CAMP WELFARE COMMITTEE
in camp on Sunday. One boy, who was an attendant in the hospital, working all night, curtailed his sleep in order to attend the morning service. On another occasion twenty-four men came in a drenching rain, two of them omitting their breakfast in order to arrive on time. One boy made a special trip to a Wednesday evening meeting to testify to the healing of an ulcerated tooth. He was on duty until late and ran so hard that he could hardly talk when he arrived, but he was determined to speak.
There were times even in camps in this country when our boys found themselves without a room in which to assemble. In one such instance, a little group of men went down to a clump of trees near a railroad track, piled railroad ties against two saplings to make a desk, the readers hung their hats in the trees, the congregation sat on other ties and the service began. It was a wonderful day, with the blue sky overhead, the sun only an hour high, and the birds, the blossoms and the trees adding their pagans of praise to the hymns that arose from the little grove. That service, in its earnestness and spiritual fervor, made a lasting impression on all who participated.
At the time the epidemic of fear (alias influenza) appeared in the camps, in many instances the assembling of the men in large groups was forbidden, especially indoors. The Christian Scientists were obedient wherever this ruling was made, but small groups would assemble and go over the lesson in the open air somewhere about their camp. In one instance a group of six assembled at a big woodpile, found seats, chose readers and put into the service every bit of mental energy they could command. And why not? The subject was, “Are Sin, Disease and Death Real?” All
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