On September 8 and 9, 1955, hundreds of university students gathered in the Original Mother Church in Boston, Massachusetts, for the first meeting to be held in the interest of Christian Science College Organizations. College students from England, Scotland, France, Switzerland, Australia, Canada, and the United States, representing one hundred and forty-one different universities, attended the two-day session which was arranged by the Department of Branches and Practitioners with the approval of The Christian Science Board of Directors.
In 1904 Mrs. Eddy placed the By-Law in the Church Manual (Art. XXIII, Sect. 8) which authorized the formation of Christian Science Organizations at colleges and universities. Since that time organizations have been established at institutions of higher learning in many parts of the world. The steady increase in the number of new organizations, the splendid growth of their memberships, the improved quality of their work for the Cause of Christian Science, gave rise to the need for considering the "what, how, whither" of the challenge at hand. The Mother Church accordingly provided for the gathering.
In October, 1954, an announcement was made to the organizations of the proposed meeting for members of The Mother Church who were college students or faculty. Organizations were invited to submit reports on their activities or papers on topics of particular interest. Students were invited to contribute testimonies of healing and experiences relating to their demonstration of Christian Science in their college work. The early fall was selected as a time for the meeting as it would enable those attending to return to their respective campuses at the opening of the fall term with many fresh ideas to contribute to their organizations. The travel expenses of those attending were borne by the students themselves, except in some instances where financial assistance was offered by interested friends.
