Tuesday, April 7

We were blessed to see A Great Awakening at Penn Cinema due to an invitation from our financial advisors. Theater Room 5 was filled by others who also responded to the invitation.

The first two photos are from the internet. I did not take my good camera so my pictures are from my cell phone.

A Great Awakening is a 2026 historical film by Sight & Sound Films, depicting the friendship of George Whitefield and Benjamin Franklin during the Great Awakening, despite the fact that their belief in Jesus was far apart.

It was especially interesting to watch and appreciate the fabulous story and photography because the original Sight and Sound Theatre is located in our area – and we have been there many times.

It was fun to have Jonathan Blair (the actor who played George Whitefield) and one of the directors (I think Joshua Enck) on stage at the end of the movie.

Someone with our financial advisors asked them several questions, then they took questions from the audience. Jonathan told us how they created a “bad” eye for him because George Whitefield had a lazy eye.

It was interesting to hear that most of the photography took place in our area. They explained how a cave was transformed into a coal mine, where the one hillside photography was shot, how they created the storefront area where Ben Franklin owned a print shop (it was built by Amish), and where a few other shots were taken. They went to a nearby state to film the sailboat scene and to England for shots of Pembroke College at Oxford University where George Whitefield was educated and where he met Charles and John Wesley who shaped his spiritual life and led him to belief in Jesus Christ.

It was especially fun to meet “George Whitefield” (Jonathan Blair) in the lobby.

If you have an opportunity to see this film – do it! It is interesting historically and spiritually. As dates were at times put on the screen, I recognized the time era of when most of Cerwin’s and my ancestors arrived in Philadelphia from Germany and Switzerland.