I just wanted to share with you the results of a lecture that First Church of Christ, Scientist, Charleston, South Carolina, sponsored a while ago on the topic of victimization. This topic was chosen by the lecture committee in response to newspaper articles predicting that a rise in abuse cases would accompany the stress caused by lost jobs. (A major employer in the area had shut down.) We chose the title "Christly Protest: An Answer to Victimization" for the lecture topic.
As lecture committee chairman for our local branch church, I had been seeking direction for publicizing our upcoming lecture when I was directed to Isaiah, where we read, "Here am I; send me." Isa. 6:8 The call letter for our lecture preparatory meeting asked each church member to pray with this verse in thought, and also to contact a local community group that worked with victims of abuse—and invite that group to the lecture. The object was for us to go into the community, show that Christian Scientists care about issues that concern us all, and offer the spiritual healing that comes through the power of the Christ. No paid advertising was done.
The response was really overwhelming. Many members came to the preparatory meeting full of plans to fulfill the assignment and overflowing with enthusiasm for doing so. We had planned to distribute about 50 copies of the invitation that evening, but because over 100 copies were taken, we had to have another 150 copies made.
