ON page 27 of The Christian Science Journal for April, 1912, the statement is made that from 1882 to 1889 the Christian Science movement in Boston was growing by leaps and bounds under the incentive of Mrs. Eddy's teaching and the work of hundreds of her students who went forth from her tutelage equipped for the task of spreading abroad the gospel of healing. One of these witnesses to the healing power of Truth was sent by Mrs. Eddy to Brooklyn in 1886. Sunday services were soon instituted, though the first was attended by only two persons. Yet from this beginning has unfolded the work which now stands as First Church of Christ, Scientist, of Brooklyn, New York,—the first Christian Science church in New York state to break ground for its own edifice.
The twenty-eight years since that tiny seed was planted, have seen many steps and stages of progress, marked by both trials and victories. It is interesting to note a few of these steps. The church was organized Feb. 22, 1892, and soon afterward began to hold services in a business building at 12 Hanover place. A reading-room, or dispensary as it was then called, was established at that time. A church edifice on Cumberland street was rented in April, 1895, and the form of service now in use was introduced. The church was incorporated in February, 1897, under the name of "The Church of Christ, Scientist." Subsequently the name was changed to its present form. In 1897 the church purchased land and erected a building on Lafayette avenue. The corner-stone was laid on June 14, and the building was dedicated on Oct. 5 of that year.
Between the years of 1893 and 1898 Brooklyn Church of Christ, Scientist, later known as Second Church of Christ, Scientist, also Third Church of Christ, Scientist, were organized and located in different sections of Brooklyn. Their subsequent union with First Church mark most important periods of church growth, and constitute an evidence of healing in this field. Second Church erected a building on Park place, near Nostrand avenue, which was dedicated in 1898.
