Article June 26, 1915 Issue

The Lectures

with contributions from Bliss Knapp, S. W. Mason, Almon C. Binkley, S. W. Condon, F. S. Churchill

It is possible for an intelligent student of a given subject to express in a single lecture conclusions that have been derived from years of application; and it may be done with such clearness as to be of great benefit to the beginner, who may lack the time to gain his information from books. Moreover, the lecture is particularly useful in putting an end to popular misconceptions by giving correct information, in removing misapprehension by defining the actual and the real.

That which soonest reaches the heart of mankind is, however, the Christ-healing. It is indeed the foundation of all true building. With the work of healing once established in a community, there follows in natural sequence the superstructure, or second stage of growth, which involves the organization of the society or church. To protect the organization there is need of instruction and correction, and the lecture is an essential factor in this work. Thus the third period of development in the work of Christian Science properly includes the lecture, which instructs, corrects, and points to "the Christ mode of understanding Life" (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 248).

Lectures can respond only to calls from churches or societies that have a card in The Christian Science Journal. Reliable information about Christian Science is in such great demand that the Trustees under the Will of Mrs. Eddy have recently offered to assist churches and societies that wish to provide an additional lecture this present year. Greater freedom may thus be exercised in many instances in the arrangements. If the hall usually employed seems ill suited to all classes of hearers, then there may be opportunity to alternate from one hall to another, or from one district to another, within the sphere of activity of that church. Short noon-day lectures for business men have proved beneficial. In market towns there seems to be considerable merit in holding lectures on market days, in the afternoon. The same rule which protects a Wednesday evening service from being displaced by a lecture, is accepted as applicable to a Sunday evening service. But when there is no evening service, the evening is often as desirable for a lecture as the afternoon.

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