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by Rev. Patrick
Q. What do the Maytag Repairman and a Practitioner have in Common?
A. They're both waiting for the phone to ring.
Our Ministry of Prayer Practitioners' Team is the most underused
resource at this Center. Church members don't use this resource nearly
as often as I feel they should. How often have you taken the
opportunity to use the Practitioner on Duty in Room 4 after every
service. When was the last time you called a Practitioner for
treatment? Do you realize that one of the most important services this
Center has to offer is the use of its Licensed Religious Science
Practitioners? One of the primary purposes of a Religious Science
Church is to offer education in the Science of Mind leading to the
opportunity for Practitioner training. Our whole philosophy is geared
toward changing lives by changing consciousness through the use of
Spiritual Mind Treatment, and who better to enlist in this effort than
your local Practitioner?
And yet we remain an under-developed resource. I don't understand why
that is, because at our last "Ask Your Practitioner" panel during
the Sunday service there were many intelligent and thought provoking
questions brought before the group. Our congregation obviously has a
deep need to know how this Religion relates to the things that really
matter in life. However, the 2-3 minutes allowed for individual
answers that day barely touched the surface of these issues. Many
questions were left unanswered. Much was left unsaid. The conversation
lies waiting to be revisited. Consider this an invitation.
Perhaps the reason we are so little used is that we are perceived only
as the "healing branch" of the church tree, and that it is only
appropriate to use our services when a serious problem ensues. Many
people think that their troubles are too minor to seek a solution
through prayer partnering (another way to view working with a
Practitioner). There is no situation, no matter how seemingly great or
small, that is not a fit subject for prayer. In fact,
people often visit a Practitioner simply to express thanks in
affirmative prayer for all of their Good. Using a Practitioner to
amplify one's personal sense of gratitude is a tremendously powerful
way to open the door to even greater good!
Our Ministry of Prayer also serves as an extension of the "teaching
branch" of the church tree. We welcome the opportunity to engage
in thoughtful exchange about how our
religion/philosophy/way-of-life relates to issues great and small in
our world. There is seldom enough time, space, peace or privacy in the
Sanctuary following the service for this type of conversation, so why
not use the Practitioner on Duty in Room 4?
Please remember that we're all available any time you need us, that
our numbers are posted in the program and in this newsletter; and that
we really do welcome the opportunity to be of service.
The door is always open,
Come on in!
Rev. Patrick
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