Articles

Many years ago, when I first became a student of Christian Science, I spent many hours studying the Bible and the writings of Mary Baker Eddy, listening for God’s guidance. Once as I was deep in study, though, I felt suddenly unwell.

In the societies we read about in the Bible, women were generally powerless and unable to do much without permission from the men of the family. Yet some of the Bible’s most beloved stories depict women who courageously stood up for themselves and were able to find justice.

On December 25, 1945, a group of devoted Christian Scientists gathered together for a Christmas party at the home of Miyo Matsukata and her family in Kamakura, Japan. The close of World War II marked the end of a four-year underground practice of Christian Science, which had been brought to Japan only about two decades earlier.

Dear Reader, “Christmas to me is the reminder of God’s great gift,—His spiritual idea, man and the universe …” ( The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 262 ).

The following is an edited and abridged transcript of the “An able church—When we feel the Christ-power in church, it extends to embrace the world” session held in The Mother Church Extension, hosted by Dilshad Khambatta Eames, CS, and Ned Eames on June 2, 2019, the Sunday before Annual Meeting. It was also broadcast live online, and you can watch the complete replay at christianscience.

“Somewhere, sometime, somehow, I will learn to be more Christlike. ” That was always my deepest wish over the years as I grew up in Christian Science.

My mother believed in introducing me to different churches and teachings. Growing up, I attended a Protestant Sunday School of one denomination, and went to a parochial school during the week of yet another denomination, where we had a Bible class each day.

Sometimes it seems that human experience is one of constant vulnerability. The headlines in the news certainly support this belief.

As a young mother, I often turned to a local Christian Science practitioner for help. We called her “Grandma Helen” because she was like family.

Poor Naaman. After journeying for days with his entourage to meet the prophet Elisha in Israel, he expected a reception befitting of a dignitary.