.

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory and Donald Trump were among the guests expected to attend the celebration Thursday at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, WHNS-TV, Greenville, S.C., reported.

Other expected guests included Sarah Palin, Rupert Murdoch, Rick Warren and Michael W. Smith, WHNS said.

As part of the celebration, a video message from Graham, called "My Hope America," is scheduled to air on national television networks.

"It will be like having a mini-crusade in their homes. With the tweeting today and the social media, you can speak to 20 million people over the Internet, which is amazing to me," said Glenn Wilcox, a Asheville businessman who's known Graham since 1965.

Graham, who has met with every U.S. president since Harry S. Truman, retired from preaching more than a dozen years ago.