We continued our tradition begun in 1986 of members reading aloud the Thanksgiving Lesson from the Christian Science Quarterly. We then shared testimonies appropriate for the day.

One member repeated a testimony given earlier at a branch church expressing gratitude for recovery from compulsive overeating, which used to make every holiday a time of being out of control with consequent discomfort and of course weight gain. He achieved abstinence on a Thanksgiving Day, in 1982, in the company of fellow compulsive overeaters when they broke the mesmeric impulse to unbridled behavior by taking the time to voice gratitude for blessings in their lives. After this they were able to eat normally.

Two members expressed gratitude for the healing of old hurts around an excommunication from a Christian Science branch church some twenty years ago. This healing has been in process for about six months as some of our members attended services at the church and interacted with members, not always harmoniously. But this last Wednesday night, the one excommunicated and one of the members had a long, deep conversation about the whole situation and our member reports no remaining feelings of rancor, recrimination or even defensiveness. Our other member, who witnessed the trauma so long ago, found himself at that church for the Thanksgiving service seemingly because of the heavy rains in New York — he didn't want to travel to his usual branch — and came away with good feelings about the excommunication problem. It's over!

An out of town visitor expressed gratitude for the healing of grief arising from the death of a beloved pet. Working with a practitioner he has come to see that, as someone said, "He's still there; you just can't see him."Our visitor talks to him just as always and feels his presence.

A member expressed gratitude for some children's books he has been reading — particularly one called "Goose"by Molly Bang. He has found this book a wonderful support for his emergent inner gay child, in repairing the wounds associated with growing up gay in a homophobic society. It tells the story of a goose being raised by woodchucks, trying to be the best woodchuck possible until he discovers he can fly. Then he is free to live his own truth.

Several in attendance remembered similar supportive books from their childhood which helped bring us through the dark night of heterosexist nihilism. For instance, there was Ferdinand the Bull, who was content to be different and took time to smell the flowers. "Whatever inspires with wisdom, Truth, or Love — be it song, sermon, or Science — blesses the human family with crumbs of comfort from Christ's table, feeding the hungry and giving living waters to the thirsty."(Science and Health, pg. 234:4-8)

Another member was grateful for the Christian Science Thanksgiving service which brings together so many elements of worship — the readings, prayer, music, the Presidential proclamation and testimonies. It has it all! One member, quietly hanging back from the expressions of thanks, finally blurted out "I'm in a grumpy, mean, ungrateful and f... you mood. I have nothing but problems in my life and this day has been horrible."There was at least a faint hint of gratitude for being in a place where such a statement is allowed and where others would know how to care for it.

Another member is very sad about a close friend who passed away this week. He has a feel for how to work it through and knows that eventually he'll see that she did NOT die.

We talked some about the inclusion in the current weekly Christian Science Lesson of I Corinthians 6:9, a passage famously used to denigrate gay people. Solid students of Science wouldn't spend a moment trying to apply uninspired biblical passages to their lives; so we concluded it's to be denounced along with other forms of mesmerism and can be seen as our contribution to the effort to repent of institutionalized homophobia which the Greenwich Village Ministerium addressed in a recent statement — see the Articles section on this site.

This coming week we'll work and pray over why we have a Lesbian and Gay Christian Science group. Some of our internet friends, as well as others have questioned the rightness and/or need for such a group. So we'll take it up and perhaps find a deeper appreciation of just what it is we're trying to do. Comments from our world-wide family are always welcome.