It is a meeting—the Wednesday testimony meeting in a branch Church of Christ, Scientist. Therefore, why not conduct it and format it as a meeting, in the way that many meetings are held today? This thought came to me as I prayed to understand how testimony meetings at our church might seem more inviting.
I was First Reader at that time and wrote a letter to the executive board of our church suggesting that we have the First Reader sit at a table on the floor level with the congregation and that we arrange the seats in semicircular rows round it. I also suggested that we try staying seated while sharing testimonies and remarks.
A year went by and I never heard a word. But one day I gently asked the chairman if he thought we might give it a try. Shortly the executive board voted to try it out. The members gladly gave their support. The usher committee asked people to sit right down in front. It worked for us! Our church has been holding its Wednesday meetings this way for about three years now. Our many visitors love it, too. They say they have never felt such warmth and caring in a church before.
