On a Saturday morning a small van pulls up to the curb in a busy shopping center. The side doors slide open, and two church members begin off-loading a fold-up table and stacks of pamphlets, books, and magazines. Shoppers begin stopping to examine the free literature, asking questions, and many leave taking a piece or two of the reading material.
The same scene is repeated now in a growing number of cities in many parts of the world: at bookmobiles at the beach, at public parks on a Sunday afternoon, at exhibit tables at summer fairs and festivals, in centrally located information rooms. All are examples of branch churches reaching out, of individual Christian Scientists working together with greater mobility and penetration to share an enlarged, healing view of God and man.
A branch in Melbourne, Australia, describes their bookmobile as "a most practical and up-to-date way of reaching many people who might otherwise never hear of Christian Science." They see the mobile extension of their literature distribution work as "an expanding concept of church"—taking church where more of the action is.
In several areas local branches have formed joint committees to accomplish special tasks that could not be done as effectively by single churches. One of the most successful is the committee sponsoring the Christian Science bookmobile in Greater Kansas City, Missouri.
Their policy emphasizes respect for law and love for the public. This has produced nearly four years of steady, uninterrupted activity without a single unpleasant incident. When required, they obtain written permission before they set up; and they strictly obey all park and city ordinances. With every gift of literature they include a bookmark that contains locations of all branch churches and Reading Rooms in the area, so people will know where they can obtain more literature and additional information about Christian Science. Invitations to lectures are also freely distributed.
Recently a woman entered one of these local Reading Rooms asking if they had the pamphlet "Mental Health." She identified it as having a blue cover and said she had been given one from the bookmobile and wanted now to buy four more for her children.
"Mankind is hungering for the truth; we don't have to sell them on anything," the Kansas City committee reports. "The books do most of the talking."
A branch in Rhodesia tells of its exhibit at the Salisbury Agricultural Show that attracted several visitors to their Reading Room. Recognizing prayer as the most important element in the project, the members consistently reminded themselves that there could be no opposition to omnipotent Mind, which man universally reflects.
One worker on the Greater Oklahoma City bookmobile committee says, "The people seem to know that we have what they want." At a shopping mall in another midwestern city, a security guard approached a bookmobile. "We felt we might be asked to move," the report begins. "But the guard was glad to see us. He told of obtaining some literature from the bookmobile the previous year and how much he enjoyed it. He said that every afternoon when school lets out a lot of teen-agers migrate to the shopping center, and at first he had problems with them. Then he began talking with them and sharing some of the literature he'd obtained from the bookmobile. He said it was a great help in dealing with young people and felt it had helped make everyone, himself included, more friendly."
In the same area a local Reading Room received a call from a home for unwed mothers. Two of their girls received some literature from the bookmobile, and the home was calling to inquire about receiving more.
"Our purpose," the Oklahoma City committee explains, "is to express a totally unselfed love for our community; love for their sakes, not ours; love that serves the community— not love that serves itself. We're involved because we care about our brother man. We're not proselyting. We give with no thought of getting, but simply to express our highest sense of love."
A frequent observation of many is that the children's books on display are the finest they have ever seen. Other oft-repeated comments: "You mean this is really free?" and, "Where can I get more of this?"
No sooner had a bookmobile pulled into a shopping center than a boy of about 10 ran up and said, "Hi! I've been looking for you to come back." He had been given the pamphlet "Possession" and now he asked if he could have "God's Law of Adjustment" and a copy of Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy. He said his dad drinks and so does his mother, and he wanted things to help them!
One operating rule of the Kansas City bookmobile is that metaphysical support of the work is just as important after a tour of duty as before or during. The following illustrates how much recipients of books really want them and read them. A young man was in the vicinity of one of the 12 participating churches when he noticed the bookmobile parked there. He went up to the church and knocked and told the clerk he had been given a Science and Health from the bookmobile and liked it so much he had given it to a friend to read. The friend liked it so much, too, that he was in no hurry to give it back! He wondered if he could possibly get another.
Another of the participating churches reported their members were gathering for an inspirational meeting when they noticed a young man sitting right outside the church. The member who spoke to him learned he knew nothing about Christian Science and didn't really know why he was there. The member told him something of Science and the young man seemed keenly interested. He said he had investigated other religions and hadn't been satisfied. He was taken into the bookmobile stockroom on the church's premises and given a Science and Health and two issues of the Quarterly, shown how to study the Bible Lesson, and presented with a Journal so that he could see where churches and Reading Rooms were located.
"The member missed most of the meeting," the report concludes. "But while we were talking church, he was living it on behalf of us all."
