Random Acts of Culture

Likely no one in the world reads this, AND I am so erratic, but someone just sent me a link to this by email. It's hard to believe how remarkable is this performance of Handel's Hallelujah Chorus with the Opera Company of Philadelphia and 32 area choirs in what is now Macy's in central Philadelphia. If you have not yet seen it, follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wp_RHnQ-jgU The store is now Macy's, but the organ is the one built for the St. Louis World's Fair and bought and installed in his Philadelphia store by John Wanamaker, the man who created the first "department" store.

What many do not know is who he was, here from http://www.christianity.com/ChurchHistory/11630732/:

On March 12, 1888, fifty year old John Wanamaker laboriously hand-copied letters to each member of his large Sunday School class--a Sunday school which he had founded. The central thought of the letter was, "If you are not saved my dear friend--flee to the merciful Savior, as you would fly, into this warm room tonight out of the cold streets & the drifting snow. -- If you are saved -- humbly trusting in what Jesus did when his loved failed not on the Cross -- think of others not saved -- NOT SAVED -- going to the eternal darkness -- your near friend, your relative -- and do something!"

All of his life, John Wanamaker did something--not only toward converting people but in making American business what it became. A Presbyterian, he was a strong advocate of the YMCA in the years when its chief concern was to convert men to Christ. He was so successful in promoting the organization that its backers named him national secretary. But John married and had to find work that would support his family. A go-getter (he took his first job as an errand boy at age thirteen for the salary of $1.25 a week) John and a partner bought a men's clothing business.

With a flair for big projects, John bought an abandoned rail depot and tried to coax other merchants to open shops in the building. When he couldn't persuade others to take the risk, he set up his own shops, creating one of the first successful department stores in the nation. His building even had a wireless telegraph--and consequently was the first station in the United States to learn of the sinking of the Titanic. John was a leader in advertising, in money-back guarantees and in offering his employees benefits such as pensions, life insurance, and vacations. His New York store was the first to display electric Christmas lights.

Through it all, John's concern for souls continued. During the Civil War, he was a strong supporter of the United States Civil Commission, an agency which brought medical and spiritual comfort to soldiers. He gave enormous sums to charities, such as the Children's Wing of Philadelphia's Presbyterian hospital. He devoted Sundays to religious work. "If you once have the joy and sweet pleasure of bringing one soul to Christ, you will be hungry to get another," he said.

Asked in an interview how he managed to carry the load of his many tasks, John replied, "When I weary of one detail, I turn to another, and there is rest of mind in that." He advised, "Do the very best you can and leave the rest to Providence."

As a soul-winner, he believed he did not have to work alone. "When you have faith enough & love enough to start out in the effort to bring a soul to the Savior -- God the Holy Ghost joins in your effort, for God wants every one saved & He works with even the poorest instrument that engages in His work."

Somehow, it seems to me that an event like this is just the sort of thing that would have delighted Mr. Wanamaker's heart, however pale and wan it must seem compared to the music he enjoys this day in Glory with his Savior.