Church Alive
As a Christian Scientist, I have endeavored to understand and obey Mary Baker Eddy’s By-Law in the Church Manual : “The prayers in Christian Science churches shall be offered for the congregations collectively and exclusively” ( p. 42 ).
A recent study of a “Church Alive” article from The Christian Science Journal (Lesley Pitts, “Mary Baker Eddy and the Living Church,” June 2011), and another from the Christian Science Sentinel (Michael R. Davis, “Church that embodies the healing Christ—today,” May 11, 2009), certainly enlivened my thinking.
After viewing some recent mattress commercials on TV, I’ve come to the conclusion that many people today not only expect a new mattress to cure their back problems—but they also blame their old mattress for causing whatever physical problems they have. They spend a great deal of time searching out a new mattress that will give them a peaceful night’s sleep.
The Manual of The Mother Church by Mary Baker Eddy states: “In Christian Science each branch church shall be distinctly democratic in its government, and no individual, and no other church shall interfere with its affairs” ( p. 74 ).
When I arrived for my first day as the new soloist for the Palos Verdes Christian Science church in California, the organist met me at the door. “You can go home—church is canceled,” he said.
I live in Nanyuki at the slopes of Mt. Kenya.
Welcome to this healing service presented by First Church of Christ, Scientist, Port Townsend, an active branch of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts. We are so grateful you are here! As First Reader, I love starting our notices with this particular welcome to our beautiful little church.
One of the most profound Christian Science services I’ve ever experienced was in a humble little village in Kenya. The entire congregation of three met my husband and me at our cottage, and walked us about half a mile through the unpaved streets to a video store.
How you think and feel about church matters—to you, and to your church. It matters especially if you’ve ever been concerned about the way in which your church is going about its healing mission.
For decades, ever since Mary Baker Eddy asked her secretary to begin holding Christian Science services at a local jail in Concord, New Hampshire, Christian Science chaplains and others on institutional committees around the world (approximately 517 today in the United States alone) have been volunteering countless hours in local jails, prisons, and mental health facilities. They are the unsung heroes among church workers—those whose unselfish care for their neighbor often goes unnoticed or underappreciated among other “church work.