WEDNESDAY EVENINGS were a special time for me as a young child. My brother and sister and I got to go with our parents to a "program" at our church. At least it seemed like a program to me. People would stand up and tell stories. I was fascinated. Even my parents would sometimes stand up and tell about something that had happened in our home and how God had helped us. I can remember how happy I was, grinning at them when they sat back down.

As we got older and had homework to do, we didn't go with them as often. By then I had realized that the program was actually a church service—sort of a one-hour, midweek, spiritual "picnic" for people to give thanks for healing and regeneration inspired by the healings and teachings of Christ Jesus. It was, and still is, a time of happy sharing of the bounty of healing—and not just with church members. It's a community picnic. And the community includes everyone, regardless of their religious persuasion or their cultural or racial background.

Today life seems to move at such a fast pace, with so many distractions, that it's easy to forget we are still members of our community, our neighborhood. It's hard enough to keep up with the needs of our own families, let alone those of others. This may be less true when a disaster strikes, and it seems suddenly natural for everyone to want to help. But you shouldn't need a disaster to produce a caring response.

Gratitude and sharing aren't new. The book of Psalms in the Bible is truly a book of gratitude. It contains 150 songs (testimonies, if you like) of praise, glorifying God. These songs have been perpetuated through the ages, and it would be safe to say that every Wednesday evening people around the world find inspiration in hearing excerpts from that ageless compilation read at Christian Science services.

What's more, the roots of such praise are found throughout the Bible. The book of Malachi says our blessings are assured: "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it" (3:10). That one statement offers a rich promise to each one of us. We need only be willing to give even a tenth of our gratitude to God to discover blessings beyond what we can fathom. How better to express gratitude to God than by carrying on the works Jesus began—healing the sick and sharing his example with all humankind.

Feeding the birds

I once learned a key lesson about helping to meet others' needs. It all started with birds. My husband and I had moved to a place on an acre of ground with no fences and wide meadows stretching across all the adjacent properties. We had some bracken and a stream at the back of these lots. I thought it was bound to be a bird haven.

But after two months of watching birds flock to my neighbor's yard, I began to wonder why they hadn't come to our place. So I sought out the local Audubon Society. I must have sounded a little strange to the woman on duty. When she asked me what kind of birds I wanted, I said, "Red, yellow, blue, black, and white, as well as the usual brown ones." But she was very patient when she asked me what kind of feed was I putting out, and I told her I was using whatever the grocery store sold.

"Ah," she said, "that's not good enough. If you want the birds to come, you must provide seeds that nourish their specific needs."

She was able to help me buy about ten varieties of specific seeds for specific birds. And, you've guessed it. No more than a week later, when I looked out my kitchen window at the large lilac bush, I counted 13 different species of singing birds of every size and color.

How did those birds know the food they wanted was there? I didn't stand out in the yard waving at them and pointing to my bush. I didn't paint big arrows on the ground. I don't think birds smell seeds. I didn't know how they could even find the feeders in that big bush. But they did, and they continued to be regular visitors.

Church attendance

At one point I had been wondering about the sparse attendance at Wednesday evening meetings in my church. People were sharing many testimonies of healing, and there was always lots of inspiration in the readings from our "pastor," the Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. As I prayed for fresh ideas, I realized my bird lady's advice had offered the solution: "If you want the birds to come, you must provide seeds that nourish their specific needs."

This was just what we did. What came to me was that my community wasn't just a collection of different people. It was the home of families of all shapes and sizes, many with children. There were various shops, banks, auto dealers, health clinics, schools, and other churches. The community had economic problems, a need for charitable services, and it was always looking for people to guide its young people.

I realized as never before how much I was a part of that community—and how often our own family had faced many of the same challenges. We had found satisfying answers through prayer alone. Our study of God's universal, impartial laws, plus obedience to those laws, had brought many blessings to our family. We were always wonderfully aware that we couldn't hoard convincing proofs of God's power to heal. We had to share them with gratitude. And those weekly meetings gave us the opportunity to do just that.

I recall our son's remarkable healing from the effects of a serious automobile accident; how after a seven-year period during which my husband had tried five different jobs, his prayers for right employment led to a long career in a most satisfying field; how he was healed of severe migraine headaches that had plagued him since childhood; and how our children maintained consistently good health despite the cuts, stings, bruises, eczema, colds, and fevers that tested them from time to time.

Over the years there have been several instances when I was healed during Wednesday meetings. On one occasion I had not been feeling well and had decided I probably wouldn't go to church. Then I thought, "No, that's exactly where I need to be." However, during the service I realized I was losing consciousness. My husband sitting beside me was aware of the struggle, and I knew he was joining me in praying for healing. A few minutes later the urgency of the situation vanished. My head cleared, and by the time we began the testimony part of the meeting, I was free of all the symptoms I'd been suffering from that day. On another Wednesday evening, I was able to tell the congregation about that healing.

Embrace the community

One day the secretary at our children's school unexpectedly asked me about the calmness she'd noticed I consistently expressed. I invited her to attend a Wednesday evening meeting, and she came away from it saying she didn't remember much of what she'd heard, but as she looked around, she found she knew most of the people there. They had busy lives as commuters, community workers, multitasking parents, and yet they all seemed so peaceful. "That's what I've wanted for so long in my life—quietness and contentment," she said.

That visitor had clearly been impressed by our church's healing atmosphere and by the commitment of the members to know God better and encourage others to do the same. And that was only the beginning. Many more opportunities opened up as we began to see that in giving testimonies we were not only giving gratitude to God but also sharing much-needed spiritual nourishment with our community. Although I'm no longer a member of that branch church, the vitality those members express continues to be an inspiration. Their community may have changed, but their focus has not.

Gratitude is prayer

Gratitude isn't something we keep for those weekly meetings and just talk about. It's a form of prayer. And the best proof of the sincerity of our prayers is the way we live our lives every day. As Mary Baker Eddy wrote, "Action expresses more gratitude than speech" (Science and Health, p. 3).

People sometimes fail to realize how powerful an awareness of God's presence and comforting care can be. I've known moments of great pain, duress, and discouragement, during which I thought I couldn't pray effectively or even think clearly. But I've been lifted out of my mental sea of molasses every time I've been humble enough to say just three little words—"Thank you, God" or "Thank you, Father." The effect has always strengthened my urge to help others grasp how simple, yet mighty, praise can be.

There may not be a church near you where you can easily go to share and receive in this way. But that doesn't have to stop you from taking an hour out of your busy life each week to express gratitude to God for the blessings and healings you've had. It's also a great time to include your own community in your prayers, as well as the broader community called the world.

Church can always thrive in our consciousness. For me, it's the best gathering place of all. And when we're truly filled with gratitude, every day can be a Wednesday!

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