The following are excerpts of letters received from new members during the past year. It's inspiring to read the letters that often accompany new applications for membership in The Mother Church. During this year new members have united from fifty-six countries, including the first Mother Church members in Benin, Africa, the first member in Romania since 1980, and the first new members in Cuba and Honduras in several years.
Many new members are Sunday School students who bring with them an energetic commitment to spiritual healing. Members have come from countries on the continents of Africa, Asia, Europe, and North and South America.
Although written in many languages and mailed from all corners of the globe, letters from new members, and from those who have approved new applications for membership, often share common themes: deep joy in discovering Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy; gratitude for spiritual healings experienced through the study of Christian Science; and desire to share Christian healing with others. We feel that readers of the Journal will enjoy the freshness freshness and enthusiasm of their comments.
Letters from new members
"To think that last year at this time I didn't know a thing about Christian Science, and now it's the most important factor of my life. I remember how I felt when the Truth started to dawn inside me, when I first had Science and Health in my possession .... I can only thank God for that blessing. I feel that I mean very much to The Mother Church, as it does to me."
United States
"With Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, I was like somebody who just stepped out from utter darkness to a bright, shining day. Science and Health makes the Bible more meaningful to me. I had never really known how to love my neighbor as myself, but thanks to Christian Science, I now know that love has no limits, no boundaries, and, above all, love has no colour."
Nigeria
"I learned about Christian Science five years ago .... I felt I had come upon something that spoke of God in such a simple way, direct and pure, that soon I began to ask, Why didn't I know about this before? It seems so simple! And, the people around me never knew how to speak of God in this way! A few days later I bought the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health, and began to read it. It took me three months. After this I started to put God in my life in such a remarkable way that I am now a member of The Mother Church."
Brazil
"When I was listening to my shortwave radio several years ago, I was looking for scientific information. ... One day, thanks to God, I listened to a program on which the word 'Science' was mentioned a lot. It was The Herald of Christian Science. I thought that they were talking about another science when it turned out to be a program that made me realize that matter is temporal, that Spirit is eternal, and that man is made in the image and likeness of God, spiritual and eternal. Thanks to the study of the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy, I have had many demonstrations of the omnipotent care of our Father-Mother God."
Dominican Republic
"Christian Science influenced my thinking in early childhood .... Many years later, when Christian Science was banned in the eastern part of Berlin and a wall seemed to separate everything, the value of what I had learned after the Second World War became especially clear. ... At an annual physical examination given by our office, it was determined I had a life-threatening illness. ... I began to understand the value of intensive prayer, realized what being watchful meant, and turned humbly to all-powerful Love, to God. ... After a few months the seemingly so scary error was overcome. No doctor and no medicines and no operation had effected healing, but Christian Science alone—that is the divine All-power. A year later a company physical examination revealed no symptoms."
Germany
"In 1989, my condition deteriorated. It was rheumatism of the knees. ... I made the decision then to go with my friend to meet a Christian Scientist who was living in our city. We prayed, and that was the beginning of my study of Christian Science. I was healed of the rheumatism within a month."
Cameroon
From an approver: "He found Christian Science while in prison. He has been on parole for six months and is attending [a branch church] regularly. He reports that a back problem, termed incurable by prison doctors, was healed while he was still in prison."
United States
"I am seeing my membership in The Mother Church as membership in a global religious movement, and that's a challenge when I realize the urgent need to live up to the command of our Master and Way-shower: "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature" and "Heal the sick ... raise the dead." It is obvious to me that by the selfless service of others, I found light. So it is imperative that others needing light, should find theirs in mine, too."
Nigeria
From an approver: "She was suffering from a back injury incurred in an automobile accident. ... During one of her lunch hours ... she found herself in front of the ... Reading Room and could not walk past it. So she went inside, saying to the librarian, 'I don't know why I'm here.' The librarian replied, 'I do!' She spoke lovingly to [her] and loaned her a copy of A Century of Christian Science Healing. While she was reading it that night, the back injury was completely and permanently healed. ... [She] has probably distributed more copies of Science and Health ... than two branch churches combined! Her Christian love and care for her fellowman are an inspiration to all who know her."
