"I've had a healing!" my friend exclaimed as we walked away from our branch Church of Christ, Scientist, after a Wednesday evening testimony meeting. He said that he'd felt impelled to come to church, even though he was suffering from a painful condition and had found it difficult to drive.
What did church mean to him? A building, a material structure? Surely he was actively responding to the spiritual idea of Church, which Mrs. Eddy defines in Science and Health as "the structure of Truth and Love; whatever rests upon and proceeds from divine Principle." Science and Health, p. 583. He was answering the call of the Christ—"Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils." Matt. 10:8. Isn't this how Church takes form in our lives, through healing that proves the utility of the divine idea?
The prepared readings, the active support of the church members in the congregation, and their participation in the meeting were all contributing factors to my friend's healing, for the activity of the Christ in individual consciousness always makes manifest the utility of Church. As Mrs. Eddy says in the second part of the definition of "Church": "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." Science and Health, p. 583.
