When Mary Baker Eddy established The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts, she founded an institution which expressed the Mother-love of God. Joining The Mother Church is not a perfunctory duty, but a step of spiritual advancement marking a stage of spiritual development in the consciousness of a Christian Scientist.
Christian Science reveals God as Mother, as well as Father. The general term "God" may seem abstract to one uninstructed in Christian Science, but the term "Mother" comes nearer to the heart. At the mention of this name the cherished affection of a loved parent often comes to mind. How abundantly blessed is the experience of one who has had a good mother! Throughout life her gentle influence is felt, her tender admonition remembered. In childhood she is guide and counselor; in manhood or womanhood she becomes the devoted confidante and friend. The success of many great men and women can be traced to the influence of a loving mother. The Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, Mrs. Eddy, writes gratefully and reverently of her beloved mother. Since the influence of a good mother is so strong in the human family, how omnipresent and omniscient must be the divine influence of our Father-Mother God which is made appreciable to us through the teachings of Christian Science.
The Mother Church expresses a type of the perfect parent, a mother uniting her children in the home from which they are sprung. How gladly and gratefully children return to the quiet and security of the family circle! The spiritual significance of The Mother Church reveals the whole family of man held in an indissoluble spiritual union.
