“There is
no reward equal to that of doing the most good
to the most people in the most need.”
~Evangeline Booth
~ 1865-1950
~
British theologist and Fourth General of
The Salvation Army, 1934-1939,
the first woman to hold the post.
Evangeline Booth was the daughter of William and Catherine Booth, who
founded The Salvation Army in 1865.The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church. Its message is based on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated by the love of God. Its mission is to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.
It is well known for its Red Kettle Campaign at Christmastime.
The Salvation Army and its mission is prominently displayed to early Christmas shoppers in front of the Moravian Book Shop in historic downtown Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in late November.
Reflections from the street, the American Flag, and “Get Downtown Bethlehem Pennsylvania,” the logo of the Downtown Bethlehem Association, can be seen in the left window.
Bethlehem is known
as The Christmas City. On Christmas Eve 1741, in a stable,
while a small group of Moravians were singing a hymn with the stanza “Not
Jerusalem, Lowly Bethlehem” Count Nicolaus Ludwig Von Zinzendorf christened
this little town “Bethlehem.” Since that time Christmas in Bethlehem has been
central to the city’s identity. From the first documented decorated Christmas
tree in America to the efforts of the Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce to get
Bethlehem nicknamed “Christmas City USA” in 1937, to the current time when both
sides of the river boast Christmas markets filled with artisan craft, retail
and food vendors, Bethlehem is rife with one Christmas celebration after
another.
The Moravian Book Shop is America’s oldest book shop,
established in 1745.
