For every member of The Mother Church— The First Church of Christ, Scientist—no matter what his or her present duties, membership is a sacred role much more than a human responsibility. It is a dynamic commission, not a symbolic post, to which each member is called by God and which each member fulfills most deeply within his or her own consciousness. Two important elements of that role are a willingness to pray radically about the most crucial issues pertaining to the Church, and a willingness to support the activities and officers of the Church through prayer.
To some, it may appear that Mary Baker Eddy gave members of her Church little to do. It may appear that the great work of the worldwide activities of The Mother Church is reserved for a small, self-perpetuating Board of Directors and those whom they elect and appoint. The Manual of The Mother Church by Mrs. Eddy doesn't provide members with a vote, and it includes only limited channels to express views about church business. Therefore, to some, membership in The Mother Church may seem to be a formality, a symbolic gesture of support for and commitment to a church that would probably run as well without their membership as with it. But this would be a mistaken view. The role of the members of The Mother Church is sacred and active, and members' responsibilities are crucial to the success of the Church's activities.
The model for membership in this Church is given by the words and example of Christ Jesus. That model is symbolized by the manger, and the measure of its success is pure, spiritual healing. Mrs. Eddy put it succinctly in a letter to James Neal: "A real scientific Healer is the highest position attainable in this sphere of being."See Robert Peel, Mary Baker Eddy: The Years of Authority (Boston: The Christian Science Publishing Society', 1977, originally published by Holt, Rinehart and Winston), p. 101. Jesus taught that those who would be greatest are those who serve and are as little children.