Monitor film available for branch church showing
A new 10-minute film, entitled "An Inside Look at the Monitor," is now available for individual branch church showing. This 16 mm color film is part of the periodicals meetings being conducted by Advertising Director Alex Swan and Circulation Sales Manager Jack Thornton in many parts of the United States and Canada (see Church in Action, p. 412, in the July Journal).
There has been so much interest in this film that it is being released now instead of at the end of the series of meetings in December, as announced previously. A number of churches requesting the film plan to show it at a corporate meeting or use it as part of a special periodicals meeting for their entire membership. It can be presented to members of The Mother Church, branch churches, societies, groups, and college and university organizations.
The film offers a behind-the-scenes look at the Monitor, a glimpse at some of the people who put it together, read it, and keep it up front among respected world newspapers. To borrow a print, your clerk may write to:
The First Church of Christ, Scientist
Film and Broadcasting Department
Media Services Division
Christian Science Center
Boston, MA, U.S.A. 02115
Please list three dates spanning a 90-day period and allow six weeks within the United States and eight weeks elsewhere for your request to be processed. Also please give the name of your organization, as well as the name, residential address, and daytime telephone number of the person who will receive the film for your branch. In Australia and New Zealand, please contact the Committee on Publication in Sydney or Christchurch.
'Growing Together Workshops' being very well received
The sessions on Sunday School teaching known as "Growing Together Workshops" have won an enthusiastic first-year reception and will be continued through May 1977 in cities throughout the United States Middle West, South, and East.
One participant writes: "The workshop brought to us all such a deep measure of inspiration, strength, and revitalized ideals that our Sunday School fairly glows with enthusiasm!" Another commented that two of their church members were planning to attend only the first session, out of a sense of duty. But they became so engrossed that they couldn't stay away from the last two sessions.
"Thank you for the enthusiasm, wit, and humor incorporated with the wealth of information," another report stated. "The audience arrived each evening eager to learn more and left with the joyous feeling that they had been filled up full."
Conducting the workshops is James Metzger, Field Activities Consultant to the Sunday School Division of the Department of Branches and Practitioners at The Mother Church. Ideally, each workshop is held in a church readily reachable by members of other branches. In some cases, however, members have had to come considerable distances and occasionally serve as delegates, bringing back reports and notes from the workshop to share with fellow members.
Workshops held during the week run for three days; those on weekends are for two days. All, however, total 8½ hours. The enrollment fee is $7.50 per person, with reductions if the individual cannot attend all sessions. This fee helps defray the considerable cost of bringing the program to local areas. Some branches have paid part or even all of the fee for members otherwise unable to come. And some who have attended have felt so richly rewarded that they sent additional contributions to The Mother Church. One of these commented, "It was little enough to pay for such training. I would have gladly paid double!"
Not only current Sunday School teachers but church members generally are invited to attend these workshops. It is hoped that all will be able to support their Sunday School better after learning what good teaching really means. Hence the name for the workshops: "Crowing Together."
One who participated wrote, "So many have told me that they enjoyed the relaxed and friendly atmosphere of the meetings, and several said that any fear they may have had with regard to Sunday School teaching left them."
A church reports that as a result of the workshop two members offered their services as regular teachers, and an "apprehensive substitute" has become more enthusiastic about accepting assignments to teach. "Projects such as this one," the report concludes, "bring the workers in the Field closer to each other and to The Mother Church."
For a list of where workshops will be held next in the coming months, please turn to page 540 in the Notices section.
Concurrent with the workshops being conducted by Mr. Metzger, a similar series of meetings will be conducted in Texas by three Field Representatives of the Sunday School Division: Ruth Hertlein, Patricia Watts Hornbeak, and Roland Wolfe, each visiting a different area of that large state.
Two clear portrayals: circles on the pond of public thought
The woman's explanation was frank. She had telephoned because she wanted to learn more about Christian Science. She went on to say she had borrowed a book from the local library, read the article on Christian Science, seen the reference to the Ontario Committee on Publication, and was calling the Committee's Toronto office for more information.
This woman's inquiry, and many others like it, have resulted from a recent Canadian publication, What Man Believes: A Study of the World's Great Faiths.Evans, Moynes, and Martinello, (Toronto: McGraw-Hill, Ryerson, 1973); The book, primarily intended as a text for Ontario high schools, is also widely distributed in bookstores, libraries, and schools throughout Canada. Its unbiased, factual chapter on Christian Science has led to Committee on Publication speakers being invited to address religion classes, as well as to students and others going to Reading Rooms to find out more about Christian Science.
