Doors to parliament have opened where doors had never even been ajar, reports Edmund Goltman, the Committee for KwaZulu/Natal province in South Africa. "Up until October 2003, we had no direct contact in KZN with government or the legislature," says Mr. Goltman. "But now the Committee is being flooded with opportunities."
Openness and receptivity to spirituality now characterize his interactions with public officials. Why? "Everywhere, and this includes the medical field, people are really yearning for an alternative healing method, and spirituality is pointing the way. For example, on my initial visit to the start of discussions on a proposed national bill that will encompass a wide range of issues affecting people's health care choices, I placed a copy of Science and Health in a prominent spot for all delegates to see.
"At the end of the first day, an official of the KNZ legislature purchased the book from me. A half-hour before the next meeting, the chairman granted me a one-on-one interview. I needed to gain her support for the Christian Science submissions on spirituality that I had presented to the National Parliament for inclusion in the final bill. Our submission recommended that spirituality and spiritual care services be included as components in the South African national health system.
