Of Good Report

The following is an edited summary of the 2017 Annual Meeting workshop “ The Christian Science Monitor:  uplifting the spirit of humanity,” held on June 3 in the Extension of The Mother Church and broadcast live online. To watch the complete replay, visit christianscience.

Each year, our church sponsors a Christian Science lecture, given by a member of the Christian Science Board of Lectureship. The lecture is for the community, on a topic we feel will particularly bless others.

The following is an edited excerpt of the Christian Science Associations Workshop held June 4, 2017, the day before Annual Meeting, in the Extension of The Mother Church.   To open the workshop, Allison (Skip) Phinney, a member of the Christian Science Board of Directors, introduced himself and Robin Hoagland, also a member of the Board of Directors.

Back in our early twenties, my wife and I moved from Boston back to our native Albany, New York, area. We brought with us our young dog, Cannon—how we loved that dog!  I hadn’t found employment yet, but a branch Church of Christ, Scientist, nearby had set aside funds to paint the exterior of their building.

I greatly enjoyed reading an interview about The Christian Science Monitor in the June 2016 Journal. The Monitor ’s principled standard of striving to report unadulterated news encourages idea-based solutions for global human needs.

Jesus said he would found his church on the “rock,” Christ, and promised: “The gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (see Matthew 16:13–19 ). The early Christian Church certainly proved it was able to withstand relentless persecution, as it grew and demonstrated its efficacy.

Our church , a branch of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, was dwindling through attrition. We were down to just a handful of members, and our spirits were flagging.

It’s interesting to note that the early Christian Church strove for unity. It seems that the early church leaders realized that dissent and inharmony, more than anything else, could undermine the spread of genuine Christianity.

In the early 1900s a family relative became a Christian Science practitioner in St. Louis.

It was natural for Christ Jesus to reach out to others in his daily walk. In so many examples in the Bible, we see his love for God and for humanity, and his willingness to express this love even in a challenging environment where religious laws were rigidly enforced.