The development of the book was marked by a spirit of honest inquiry. When the publisher approached the Ontario Board of Education, the Board expressed great interest, but emphasized the need for accuracy and stressed that it did not intend to have any prejudiced material on school shelves.
The project involved a close working relationship between the author (a non-Scientist), the Ontario Committee on Publication, and contacts in the Committee's Boston offices. The article, a clear, straightforward introduction to Christian Science and Mrs. Eddy, its Discoverer and Founder, defines the fundamental points uniting Christian Scientists with other Christians, while at the same time distinguishing Christian Science from other theologies.
A second article, even more widely circulated, started as a question-and-answer piece written by the Committee on Publication for an issue of Look magazine in 1952. It was incorporated into Religions of America—Ferment and Faith in an Age of Crisis,Leo Rosten, ed. (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1975); a book frequently found on the reference shelves of teachers, ministers, publishers, and many others. In 1975 the Committee on Publication was asked to contribute to a new edition containing 40 or so updated questions on such contemporary issues as the ordaining of women ministers and abortion.
Both articles are significant for their contribution to a better public understanding of Christian Science. One, in What Man Believes, allows for comparing and contrasting its history and teachings with other world religions. The second defines Christian Science as a religious denomination responding to contemporary questions but anchored solidly in Judeo-Christian tradition and linked with primitive Christianity.
Gift of the Monitor led to a Sentinel subscription too
As a result of a circulation committee's holiday gift-giving program, two school principals in Florida have become new friends of the Monitor.
One member, in offering the paper to the principal at her daughter's school, also showed him a focus-issue Sentinel on education. He said he'd like the Monitor for the school and a subscription to the Sentinel for himself. A few weeks later he told her he was using ideas from the Sentinel in teaching a Sunday School class of 16to 23-year-olds in his own church. He said he was delighted to find the magazine covered such a broad range of topics.
The wife of the other principal remarked how pleased she and her husband were "to have an unbiased paper that helps you form your own opinions." She remarked, too, that they were sharing it with friends. "If the caliber of writing in your Monitor is any indication of the writing in your other periodicals," she said, "I really should come down to the Reading Room to see what you have to offer."
Students' alertness aided other denominational groups on campus
Fast, clear thinking by some Christian Scientists at a Tennessee university not only prevented the suspension of testimony meetings but enabled other denominational groups to continue their activities as well.
University officials were concerned that certain outside groups might use the campus as a base to carry on aggressive proselytizing activities among the students. The solution, they felt, would be to refuse to charter—the equivalent of banning— all groups that were neither interdenominational nor nondenominational.
Unfortunately this solution excluded a number of groups that had always been considered part of the academic community's legitimate activity. Among them was the Christian Science Organization.
To present their case, two of its executive members met with the vice-chancellor and indicated that the proposal might restrict the very freedom it was intended to protect. The vice-chancellor listened to the Christian Scientists' alternate suggestion and the reasons why they felt the organization should be chartered, then invited the two to a special hearing to outline their proposal.
The night before the hearing, at the testimony meeting, organization members were asked for their metaphysical support. The next day, as the two representatives entered the room, they were confronted with the administration's proposal opposing recognition of any denominational organizations. But this proved to be a paper tiger. At the end of the meeting there was a unanimous decision—the first such decision the committee made all year—to approve the solution presented by the president and vice-president of the Christian Science Organization. Their suggestion was based on Mrs. Eddy's Church Manual provision limiting membership in an organization to those affiliated with the college.See Man., Art. XXIII, Sect. 8; It was a simple but comprehensive recommendation, ruling out the possibility of outside interference.
At the end of the week the campus newspaper ran an article about the chartering and explained how representatives of the Christian Science Organization had suggested proposals that were eventually adopted for all denominational groups.
"What was especially fine about this whole experience," one of the Christian Scientists said, "was that the outcome not only blessed our organization but all the denominational groups on campus."
Periodical articles augment recorded Bible Lesson service
Articles from this issue of the Journal make up an additional soundsheet that is being sent for the first time to subscribers of the recorded Bible Lessons. Subsequent soundsheets will include articles from one or more of the religious periodicals and, like the first, be sent with the Bible Lessons four times a year.
New subscription applications and information regarding the necessary 8 rpm player can be obtained by writing the Talking Books Publishing Company, P.O. Box 1653, Englewood, CO 80110.
