I was a Reader in my Christian Science branch church for 19 years. All but one of those years I served as First Reader. Why so long? Because our membership was small in number, and most years at election time everyone else declined.
Just before I was first elected First Reader, there arose in me a desire to do more in serving God and church, so when I was elected, I said yes. To begin at the beginning, this desire to serve came first, and prompted me to quit a job that was not very fulfilling. This left me available to serve in any capacity the church needed.
I began by substituting as Reader for Wednesday evening testimony meetings, and was soon asked to serve on committees and sometimes on the board of the church. And then I was elected First Reader. I was a very timid person, but I felt that if God wanted me to do it, He’d equip me with what I needed.
