Every First Reader in a branch of The Mother Church has a sacred responsibility in the conduct of the services of his church or society. His is the duty of choosing suitable Scriptural selections and benedictions for the Sunday services, as well as appropriate selections from the Christian Science textbooks, the Bible and "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy, for the Wednesday testimony meetings. These selections should be made by the Reader through prayer and inspiration, and this task should not be delegated to others. When this is done with understanding, the services have inspiration, and healings result.
The Reader may be aided in his search for the right selections by authoritative Bible Concordances and by the authorized Concordance to Science and Health. Readers are sometimes circularized to purchase books which contain lists of references arranged under topical headings for the Wednesday evening readings, for Scriptural selections, and for benedictions. The use of such so-called helps is to be avoided. They do not add to a Reader's spiritual growth or to the inspiration of the church services as does the Reader's own prayerful research.
Appropriate benedictions may be found in the writings of both the Old and the New Testament. A benediction should be a continuous statement. It should not be an admonition or an exhortation, but should be a fitting close to the church service.
