We've thought a lot about how our church can be more healing. And we realize that prayer is the best thing going. So instead of confining our prayer to one minute, which is traditional, the First Reader invites the congregation to join together in an extended time of silent prayer, sometimes five minutes. We invite people to put prayer requests in a basket after the meeting, and prayer is taken up for these things at the next service. The Church Manual says that prayer at these services is for the congregations collectively and exclusively, so this is our sense of how to fulfill this obligation. And it's a way of breaking down walls, because prayer is bringing people together to help one another.
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Christian Science Society, San Juan Capistrano, California
