All Christian Scientists find helpful and inspiring Mary Baker Eddy's definition of "Church"' on page 583 of their textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures." The first paragraph gives the completely spiritual concept of Church, telling us that it is "the structure of Truth and Love; whatever rests upon and proceeds from divine Principle." The second paragraph, equally important at this stage of human development, sets forth the duties and purposes of our present Christian Science church organization: "The Church is that institution, which affords proof of its utility and is found elevating the race, rousing the dormant understanding from material beliefs to the apprehension of spiritual ideas and the demonstration of divine Science, thereby casting out devils, or error, and healing the sick."
Are we responding to the rousing call for action in the second part of the definition? Are we, through specific church activity, helping this God-inspired institution to awaken and uplift humanity, to cast out error and sin of all sorts, to heal the sick? This call is made not only upon The Mother Church, but also upon each of its branches.
We begin our church work with prayer. We start with the spiritual concept set forth in the first part of the definition, and then we are able to bring our activities in the human institution into direct line with the divine ideal. We then can make some satisfactory reply to the demands of our own conscience when we read our Leader's summons in "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 177): "Will you doff your lavender-kid zeal, and become real and consecrated warriors? Will you give yourselves wholly and irrevocably to the great work of establishing the truth, the gospel, and the Science which are necessary to the salvation of the world from error, sin, disease, and death? Answer at once and practically, and answer aright!"
