The Church Activities Department at The Mother Church frequently receives requests for guidance related to services in branch churches and societies. We often respond to questions about the length of readings for Wednesday testimony meetings. While our department does not dictate such details but supports each branch in their own prayerful discernment in making these decisions, we thought it might be of interest to share some discoveries we’ve made in exploring the topic of readings at Wednesday meetings.
We have not found much specific direction from Mary Baker Eddy on the readings for a Wednesday meeting, but she did provide a By-Law in the Church Manual which states, “Testimony in regard to the healing of the sick is highly important” (p. 47).
Many questions that come up within branch work do not have explicit answers in the Manual. Mrs. Eddy could have addressed these questions but did not, and this leaves each branch church to seek how God is leading them in discovering what feels inspired for today. Similarly, we encourage Readers to listen for how they are being led to prepare for each service. There is a page on christianscience.com that offers support and ideas for Readers (christianscience.com/additional-resources/churches-societies-and-groups/readers-resources).