Anyone may subscribe for the recorded Bible Lessons. However, if an individual Christian Scientist does not already have, or does not wish to buy, the special player, he or she will need a Journal-listed practitioner's signature to obtain it, at no charge, from the United States Library of Congress. If an individual already has the player but wishes to obtain the soundsheets, a clerk or chairman of a branch church executive board, or a Reading Room librarian may also verify eligibility. (Please note: This program is for those who, at present, are unable to see or who are physically handicapped. It is not available to people living outside the United States.)
A branch finds use for noncurrent Quarterlies
If your church is thinking there would be real value in sharing out-of-date Quarterlies with those just inquiring into Christian Science, you'll be interested in what a branch in California is doing.
Members there, instead of discarding old Quarterlies, turn them in at the close of each quarter, and each copy is stamped SAMPLE COPY to indicate that the issue doesn't contain current Bible Lessons. Then the literature distribution committee and Reading Room distribute them as opportunity permits.
In addition to its primary function of providing weekly Bible Lessons, the Quarterly also contains the Tenets, explanatory notes concerning church services and the Christian Scientist's pastor, a full list of lesson subjects, and brief statements about Christian Science practitioners, Wednesday testimony meetings, Reading Rooms, and Sunday Schools. It also invites those who would like to learn more about Christian Science to write for more information.
All of which, this branch found, supplies a very helpful introduction to Christian Science.
Whether current or noncurrent, the Quarterly provides all—even the non-Scientist—with a valuable means of orderly Bible study, the 26 weekly subjects constituting a complete, incomparable guide.
What to do about inactive members?
A branch in England had a number of members who had been inactive for a long time, and the active members were divided about what could be done about it. Some felt the inactive ones might be dropped from membership; others favored exerting some form of discipline.
The executive board members came to the unanimous decision that the right course was to love more and extend an encouraging hand.
Consequently a letter went to each inactive member expressing thanks for the work he or she had done in the past and sending word of current progress in the church. It was the Christmas season, so a greeting card accompanied each letter. Follow-up personal visits were made and much appreciated.
The result: Two members who were about to resign from both the branch church and The Mother Church changed their minds and sent letters of appreciation for the branch's kindly interest. Some of the absent members were in nursing homes or in homes caring for the elderly and expected to remain there indefinitely. To support these individuals spiritually, members of the church were invited to study Acts 12:5-11 (the account of Peter's fellow church members praying for his release from prison). Uplifting their own thought about these fellow members, the active members then shared the results of their study at a special inspirational meeting. Following this, two of the inactive members were able to return to their own homes.
There was little doubt that to extend an encouraging hand and love more was indeed the right way.
Systematic prayer brings steady progress
The best way to help a church with a problem is through prayer, of course—and the more specific the prayer, the better. So a branch in the north of England discovered when there were often delays in meeting their obligations, and their financial position could well be described as hand-to-mouth.
The situation had to be remedied. The members began by holding regular monthly inspirational meetings— and they are still being held. Here's what they did: A specific topic was suggested each month, and members were asked to bring to the monthly meeting inspiration derived from their study. Individual spiritual growth was expected and soon apparent; as Mrs. Eddy says, "Experience has taught me that the rules of Christian Science can be far more thoroughly and readily acquired by regularly settled and systematic workers, than by unsettled and spasmodic efforts." Retrospection and Introspection, p. 87;
The results of the members' efforts were clearly evident, the church reports. "The balance sheet at the end of each financial year shows steadily rising costs, which are matched by steadily rising supply— and there are now no delays in meeting obligations. Bills throughout this past year, totaling thousands of pounds, were paid as presented by builder, carpenter, plumber, electrician, and decorator."
The members attribute their progress to steadfast reliance on Christ Jesus' promise, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Matt. 6:33.
Providing transportation— an alternative to earlier testimony meetings?
Several branches have written The Mother Church this past year inquiring if they could switch their Wednesday evening testimony meeting to the noon hour—or at least hold it earlier in the day. Reason most frequently given is that many older members don't like to be out after dark.
In a few instances urban churches in downtown areas have been given permission to have a midday meeting on Wednesday, provided the church holds its regular evening meeting, with identical hymns and readings. And a handful of churches have moved up their Wednesday evening meeting to 5 o'clock (the earliest it can qualify as an evening meeting).
While a midday or early evening meeting on Wednesday might appear especially convenient in some retirement communities, the Department of Branches and Practitioners urges members to enlarge the healing embrace of their meeting to include those—perhaps business people, homemakers, and others nearby—who would not be able to attend an early meeting.
Those seeking means of getting older members to church more frequently may be interested to learn that some branches are now offering transportation to and from services. And an announcement to that effect made from the desk is bringing more people to church, both Sunday and Wednesday.
