On page 4 of "Pulpit and Press" in her dedicatory sermon our Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, points to the cumulative effect of individual effort. Here she writes, "A single drop of water may help to hide the stars, or crown the tree with blossoms."

Christian Scientists throughout the Field are becoming more and more interested in the Sunday School work, and the result of their effort is shown in increased enrollment of pupils, more regularity in attendance, and improved teaching. One of the members of a society in a small midwestern town which had no Sunday School felt keenly that the teachings of Christian Science should be made available to the children of the community. Because of her great interest, she was asked to undertake the work of starting a Sunday School and was appointed superintendent. On the following Sunday she came to Sunday School with three children to be enrolled. In less than a year there were twelve pupils in the Sunday School and three teachers. From the time the Sunday School was started, the church attendance began to increase.

Another church in a small midwestern town a little more than a year ago had an average attendance of five pupils. This church is located in a sparsely settled area, and some members of its congregation drive as far as twenty-five miles to attend services. It was thought that because of these conditions attendance at church and Sunday School was not all it might be. So at a membership meeting in October, 1949, it was voted to try out the plan of having Sunday School at the same hour as the church service, provided temporary quarters could be found.

A room in the city hall, two blocks from the church, was offered for this purpose. On November 3 the Sunday School exercises were held for the first time at eleven o'clock, with an increase of six pupils and with three applications for church membership. Because of the change in the Sunday School hour, church and Sunday School attendance steadily increased, and at a special meeting called for the purpose last December a report was given of the result of the experiment. There was then an average attendance of fifteen pupils in the Sunday School.

Shortly thereafter it was voted to build a Sunday School room at the rear of the church building at a contract price of three thousand dollars. Building operations went forward promptly, and by early March, Sunday School exercises were being held in this extension. Both Sunday School and church attendance are still increasing. This church has a small membership, and all are members of The Mother Church and are working earnestly to share with others the blessings of our Leader's teachings.

In order to present to the membership the great possibilities of the Sunday School and to point out the opportunity which is offered each member to support the work, sometimes a church or society holds a special meeting of the membership to consider the work of the Sunday School, and many reports come to the Sunday School Activities Division of the success of these meetings. Particularly successful are those meetings which include only the membership of the church that is holding the meeting. No two churches have quite the same conditions to deal with in the Sunday School work, and meetings which include several churches often do not have the effect of stimulating the same degree of individual effort on the part of the members. Also experience has shown that individual effort is heightened when the program is carried out by the members themselves.

On some occasions a Christian Scientist has been invited to speak to the membership, and these meetings have been inspiring and helpful. But it has been found that whereas many people enjoy listening to an address which is the result of another's prayerful effort, actual church progress more often results from those activities which are the outcome of the individual work and the spiritual progress of the members.

An example of the fruitage of individual effort is seen in the experience of two young women who some months ago moved into a new home in a neighborhood where there were a number of families with small children. Upon leaving their home each Sunday morning on the way to teach their Sunday School classes, they noticed that most of the children were playing outdoors as on other days and were still playing when they returned. It was obvious, therefore, that the children did not go to any Sunday School. The two young women wanted to take some of the children with them on Sunday morning, and they prayed to be led to take the right step, lest it should appear that they were urging their religion on the neighborhood.

In less than two weeks the neighbors next door asked if their little six-year-old son could go to Sunday School with them. They said they would be glad to take him and also his three-year-old brother. The parents had not thought of the little one being old enough to learn anything in Sunday School, but they were glad to have him try it out. The parents asked many questions about Christian Science, and the next Sunday the two boys enrolled as regular pupils in the Sunday School. The father and mother have both attended the church service once and expect soon to make arrangements so that they can attend regularly.

After these two children had attended for two weeks, a woman who lived across the street inquired if it would be too much to ask that her three-year-old son be taken to Sunday School along with the other two children. She explained that her husband at one time regularly attended a Christian Science church, and when he heard that their new neighbors taught in the Christian Science Sunday School, he wanted his son to go too. The next Sunday this little boy enrolled as a regular pupil, and three weeks later his mother attended church.