Occasionally the question arises as to whether a branch church should omit the session of its Sunday school held at the same hour as the church service, in order that the teachers, officers, and pupils who desire to do so might attend the service on Communion Sunday. It will be observed that there is no provision in the Manual of The Mother Church which would encourage this procedure. There have been no Communion services held in The Mother Church since 1908, in accordance with the wishes of our Leader, Mary Baker Eddy. The Sunday school, however, convened in the usual manner on Communion Sunday prior to that time. Many years ago a few of the branch churches in the immediate suburbs of Boston invited their Sunday schools to attend the service on Communion Sunday. This practice, however, was discontinued long ago. Some branch churches hold an evening service on Communion Sunday, even though it is not their usual practice to hold services in the evening, so that those teachers, officers, and pupils who would like to do so may have the opportunity to attend a Communion service.
[As published in the Christian Science Sentinel, March 16, 1940]
