Below is a link to a video of the Philadelphia Opera doing a “Random Act of Culture” at a Macy’s in Philadelphia on Saturday Oct. 30, 2010.  They were just milling around the mall looking like shoppers when they began to sing the Hallelujah Chorus with the famous Wanamaker Pipe Organ. 

http://www.operaphila.org/backend/News/csNews.cgi?database=wings.db&command=viewone&id=85

I could not help but think of Jim and Nancy, Network TwentyOne, and all of our IBOs when I saw this Hallelujah Chorus “Flash Mob” (as this kind of surprise performance is called.)  This shows how the world can be blessed when a group of ordinary people–just walking around doing life–can touch the lives of others.  A few people weren’t interested…they just wanted to shop and move on.  They might even have thought it was strange.  

But there were many others who were moved and almost awestruck by it.  Almost everyone stopped to listen.  Many sang along and added to the volume of music, rising in the room.  For many this became a special holiday memory as cameras and cell phones recorded the event to enjoy it again later.  Some may even have aspired to join the opera and the kind of movement that brings good things into the lives of others.  

When you think about it, this only succeeded because a few people were willing to do something awkward: stand and sing in a public place.  Why would someone do that?  Maybe it was because of what they knew before the song began.  They knew they had something special to offer.  They knew they had others with them who would sing too. They knew–with the majestic sounds of the famous Wanamaker organ–that their voices would be irresistible and each shopper would listen and even join in.  They knew with all they had been given–their talent, their team, and the pipe organ–that they just had to sing.  It wasn’t just an opportunity…it was a calling. 

 And they probably felt that the audience needed a song.  They needed something hopeful and special in the midst of their lives.  They needed a message that said there is more to life than a ‘to do’ list.  And it all came together for the people–the singers and the audience–on that ordinary day in Philadelphia.  And neither will ever forget it. 

 Very few of you reading this article were there that day.  But everyday you are bringing something good into so many lives as a part of a “Flash Mob” called Network TwentyOne. Thank you, Jim and Nancy for being our conductors.  Thank you, Network TwentyOne for being the pipe organ giving us guidance and encouragement.  And thank you IBOs for being the opera company.  You have a song the world needs to hear.  So don’t be afraid to stand in public and sing…you have something special to offer…you have many others singing with you…and you are called to this,

 …so sing!