Julie Anne Ward, CSB
A member of the Christian Science Board of Lectureship
My Sunday School teacher, a Christian Science practitioner gave me a keynote for my entire future when I was a high school senior, struggling for clarity about my next big life step. “Julie, when the Children of Israel crossed the Red Sea, they couldn’t be afraid to get their feet wet!” she said. As I grasped what it meant to “get my feet wet”—to step out in faith and obedience, trusting all to God—not only saw what my next move in life was, but I was also quickly healed of a painful back injury.
Since then, there have been so many opportunities to leave old ideas behind, move forward fearlessly, and get my feet wet. And each time—whether the Red Sea looked like a relationship problem, a career challenge, or financial lack—the sea has parted, and I found new blessings and clarity where murky waters had seemed to be. Only God could do that!
From childhood, I have loved to dance, and this is yet another area that required my willingness to risk wet feet as I progressed. I danced with a small regional company and eventually became its associate director and choreographer. And I taught jazz and ballet to everyone from the tiniest little ones to the professional class. It was a continual wonder to me that I could get paid for doing something that I loved so much. Little did I know that this was only preparation for a career I would love even more. Dancing taught me to value discipline, obedience, and persistence—foundational qualities for the practice of Christian Science. Even though I didn’t intend to go into the practice of Christian Science healing, the practice came to me. Friends and family began asking me to pray for them, and I thought of my Sunday School teacher’s admonition and ventured forward.
I became a teacher of Christian Science in 2006, and again I’m in awe of the joy that experience has brought. Now I’m happy to enter a new realm, and explore spiritual ideas with the public through Christian Science lectures. Whatever seems to be the challenge, let’s not stay on the shore. Let’s venture out and be willing to get our feet wet together!
Lecture Titles
Finding your real beauty
A 40 minute lecture that examines the nature of real beauty, based on Mary Baker Eddy’s “recipe for beauty” given on page 247 of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. Julie tells how she was healed of compulsive eating and fad dieting. This lecture is very inter-active and lends itself well to youth audiences, but is appropriate for all age groups.
Find your real strength
A 40 minute lecture appropriate for all audiences, but especially written for youth, that explores the nature of real strength as a spiritual rather than a physical attribute. We learn more about Blondin’s strength as he walked over Niagara Falls. We hear the story of a Christian Scientist who leaned on God for strength as he ran a 100 mile race in the mountains of Colorado. Finally, we hear the story of a woman who was a “Freedom Rider” in the American South in the early 1960s, and the real strength of conviction that we all reflect.
When God calls your name
A 30 minute lecture especially appropriate for young people that explores three essential questions:
Does everyone have a life-purpose?
How can I find mine?
How can I pursue it fearlessly?
Cherishing our children
A 60 minute lecture appropriate for all audiences that discusses the results of consistent prayer for the children of the world. This lecture covers some basic points in our prayer for children that will be helpful to parents, grand-parents, teachers, and all those who love and support children. It also helps us to lift up freshness, innocence, and spontaneity in our own thinking.
You're not guilty
A 20 minute lecture appropriate for all audiences in which we discuss three areas in which we can defend our innocence:
You’re not guilty of disappointing God.
You’re not guilty of causing your own problems.
You’re not guilty of spiritual ignorance.
This lecture may be viewed online at christianscience.com.
