Branching out

Christian Scientists believe in, honor, and obey the Ten Commandments as given to Moses by God thousands of years ago. Many of them, such as the commands not to kill or steal (see Exodus 20:13, 15 ), have been embraced by society and have become part of everyday life.

To quiet the clamor of worldly thinking, many people meditate. Others hike in the wilderness or go on a religious retreat.

I was sitting in a Sunday service in my branch Church of Christ, Scientist, when one of the Readers read an announcement about Sunday School. He said, “We welcome young people to our Sunday School.

A Christian Science practitioner once told me that angel messages come with action; they are not just good thoughts, but involve results. I had been devoting lots of my prayer time to thinking about church.

I am the librarian of a Christian Science Reading Room in a busy downtown area of a city in central California. Assisting visitors in their search for spiritual insights and guidance has been rewarding.

It was a Sunday morning. I arrived at church early to take my post as usher, ready to greet newcomers as well as our regular attendees.

My initial encounter with Christian Science was in prison, where I went to a Christian Science church service just to get out of my cell. At the time I was serving a life sentence for a crime I had not committed, although I had engaged in other criminal activity from an early age.

One day while I was working in the Reading Room of my local Christian Science church, a gentleman whom I hadn’t seen before came in the door. He began asking questions about Christian Science.

I love listening to the recording of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy that plays continuously online at christianscience. com.

When I was appointed chair of my branch church’s lecture committee, I felt a bit daunted. I had never been involved with planning a Christian Science lecture before.