CHRISTIAN SCIENCE IN THE WAR
about them in the camp were those who feared these false beliefs and it was the Christian Scientists' earnest desire to heal, not only themselves, but all concerned, of this fear. They sang the hymns, listened to a Scriptural reading, had silent prayer and applied themselves closely to the study of the lesson-sermon. In another instance, a coal-pile served as the setting for a service.
Primitive as were the surroundings at these simple gatherings, they never failed to draw eager audiences. One Worker tells of an overflowing room with sailors sitting on tables and radiators earnestly listening to the service. That not even quiet could be counted upon will be seen from a Worker's account of a service in Texas:
“We had a very splendid service at Travis this morning, there being ten soldiers present. The thing that impressed me was the earnestness of these boys, as there was nothing but the lesson to attract them to this bare corner of the Y. M. C. A. One could look out of a window and see a crowd of boys on a platform receiving instructions in boxing; from another window one saw a couple of privates beating up a week's accumulation of tin cans; off in the distance a band could be heard playing and inside the ‘Y’ proper a piano was being beaten, followed by a chorus from a crowd of lusty soldiers.”
Sometimes there was the most hearty cooperation on the part of welfare workers of other religious organizations to provide a comfortable room for our meetings. One of our Workers mentions the fact that a Y. M. C. A. secretary placed a large vase of flowers on the readers' table shortly before the service, remarking that they would brighten the room a bit.
At a port of embarkation where the services were
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