Members of The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts, are called upon to keep Christian fellowship one with another. They do so in obedience to Article XI, Section 3, of the Manual of The Mother Church by Mary Baker Eddy, which, under the caption "Violation of Christian Fellowship," reads, "Any member who shall unjustly aggrieve or vilify the Pastor Emeritus or another member, or who does not live in Christian fellowship with members who are in good and regular standing with this Church, shall either withdraw from the Church or be excommunicated."
This call for Christian fellowship is one we must observe, for it is essential that both the letter and the spirit of Christian Science be strictly adhered to. A church problem, for instance, may seem to commence by a lack of Christian fellowship between one church member and another. In such a case it is possible for the breach to widen and the membership to take sides, thus seeming to cause disunity in the membership. Sooner or later the snarl must be unraveled, personal sense must be dethroned by Truth, and individual judgment must be established. By our obedience to Article XI, Section 3, of the Manual the bond of brotherhood for members of The Mother Church remains unbroken.
The "bond" in a builder's work signifies bricks laid with one slightly overlapping another. So, Christian fellowship is preserved when one member considers the interests of another, but not to the extent that he takes over the thinking of another or tries to influence him erroneously.
