At the back of this magazine, a directory lists names of individuals engaged in the public healing ministry of Christian Science. While any sincere student of this Science may practice spiritual healing, individuals advertising in The Christian Science Journal are those who are engaged in no other vocation, have an established record of healing, and have met the standards required for listing. We thought it might be helpful to Journal readers, and especially to those who are considering fuller engagement in Christian Science healing, to hear some of these practitioners describe how they got started in the full-time practice. Obviously, their experiences are individual; there couldn't be a specific formula for entering a holy ministry! Our hope is that this series may encourage others to see how a way to the public practice of Christian healing opens up when there is a pure desire to serve God and one's fellowman.
Getting started in the public practice
When I first started setting time aside for the public practice of Christian Science, I sincerely did want to put into wider practice the healing truths that Christ Jesus taught, that Christian Science explained, and that I had learned to love. I wholeheartedly wanted to expand my own sense of good by helping to meet the needs of others. I wanted to bless others with the truths of God that had so blessed me. I had taken class instruction in Christian Science, which had strengthened my ability to heal. I was convinced that there was nothing better for me to do with my life—that there was no other cause that was more worthy of my time, talents, and energies. But I had one concern. I just wasn't sure that I could live the lifestyle it seemed to me a practitioner needed to live. In other words, could I allow my life to be structured in such a way that would enable me to be available— especially, mentally available—to help others regularly? Would this way of life be too demanding?