United States
From Article XXX, Section 7, of the Manual of The Mother Church by Mrs. Eddy
"I recommend that each member of this Church shall strive to demonstrate by his or her practice, that Christian Science heals the sick quickly and wholly, thus proving this Science to be all that we claim for it."
From an approver about a college student: "I might mention that [he] spent winter break thinking more spiritually about what his role would be in the future in support of the institution of church. I was glad to hear that."
United States
"I have been through tremendous difficulties ... I am very grateful that I found the way to the Christ without fear, thanks to Mrs. Eddy's supportive and uplifting writings, especially the book Science and Health .... I am sharing all the good things which happened through earnest prayer with all my friends. At home in Sri Lanka I shared Christian Science with all of my family members and some of my friends. I gave away ten copies of Science and Health as presents for Christmas to friends and relatives .... I must say that I cannot keep this 'wonderful way of being' just for myself. It is just impossible."
Switzerland
If the study of Christian Science is beginning to mean more and more to you, now may be the time to consider membership in The Mother Church. If you feel that this is a step you're interested in taking, then you may obtain an application for membership from any practitioner listed in The Christian Science Journal from a Christian Science Reading Room, or write directly to the Clerk of The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, 175 Huntington Avenue, A–172, Boston, MA, U.S.A. 02115. Members are admitted twice a year. New applications should reach the Clerk by October 15 or May 15.
Questions and answers on the practice
Who can be a Christian Science practitioner? Anyone who follows the teachings of Christ Jesus and the practice of Christian Science presented in the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, thus proving God's power is present to "heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils" (Matthew).
Is the practice only for a privileged few? Christian Science teaches that all may follow in the footsteps of Christ Jesus. Mrs. Eddy writes in Science and Health, "It is possible,—yea, it is the duty and privilege of every child, man, and woman,—to follow in some degree the example of the Master by the demonstration of Truth and Life, of health and holiness."
Can a child help heal others? Can a child love? Can a child be obedient? Love and obedience characterized the life of Jesus, and they continue to be a catalyst for healing. The healing work is unrelated to age.
Can I have a part-time job, or attend school, and still qualify to advertise in The Christian Science Journal or The Herald of Christian Science as a public practitioner? Mrs. Eddy has given us clear guidelines for Journal and for Herald advertising. While every church member agrees to pursue the practice of Christian Science, to advertise requires leaving all other vocations (see Church Manual, Art. XXV, Sect. 9).
What about working in a Christian Science Reading Room or serving in other branch church offices? Support of branch church activity is a vital aspect of Christian Science practice. But an advertiser in The Christian Science Journal and/or Herald needs to heed Article XXIII, Section 11.
If a church duty usurps most of the time and thought of a practitioner, there can be an impediment to availability that should be carefully weighed.
Do practitioners have to have offices outside their homes? That is a matter of individual choice and local circumstances. The practitioner needs to be readily available for visits from the public seeking the services of a Christian Scientist. We must pray for the right surroundings for our practice.
How can financial needs be met? A practitioner once said, "The only income I have ever had and all I will ever need is the income of spiritual ideas." Without such ideas, we are poor indeed. We must overturn the world's claim that the practice of Christian Science is, like other vocations, a question of money. Money has never bought the privilege of following Christ Jesus. That privilege is free to all. The workshop in the July 1991 Journal touches specifically on this question.
What is the application procedure for Journal and/or Herald listing?
1. A member of The Mother Church may request an application by writing or calling:
The Christian Science
Publishing Society
Journal and Herald Card
Department, P–422
One Norway Street
Boston, MA, U.S.A. 02115
Telephone: 1–800–225–7090,
ext. 7550
2. An application will be mailed to the inquirer. The application includes guidelines for obtaining references and testimonies of healings accomplished through the inquirer's prayerful work, and other helpful information.
