The March 1996 issue of The Christian Science Journal, and the Annual Meeting report carried in the July 1996 issue, focused on the healing mission, purpose, focus, and current priorities of the Church of Christ, Scientist. As a continuing report on how the Church is going forward in this work, senior managers at The Mother Church have been invited to write for the Journal a brief account of how workers in their area of activity are approaching these goals. This month, we hear from Arthur D. Pinkham, Jr., Assistant Treasurer of Financial Services.
As professional people with regular business dealings in the financial area, those of us working in the Treasurer's Office of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, are very aware that almost every corporation these days has a "mission statement." In a corporation, a mission statement can serve as a useful tool for promoting the purpose of the corporation. When used effectively, it can bring about greater prosperity for the corporation, for its employees, and for its clients.
But the mission statement of The Mother Church differs fundamentally from the ones we may encounter in the corporate world. Our objective is not merely to rally around a common goal for the purpose of achieving some level of financial prosperity. The basis of our mission statement was shared with us by our Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, over one hundred years ago, when she spoke of her "life-purpose" to promote the practical, healing power of Christian Science on a widespread, unselfish level.SeeMiscellaneous Writings, p. 207. We appreciate the Church's mission statement as an affirmation of the presence of the Christ at work in every aspect of our daily lives, including our business dealings. It reminds us that, whatever our activities in the service of this Church may be, their ultimate utility lies in the success we achieve in bearing witness to (with those whom we touch in this service) the very law of God, which saves and heals.
