CLEVELAND (ABP) — Former President Jimmy Carter was hospitalized Sept. 28 after falling ill on a flight to Cleveland for a book signing.
President Jimmy Carter with his Nobel Peace Prize.
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Deanna Congileo of the Carter Center in Atlanta said Carter, who turns 86 Oct. 1, developed an upset stomach while traveling on a flight to Cleveland. Upon arrival he was taken to Metro Health Hospital for observation.
"He is resting comfortably and is expected to resume his book tour this week," Congileo said in a statement.
The 39th president of the United States and Nobel Peace Prize winner is traveling to promote his newest book, White House Diary.
A lifelong Baptist and Sunday school teacher at Maranatha Baptist Church in his hometown of Plains, Ga., Carter is widely known for humanitarian work through the Carter Center and organizations like Habitat for Humanity.
After failing to broker peace between moderate and conservative factions in the Southern Baptist Convention — a denomination he left after it changed its faith statement to prohibit women from serving as senior pastors — in April, 2006, Carter invited leaders of 30 Baptist organizations to the Carter Center to discuss and explore opportunities for cooperation.
Out of that came a three-day gathering in early 2008 celebrating a "New Baptist Covenant" that reaffirmed commitment to traditional Christian values such as sharing the gospel, peacemaking, caring for the poor and respecting religious diversity.
At a recent reception for longtime Baptist pastor Jimmy Allen, co-convener of the New Baptist Covenant and Carter's longtime personal friend, Carter said that he would like to see another gathering like the 15,000 Baptists of various traditions that met together Jan. 30-Feb. 1, 2008, in Atlanta under the theme "Unity in Christ."
"I think that is something that we need to repeat, and Jimmy is already pressing me to help him have another event that would be three years after the last one," Carter said.
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Bob Allen is senior writer for Associated Baptist Press.