Talk about pre-Advent joy! On Saturday, Oct. 30, 650 singers from various choirs in the Philadelphia area showed up at that city's Macy's department store. With help from the world famous Wanamaker organ located there, at precisely noon, they broke into song, performing the "Hallelujah Chorus" from Handel's Messiah.

How wonderful to be writing about this instead of another story about Christmas being stripped of all religious references, or Christmas being banned altogether, or God being shut out of the public square yet again.

How amazing to hear these words sung in this secular setting, no less:

Hallelujah!

For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

The kingdom of this world

Is become the kingdom of our Lord,

And of his Christ;

And He shall reign forever and ever.

Hallelujah!

And how wonderful to see the happiness on the faces of the surprised shoppers, and to hear the spontaneous, sustained applause at the end.

Thanks to the Mere Comments section of the Touchstone magazine website, where I first spotted it.

It's wonderful. Enjoy!