SOME SATURDAYS, the "spiritual breakfast" at the Silver Stallion diner can get a little noisy, reports Janet Wright, a member of the local Christian Science Society in Des Plaines, Illinois. Especially when she and a local church group are seated near another gathering that also meets regularly on Saturdays—the Civil War reenactore. "Sometimes they appear to be fighting the war again at the table," laughs Wright. But her group perseveres, she adds, "starting and ending with a prayer, but with lots of local news and sharing of family snapshots in between."
Dr. William Grice, minister of the Des Plaines First Congregational Church (United Church of Christ), has been spearheading these breakfast get–togethers at the diner for over 15 years, and one Saturday this past December, he asked Wright if her Christian Science Society would like to unite with them in a joint service—a service his church holds yearly on Christmas Day.
On both sides of the table, the proposed collabration would be a first After their branch church became a Society a few years ago, Wright says she and her fellow members felt the need to walk the talk, and become a visible presence in the community. They took to heart—and to committed, consistent prayer—Jesus' instructions "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid" (Matt. 5:14). When the request came that day at the diner, she remembers thinking, Wow. Our light has been seen!
