In "Twelve Years with Mary Baker Eddy" an incident is related that is of special interest to members of branch Churches of Christ, Scientist. We are told by the author, Irving C. Tomlinson, that when a branch church was formed in the city where Mrs. Eddy resided at the time, several experienced students of Christian Science, of whom he was one, prepared by-laws for the new church. These provided that practically all of the church business was to be taken care of by a board of trustees, thus leaving the members little voice in the government of their church. When these by-laws were presented to Mrs. Eddy for her approval, she returned them as unsuitable, saying that they copied the By-Laws of The Mother Church, and that the government of The Mother Church could not be used as a model for branch churches. The account continues, "New By-Laws were then formed, which placed the affairs of the church in the hands of its members, who were to elect the Trustees, and decide all important questions affecting the branch church. The Trustees were to look after the business of the church in the interim between church membership meetings, but the church, as Mrs. Eddy desired it, was to be a democratic institution." It is reported that Mrs. Eddy gave her endorsement to these by-laws.
In the Manual of The Mother Church Mrs. Eddy states that the government of each branch church shall be democratic, and in "The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany" she writes (pp.246, 247): "The Magna Charta of Christian Science means much, multum in parvo,— all-in-one and one-in-all. It stands for the inalienable, universal rights of men. Essentially democratic, its government is administered by the common consent of the governed, wherein and whereby man governed by his creator is self-governed."
The trustees or directors of a branch church do not seek to impose an autocratic rule upon their fellow church members. While it is necessary that they attend to the business of the church and make certain decisions, they bring important matters before membership meetings, where the issues involved may be discussed by the members and voted upon.
