Interviews

Tenth-grader Jon Richardson of St. Louis Park, Minnesota, is, in many ways, a typical high-school student.

Christian Science healer and teacher Bill Hill of Dallas, Texas, sold his successful furniture and design business in Vancouver, British Columbia, because he felt something was missing. He wanted to get to know God better.

Robert A. (Bob) Johnson began advertising in the Journal as a Christian Science practitioner in 1972 and became a Christian Science teacher 12 years later.

To live in the mountain town of Bozeman, Montana, might sound like the epitome of the quiet life—clean air, rugged beauty, and breathtaking vistas. But governing this city of about 30,000 residents—one of the fastest-growing communities in the state—can be anything but quiet.

Mother of two children and grandmother of six, Christian Science practitioner and teacher Marion Pierpont from Des Moines, lowa, attended the University of Kansas in Lawrence and the University of Northern lowa. After a 12-year career as an elementary-school teacher in Cedar Falls, Iowa, she shifted her career to the practice of Christian Science healing.

Christian Science practitioner and teacher J. Thomas Black lives in Birmingham, Michigan,  15 miles northwest of downtown Detroit.

Christian Science practitioner, teacher, and lecturer Earline Shoemake lives in La Mesa, California, a short drive from San Diego and the Mexican border. The mother of four grown children, she has traveled far and wide to preach the healing gospel, but southern California is home.

Juan Carlos Lavigne is a Christian Science healer, teacher, and lecturer. Fluent in Spanish, Portuguese, and English, he has lectured on spiritual healing in all three languages throughout South America, Europe, and the US for over 20 years.

A native of Czechoslovakia, Cornelia Schacht has a Ph. D.

While there's some controversy about just when this sect arose, it's generally believed that Peter Waldo, a missionary in the 12th century, is the one who gave it its name. Like Martin Luther, whose protest led to the birth of Protestantism in the 16th century, the Waldensians were disturbed by the opulence of the medieval church and the worldly lives of churchmen at that time, and eventually they broke away from the Roman Catholic Church.