New technology in McAllen lecture

McAllen did newspaper advertising, running several ads. Every visitor mentioned seeing the ads. This advertising was key to the success of the lecture. One person did invite two newcomers, but they had already seen the ads and I believe came because they had seen them.

The location was superb. The location was a healing. They had reserved a conference room at the local university only to be informed less than two weeks before the lecture that the room suddenly wasn’t available. Nor would any other room be made available for the lecture. The chair’s response to me was that they were going to move the lecture into the church. In my view this would have resulted in almost none of the visitors coming. Visitors came to this lecture because of the well-known high profile neutral location, ie the university.

Anyway, the other co-chair prayed and decided to pursue the matter with the president of the university. The President and her husband have stopped by the Reading Room on a Friday night when this Reading Room participates in a once a month downtown Art Walk. They keep the Reading Room open and offer materials etc. The President had stopped in and talked with Reading Room attendants etc. When the co-chair called to make an appointment to speak to the President, no time was available until a week later which would be only a few days before the lecture. However he began talking with the President’s secretary and explained the situation. Continuing to pray within 2-3 days, he received a call from the person who had cancelled their reservation saying the room would be available after all. No explanation was ever given for the cancellation or the reinstatement. The feeling here is that there was opposition to Christian Science. That the President was favorably disposed to Christian Science after their visit to the Reading Room during the Art Walk and the problem was resolved.

Anyway, the room was excellent. I used some technology new to me--a computer screen that put the writing up on two huge screens easily visible from all over the room, and a pad that projected pages of a book or paper onto the same big screens. The room was set up with big round tables and chairs. They put a Bible and Science and Health on each table. They had a nice literature table at the entrance. Both before and after the lecture, the visitors were perusing the literature table and selected free literature. One visitor bought Science & Health after the lecture. Several people were looking at it but not prepared to spend the money. I think Science & Health copies might be sold at the Reading Room later or gotten at bookstores or Amazon.com. People actually asked after the lecture for us to repeat the address of the Reading Room and church. They also asked for the time and titles of the lectures in Brownsville to be repeated.

One man came who comes to the Reading Room once a week, spends two hours reading the Bible Lesson and studying. He has never come to a church service or a lecture, although he has been invited for years. When the Reading Room attendant invited him to this lecture, he mentioned that I was lecturing in Mexico. The man became interested in this and a lengthy discussion followed at the end of which the man said he thought he would come to this lecture, which he did. This was seen by the Reading Room attendant as a big healing, that the man came to some event sponsored by the church.

A visitor came with her daughter who is in need of healing. The visitor said her relative has been telling her things about Christian Science for years, but that she needs to see proof, and didn’t understand anything that wasn’t physical. However, she said that the lecture explained Christian Science in a way she could understand. We talked about the examples given in the lecture about Moses, and how Moses had to trust God without seeing how things would work out. Also how the children of Israel had to stop thinking they were in control and instead follow God. We prayed together right then and both she and her daughter were very touched by the lecture and the conversation.

Three women visitors came to help one of them that has a problem with depression. They talked with both before and after the lecture. They all wanted to pray with me after the lecture and we did.

Two school teachers came. They had seen the ads. The one called the other saying she was going. The other said she was in her pajamas and going to bed. The first one said, I’m going anyway. The second one said, Well you can’t go alone so she got dressed in 5 minutes and they both arrived on time. They were the ones who bought Science and Health. They might also come to Brownsville lecture in Spanish or they they will just call their relatives who live near Brownsville. They asked for my card and to check out websites. We had quite a lovely talk.

Almost every visitor came up afterward and wanted to talk about personal issues or issues for their friends/relatives. Everyone was committed to praying and putting into immediate practice the ideas they’d learned in the lecture.


I’m hopeful that the church will keep in email contact with the visitors and expand their concept of church beyond attendance at services. They had contact cards which all the visitors filled out.

There was an atmosphere of healing at this lecture that I think was felt by many of the people present.