Church Alive

My church in Denver has been getting together for about a year for meetings on church renewal. During a preplanning discussion to decide on topics for these meetings, I volunteered to close our first one with a Christian Science “treatment” (specific prayer) for our church.

I work in a Christian Science Reading Room that is located in a small shopping mall in southwest Illinois. Like other Reading Rooms around the world, we have done our best to be well located as the Church Manual stipulates, and we work hard to present fresh and relevant displays that engage the community in thinking about both local and national events from a spiritual perspective.

Marta : Fujiko, we just want to express deep appreciation for your grace and strength that has been so evident as a lecturer and teacher this past year—especially in places that were hit with [severe] conditions such as New Zealand, Indonesia, and your homeland of Japan.   Fujiko : Thank you, Marta.

The students in our Sunday School love to share, especially if it involves a performance. In following the direction in the Church Manual that “the Sabbath School children shall be taught the Scriptures.

A Christian Science lecture on a college campus marked a first for us.   Our branch church had been struggling with a challenge many churches face when giving a lecture: Lots of effort goes into organizing one in order to share divine Science with neighbors, friends, and community, yet with little success when judged by actual attendance.

Every year, everyone in our Sunday School class makes a resolution. We each set a goal.

When Christian Science is introduced to people in my country, it is usually not accepted at first because they seem to have a fear of the word Christian and of conversion. Perhaps the fear is because of past experiences in India with Mughal emperors who converted Hindus to Muslims, and later with Christian missionaries who converted Hindus to Christians.

A few years back, I was praying about my Christian Science healing practice. At the time, my practice was largely made up of Christian Scientists, and I really wanted a new frontier, one where I was reaching more of the public.

Some years ago, our church was confronted with problems like church work not being fun, not too many visitors, not many testimonies, too many empty chairs in Sunday School. The need became felt among our members to honestly ask, Do I really live Christian Science? Am I really understanding what I read about it? Do I really believe what I say about it? Do I really know what my church is? Do I know who God is? Do I know who I am?  Those questions, earnestly considered, make one go on one’s knees and stay quiet and listen for answers.

More than once I have walked into a Christian Science church service with a problem and walked out with a solution. So this year, when I wasn’t feeling well prior to a Sunday service, I didn’t hesitate about going to the service expecting to be healed.