3. The completed application should be returned to the Journal and Herald Card Department of The Christian Science Publishing Society.
4. Testimonies are reviewed to verify the applicant has a record of healing.
5. Endorsers and the applicant's Christian Science teacher (or association secretary) are contacted to verify the character of the advertiser.
6. The application is reviewed with the applicant to determine his or her readiness to advertise.
7. When satisfactory, applications are sent to the Board of Trustees of The Christian Science Publishing Society for its approval.
8. Applicants accepted as advertisers receive a letter from the Board of Trustees, informing them of their acceptance.
9. Each application is handled individually. Some take less time than others, but each one is carefully, lovingly considered.
The Journal and Herald Card Department and Practitioner Services in the Clerk's Office welcome questions from inquirers at any time.
Please call Member Services in the Clerk's Office, (800) 343–7155 (outside the U.S. and Canada call collect, (617) 450–2000) or write to: Clerk of The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, Member Services A–172, 175 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, U.S.A. 02115
Interviews with newly listed practitioners
From a practitioner in the United States
During college I had been feeling uneasy about religion, including Christian Science, and decided that I would see how other people looked at things—if I could find answers in other directions. I got to a point where things in my life seemed so mixed up—I just felt troubled and without a sense of direction. At a really low point it was as if God said to me, "I'm not going to let you go." And I said, "OK, so what do I do?" The answer came, "Well, make more than half a commitment—read the whole lesson instead of half the lesson, go to church." [The "lesson" is the Bible Lesson outlined in the Christian Science Quarterly.] So I started going to church, started studying, and made steps to take class instruction.
Later, I was teaching in a village in Botswana. I was having a really rough time. I felt desperate—there was so much turmoil. My life in the village was difficult, and I was really reaching out to God with my whole heart. As I prayed about how to go forward, the thought came, "Hold Wednesday evening testimony meetings." So I did. I didn't advertise about them, and they weren't always on Wednesdays, but every week without fail I did readings, and I either thought about healings that I'd had or I wrote them down and expressed gratitude. At the same time I was able to get the church services from The Mother Church on shortwave. My love for church just grew. I had such a sense of the activity of church, and the universality of it. The more I embraced church, the more I committed my thought to it, the more the public practice of Christian Science became important to me. It just seemed like there wasn't anything else.
I always have had a love for the practice of Christian healing. It was just being kindled all along. I had always thought, "I have to find out how to meet the world's needs." I know that, from the time I was little, helping the world was something that concerned me. Maybe it wasn't a conscious thing, but as I have thought about it in retrospect, I see at different times where there was a nudging, propelling in my thought that decision.
Everything led back to the fact that God is All, and God is Love, and knowing that a knowledge of this is the only way we can truly meet the world's problems. There was a hunger within me to feel consistency and peace in my own life, but that wasn't enough. I'm not just going to be happy living comfortably—I live for a purpose. There's got to be purpose in my life. The practice gives me this purpose. From another practitioner in the United States
I spent a long time in education and began seeing more and more, as I went along, how vital it was to be practicing Christian Science wherever I was and with whatever I was doing. When it became clear that it was time to leave the field of education and do something else, there was something that just didn't leave me alone—the thought that this had to be a forward step. It had to be something that I could clearly see was progress. The only thing that I could see as progress, that I valued more than what I was doing, that I felt would be a higher sense of giving and include greater growth, was the public practice.
After I left my job, I took some time to travel with my family through Europe. I thought of this time as preparing for the practice. During our trip we visited a number of branch churches. I was so impressed with the great dedication, love, and vitality of the members—just the strength and inspiration that went into being a practicing Christian Scientist and maintaining an active branch church in some of those countries. When we returned I decided, now's the time.
