At 9 a.m. on Saturday, December 8, 1984, an audience of Christian Scientists and friends in Honolulu watched the opening moments of a live telecast direct from the Original Edifice of The Mother Church in Boston, where it was 2 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Simultaneously, Christian Scientists and friends in Nairobi, Kenya, were watching the same conference, but at 10 p.m. their time. The videoconference was relayed via six satellites to 148 audiences in 144 cities in 25 countries. As the host of the meeting, John Lewis Selover, C.S.B., of Palo Alto, California, reminded his audience in the Original Edifice, "This may be the greatest use of space for a peaceful purpose since the star stood over Bethlehem."
"The Church in Action" section that follows includes a slightly abridged account of the meeting. A free copy of this issue of the Journal is being mailed to every English-speaking member of The Mother Church. Members whose language preference is one in which a Herald of Christian Science is published will receive the appropriate Herald containing a shorter report of the conference. Subscribers can share their extra copy with those who might be interested in this unusual meeting and its theme of universal interest.
Harvey W. Wood, a member of The Christian Science Board of Directors, introduced and conducted the opening portion of the program. He explained that the meeting reflected "a sense of urgency" to address the needs of our fellowman at the deepest possible level. A panel in Greenwich, England, also participated in the conference through a direct satellite link to Boston. The audio portion of the conference was translated from English into Danish, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, and Swedish. C. Brooks Whitfield of San Francisco directed the televising of the meeting. "To live for all mankind" had the distinction of being the world's largest videoconference ever held.
