Here I might add that my predecessor received his instructions from Mrs. Eddy regarding these meetings, but she left a great deal to him.83 It was not only my privilege but duty to confer with Mrs. Eddy and tell her about the meetings and also to ask her about some of the details. I found the thought was that the Sunday services were to bring out the teaching, and the Wednesday evening meetings were to bring out the fruits. In other words, the Sunday Lesson-Sermon was for teaching, and the Wednesday evening meeting for the result of the application of these teachings.
In view of this fact, I always made it a point, as First Reader of The Mother Church, to have the reading from the Bible and Science and Health bear upon healing in some way, or if the subject of the reading was faith, prayer, etc., then I always showed that Christian Science healing was brought about through that truth or thought. In other words, I always left a healing thought with the congregation. I avoided all doctrinal questions, unless they bore upon the healing. The hymns always correlated with the subject, and I used one of Mrs. Eddy’s hymns every other Wednesday. I sent a number of my Wednesday selections (hymns, Bible readings, etc.) to Mrs. Eddy for her to see what I was doing, and they always met with her approval.
Having the Wednesday evening meetings develop a subject bearing upon healing, and having the hymns and the readings correlate, were enjoyed by the Field and soon spread, and this is now rather general, although perhaps not general enough. My experience in attending meetings in many places has been that the First Readers try to develop a lesson similar to the Sunday Lesson and explain ● ● ●
83. The First Reader before Hering was the very first to hold that position, Septimus J. Hanna.