From Publicly Speaking - broadcasting talks

This post is from material copyrighted by The Mother Church from "Publicly Speaking" sent by The Board of Lectureship, March/April 2009 edition. All rights reserved by The Mother Church.

Yorba Linda, California, USA

In November 2008, the “Freeway Complex Fire” burned over 30,000 acres and destroyed or damaged approximately 300 homes in Yorba Linda, Brea, and Anaheim Hills in California. A member from First Church of Christ, Scientist, Yorba Linda, shared how their branch sponsored a lecture in response.

“Ginny Luedeman was scheduled to lecture in seven days in a nearby city. Her title was Finding Home…‘on earth as it is in heaven.’ With the approval of our Executive Board, we asked Ginny if she could add us to her schedule. Ginny agreed.

“Our Lecture Committee had recently located a facility for our already planned lecture in February. We were able to book the facility for a date that week that fit into Ginny’s schedule.

“We quickly designed a flyer. A partial list of affected properties had been published in the newspaper, so we mailed flyers to them. Flyers were placed at the local emergency centers where people were meeting with officials and insurance agents, as well as at the copy center, police and fire stations, and farmers’ market.

“Approximately one hundred people attended the lecture. We offered literature, lecture references, and snacks. Our aim was to comfort. A teenager stated after the lecture that he really connected with the message as he had been homeless and was a foster child.

“Ginny allowed us to record the lecture, and the videographer reduced his price as a contribution to the fire recovery effort.

“We broadcast the lecture on the local public access channel. Our lecture was longer than the usual time slot, but the station waived this constraint and showed it once a week for six weeks, and played it in its entirety. Two other local churches posted the lecture on their web sites with the approval of the lecturer. To date, one of the churches reported that it has been viewed over 900 times in many states and countries. A new student of Christian Science e-mailed the lecturer from London asking how she could further her spiritual growth.

“To advertise the cable and online access we put ads in the newspaper and mailed flyers to a now more complete list of properties as well as local fire departments, police, Red Cross, homeless shelters, school officials, and others.

“We kept turning to God, even in the smallest of decisions and in meeting with several new people. Obstacles became irrelevant and the way opened up. It illustrated that statement in Science and Health,454:18:

Love inspires, illumines, designates, and leads the way. Right motives give pinions to thought, and strength and freedom to speech and action. Love is priestess at the altar of Truth. Wait patiently for divine Love to move upon the waters of mortal mind, and form the perfect concept. Patience must ‘have her perfect work.’ ”