Duties of Readers
The principal responsibilities of Readers in Christian Science services were established by Mary Baker Eddy and written into the Manual of The Mother Church. The Mother Church and every branch church each have two Readers who are referred to as a First Reader and a Second Reader.
Sunday church services are conducted primarily by the First Reader, who selects hymns, reads a selection from the Scriptures, makes announcements, and reads about half of the sermon from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. The Second Reader reads the other half of the sermon from the Bible.
Wednesday evening meetings are conducted by the First Reader, who reads from both books. The Second Reader has no role in the meeting, but is likely to attend in the same manner as any other member or guest.
Read more about this topic: Reader (Christian Science Church)
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—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)
“Write to the point: say immediately what you want to say most, even if it doesn’t “come first.” There are three reasons for doing this. First, you will then have said it, even if nothing else gets said. Second, your readers will then have read it, even if they read no more. Third, having said it, you are likely to have to say something more, because you will have to explain and justify what you chose to say.”
—Bill Stott (b. 1940)