I haven’t been greeted in a long time by so much enthusiasm to spread news about Christian Science as I did last week at my first two lectures given for the Wynnum Christian Science Society, on the outskirts of Brisbane, Australia.
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| Wynnum Reading Room |
Run by a handful of dedicated workers, the society sold their church building seven or eight years ago, and moved church activity into a downtown storefront. They wanted their church to be exposed more to the public, and figured having their Reading Room in a busy location was a prime way to do it. They hold services in the Reading Room space. It’s where I gave my lectures, too.
What a fun time these lectures were to give.
When I first walked in the door and saw dozens of copies of Science and Health neatly stacked for sale, with more boxes to unpack, I said to the librarian, “You have high expectations!” “We sure do,” she resounded.
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| Stacks of Science and Health |
By the time we finished our work together the next day, I didn’t ask how many, but it looked like half of the pile or so had been sold or given away, a very sizable number.
They charged a $10 concession fee to the lectures, and people happily paid it, receiving a new copy of Science and Health as part of the fee if they wanted it. Some accepted and some didn’t.
The more I learned about this group, the more I was impressed.
I soon discovered that they produced their own two-hour radio program, every Sunday morning, from 7 to 9 a.m. No kidding! A local radio station gave them a two hour slot, no charge, to produce and air their own programming. So each week, one of a committee of four goes to the radio station, sits in a DJ’s chair, and fills in two hours with Christian Science programming. You can hear it for yourself, streamed on the web, at www.bayfm.org.au. (You’ll have to figure out the time difference!)
The lectures were a grand success. I spent over an hour after the first lecture speaking to individuals new to Christian Science and answering their multitude of questions. One man with hearing problems said he couldn’t hear me at first, but in a few minutes, his hearing started to work. He was quite delighted, grinning from ear to ear afterward.
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| Inside the Reading Room |
I spoke to a Reading Room full of people both days and made many new friends.
I also like what audiences do here when a lecture is finished. They sit and think about what they heard. It reminded me of audiences in the UK. When the speaker finishes talking, people don’t immediately bolt for the door, like they do in the US. They sit and think about the message they took in. Now isn’t that a novel concept?! It certainly makes a speaker feel more appreciated.
On to the next city…
Sit and think.
I like that, too.
I also like the idea of sitting and thinking before bolting from a church service or testimony meeting! Instead of starting in on chatter or starting up the car engine, why not be inspired to leave at the Holy Spirit’s direction?
Good on those dedicated Wynnum workers! Sharing. Expecting sales. Expecting healing. Attracting newcomers. Living Christly love.
Very nice.
Thank you for sharing this. Very interesting and a good lesson for us Americans who follow the crowd and bold out the door. Nice healing of hearing too. Mary
Evan, Thank you for sharing the lvoely active thinking and working of the members of Wynnum Society.
A number of years ago, I was taking classes in Edingburgh, Scotland and attended Wed. evening meetings. At my first such service, I was so surprised that everyone just sat in their seats after the service.
On our bus ride abck to the dorm, a fellow student explained to me that they were thnking and working metaphysically and I thought “how neat!”
Thank you so much for sharing! I love the beautiful healing of the hearing problem!
Thank yous so very much for all you do!
My idea of spreading Christian Science is something never done before and that’s for a movie or tv writer to write a drama about how a C/S would go about solving a problem using prayer or with the help of a C/S Practitioner. A movie or tv drama of this sort would introduce C/S to a greater audience than the methods used now. I know that cost is a factor but there are many other movies about individuals in other religions. Why not Christian Science?