| Cold Feet And Toothache back to 'William Booth - Famous Words'
WILLIAM BOOTH needed £3,000. At least that was the price of the building he had seen which would accommodate the crowds attending his meetings in Whitechapel. His Mission was three years old and the forgotten of the East End of London felt they had a champion. The proposed building, a People's Market which had failed, contained a large hall for meetings, 10 smaller rooms, a shop at the front and a soup kitchen complete with steam engine and copper. The place would be an' untold boon to the starving poor, who came from miles around '. The first announcement of this project included the statement that' the poor people themselves have been contributing for some time toward a place and have stored up something like £300 '. A general appeal brought immediate response, donations varying from an anonymous gift of £250 to a shilling.
A butcher, converted earlier in the year, promised: ' The Lord has blessed me greatly. I am feeding eight pigs for Christmas and I shall give Him four of them for the People's Market.' The People's Mission Hall Gifts also began to pour in for a public sale and among the first was a sewing machine, a diamond and ruby ring valued at £50, and a large solitaire scarf pin. Money came in fast but the negotiations were slow. However, after 12 months, the price had been reduced to £1,750 - a great help when almost £1,000 more would be needed for alterations. When considering these changes one committee member suggested that, instead of leaving the stone paving, the floor should be asphalted. , No! ' cried William Booth, 'poor people feel the cold quite as much, if not more, than do rich people. We shall have a wooden floor and the place shall be heated by hot water apparatus. No one gets a blessing if they have cold feet and nobody ever got saved while they had toothache!'.
A midday porch meeting at the People's Mission Hall
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William Booth had his way and the People's Mission Hall was opened on his next birthday, April 10, 1870. The Army has long since outgrown the building, but the Founder's words are still true. Who listens to sermons when he is perishing with cold? Who can think of anything else when suffering pain? When a man's bodily needs have received attention he is more likely to listen to the story of the love of God which has inspired the friend who has offered the helping hand.
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