They came by the thousands, literally, and from countries around the globe—Argentina and Australia, Belgium and Brazil, Canada and Cuba, Poland and Peru, United Arab Emirates and Uruguay—and many points in between. Some came alone, others in groups. They were all heading in one direction: toward the 2004 Annual Meeting of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, on June 7.
Some 41 nations were represented. [See the complete list on page 8.] More than 6,000 people joined over 1,500 in Boston via the Internet. Over 125 Churches of Christ, Scientist, participated by using their Reading Rooms or church buildings as places where people could watch the webcast together.
The meeting began at 1 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, but for the people who joined electronically, the start ranged from 10 a.m. in the western United States and Canada to 6 p.m. in London and 10:30 p.m. in Bombay. In Australia, across the international date line, it was already June 8. No matter what the time, each individual or group used the opportunity to stop and think about why and how to be a good Samaritan.
