As a Christian Science lecturer [a member of The Christian Science Board of Lectureship], I've been inviting the host churches of my lecture to ponder the spiritual message of an article from The Christian Science Journal as part of their work in preparation for a lecture. The article is "Divinity's embrace of humanity" by Carol Jo Krishnaswami, which appeared in the October 1995 issue. In relation to this article, I've emphasized the need to study, ponder, and put into practice—love. I've also pointed out that the blessings from this work start now and will continue after the lecture is given. Especially have I encouraged the churches to think about the last paragraph of that article: "Each one of us, today, can learn to walk among humanity in the way Jesus taught, loving every individual, wrapping all in the recognition of the divine embrace that heals."
The results have been wonderful, as the following lecture committees wrote:
Spokane, Washington—We asked our members: "How do you define 'the divine embrace'? How can we best encircle others with this 'divine embrace,' and does this embrace heal?" In response to these questions, we were inspired to reach out and find community centers and special organizations that focus on helping troubled families. We wanted to let them know that "members of the Christian Science church on the south hill had taken prayer as a long-term commitment to support their work and the families they were serving." As a result, the program director at the Martin Luther King Center wanted the lecturer to talk to a group of single parents (and the counselors) they were working with. It was wonderful to see those single parents' faces light up when the lecturer pointed out that God is the original single Parent guiding us all, and that everyone is part of His family! We feel it was a precious breakthrough for us, a lovely heart-stretcher for our members.
