As we were planning this issue of the Journal, the staff thought about Mary Baker Eddy's provision for a Thanksgiving service in all Churches of Christ, Scientist. We wondered how Christian Scientists in other countries made use of the Thanksgiving Lesson-Sermon. So we sent e-mail notes around the globe. Following are a few excerpts from replies we received:
I am sure that the Thanksgiving service brings great good not only to me, but to my community. Thanksgiving and praise to God are a potent force for good. I began to wonder why Mrs. Eddy authorized a service for this particular holiday in the US, knowing that her ideas and interest would never have been confined just to her own country.
My answer came as I thought about Thanksgiving and what it signifies for the American people. It is a day that acknowledges God's sustaining love for people who came to a new land, a land that gave them the opportunity to worship God as their conscience dictated, not bound by outmoded religious practices.
