A sobbing little girl stood near a
small church from which she had been
turned away because it "was too crowded."
"I can't go to Sunday School," Hattie May Wiatt sobbed to the
pastor as he walked by. Dr. Russell H.
Conwell, the church's pastor, took her
by the hand and found a place for her in the Sunday School
class.
Some two years later, little Hattie May lay dead in one of the
poverty-stricken tenement buildings near the church. Her
parents called for church's pastor,
who had befriended their daughter, to
handle the final arrangements. Hattie May's mother gave the
pastor a tiny purse her daughter had
found in a trash can and kept under her
pillow. The purse contained 57 cents and a note scribbled
in childish handwriting. The note
read, "This is to help build the little church
bigger so more children can go to Sunday school."
For two years she had saved pennies. Dr. Conwell took the purse
and coins into the pulpit and told of
one little girl's dream to build a
larger church.
A newspaper learned of the story and published it. Conwell told
it and retold it. Eventually, inspired
by Mattie May's sacrifice, an area
resident offered him land at a reduced price. Church members
gave sacrificially and $250,000 was eventually raised for
a new church building, a large sum of
money more than 100 years ago. Hattie
May's dream was coming true.
Temple Baptist Church in Philadelphia eventually grew to a large
church with a seating capacity of 3,300. Dr. Conwell also
founded Temple University
in 1884 (first called Temple College), upon which
campus the church is still located. He and the church
then built The Samaritan Hospital (now
University Hospital) -- to provide quality
medical care for those who lived in the neighborhood,
such as Hattie May Wiatt.
Joel Barker accurately says, "Vision without action is merely a
dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision
with action can change the world."
Hattie May had a vision and she acted. She worked hard to save
57 cents. A church had a vision and
acted. Through hard work and
sacrifice, they made almost impossible dreams come true.
Anthropologist Margaret Mead sums it up like this: "Never doubt
that a small group of thoughtful,
committed citizens can change the world.
Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
Steve Goodier's books & newsletter:
http://LifeSupportSystem.com
