The question a fellow member asked me about going to church surprised me. Of course we were going! We made a practice of going, and our week would seem empty without church—without the spiritual inspiration, substance, and joy it always supplied. For us, church attendance was not a decision to be made twice each week, but a commitment entered into at the time of joining a branch Church of Christ, Scientist. The blessings of church membership had only strengthened that commitment over the years, so that even when traveling in other countries, we always sought out Churches of Christ, Scientist, to visit so as to not miss the benefits of attending services.
Because of myriad entertainment and other diversions, as well as growing apathy and resistance to established institutions, church attendance in many denominations has shown a marked decline in recent years. One song from the popular musical My Fair Lady is entitled "Get Me to the Church on Time." The only time many get to church is on special holidays. Yet progress in our lives comes directly through church attendance and membership because, like a rudder on a ship, church helps keep the individual on course spiritually.
Mrs. Eddy gives the spiritual sense of Church, as defined in Science and Health: "Church. The structure of Truth and Love; whatever rests upon and proceeds from divine Principle." Science and Health, p. 583. When this spiritual idea of Church is uppermost in our thought, we partake of the redemptive mission of the Church of Christ, Scientist, to heal all mankind, including ourselves.