Before, I had been so busy with my job, and I hadn't really been able to give what I wanted to give to church or explore the potential of being in a branch church. To a degree, I guess I had been a pretty sleepy Christian Scientist when it came to active church work. Not that Christian Science wasn't a regular part of my life, but there was a kind of complacency. Somebody once spoke of such people as being leaners rather than lifters. I think I came away from some of those churches in Europe thinking, "Boy, compared to these folks I'm a bit too much of a leaner, and I'd like to get involved in this lifting business!"
During my professional life, before going into the practice, I had begun to see that there's only one real, clear, foolproof, and universal method of healing and problem solving—and that's healing through practical Christianity. That's what the world's desperate for. I could see that, and understand it, and I felt I had a responsibility to do something with it. Entering the public practice was just facing up to my responsibility, not as a heavy sort of thing, but feeling that I could take the necessary steps to follow through on what I was glimpsing about that responsibility and the possibilities for growth. I trusted that God would care for me in this process, and He has.
Excerpt of a letter from Mary Baker Eddy to James Neal, January 28, 1897
"A real scientific Healer is the highest position attainable in this sphere of being. Its altitude is far above a Teacher or preacher; it includes all that is divinely high and holy."
From a practitioner in Canada
It was about 1978 when I learned about Christian Science. I was looking for something; I was searching all kinds of metaphysical books and reading the Bible but not really understanding it. I felt frustrated—I could not see the truth in the Bible. Then I began to see that it was possible for Jesus and his disciples to accomplish those "miracles."
The Christian Science textbook, Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy, came into my hands via an aunt. I began to read it, but I really argued with the ideas in the book. There was a group of Christian Scientists [meeting] nearby, and I was invited by my aunt to go. I still argued with the words or "letter" of Christian Science, but I really couldn't resist the spirit. I could see healings going on, and I couldn't really argue with that. And slowly but surely my thought opened up to the meaning of Christian Science, and of Science and Health. Soon I realized we are living in a time similar to that of Jesus and his apostles. Those marvelous things that happened at that time are happening today. I began to practice right away, to heal myself and members of my family. And what impressed me was not so much the results, but that I knew this was the truth, and the results were only proving that. I had from that time on a desire to become a full-time Christian Science practitioner, and in 1981 I had class instruction.
I was not looking for healing myself; I was looking really to understand God, to understand what was real. I had a great desire to help others. Even before I discovered Christian Science, I had that great desire to help and to comfort. It is probably divine Love. Just a deep, deep yearning. When I see someone having a problem, having grief, and I see him or her liven up and find healing through Christian Science treatment, then that is my reward. And I feel so grateful to God to be able to do that.
From a practitioner in Germany
I was a professional architect, and after a period of time it occurred to me that it was really time to pass along to others the good that I had received in my life through Christian Science and God. I simply said, "Father, I want to thank You, I want to be here for You. That is my motive." For years I had just prayed for family members, but that didn't satisfy me, because I thought one should be available for the public. But I learned that a commitment to public practice meant that I had to give up my other work.
So, when I became free, I worked for our branch church in the Reading Room. Strangers came in, and they wanted to know something about Christian Science, and in this way it happened that increasingly more was demanded of me. I had to use it daily.
Sometimes when I pray about a particular issue, shortly thereafter someone calls and needs precisely this help. I can give you a small example. A woman called and asked if I would help her, and she described some symptoms which I also was dealing with. I might have said, "Ask someone else [for help]; I'm struggling with the same problem." But I told her that I would help her, and after our conversation I had to laugh. After one day I was free, and she called two days later and said she was free.
Each individual must take the initiative to turn to God in prayer, and consequently have a willingness to practice Christian Science. For me it was very interesting to observe how I was put under pressure in my former profession. It enclosed me. I wanted to get out, be free, but people kept coming and asking, "Oh, couldn't you do this? Couldn't you do that?" There was a resistance that I had never before recognized, from which I needed to break free. It will be different for each person wanting to go into the practice, but the most important thing is love for people, gratitude for what one has attained through Christian Science, and joy. There is no formula [for going into the practice]; it's always individual.
