Transforming the world through prayer
Last October, representatives from The First Church of Christ, Scientist, were invited to participate in the Global Peace Initiative of Women Religious and Spiritual Leaders, held at the United Nations in Geneva. Virginia S. Harris, chairman of The Christian Science Board of Directors; Mary Weldon Ridgway, Clerk of The Mother Church and also a member of The Christian Science Board of Directors; and Dorothy D. Maubane, a teacher, lecturer, and practitioner of Christian Science, spoke at the conference. The Journal thanks spirituality.com for making their talks available. Below are the full texts of all three talks.
Listening to such remarkable women, seeing the common threads among our rich diversity, I'm profoundly moved. The peaceful and healing voice of woman, too long heard only as a whisper, is gaining volume and influence. Women are moving ideas into wider arenas, building peace—community by community—while maintaining a precious connection to a higher power. From a strong inner foundation, to dialogue with others, to action leading to transformation, women are utilizing the power of spiritual ideas to bring about social transformation.
I experienced this firsthand when I was behind the Iron Curtain on a humanitarian mission. Working over several years, I talked with women from Poland, Czechoslovakia, Latvia, the former Soviet Union, Romania, East Germany, Hungary. It was clear to me that women were nurturing the soul and spirit of the next generation, at the same time as they were transforming the world.
"Candles and prayers" helped move the largest totalitarian system into obscurity.
I had the privilege of participating in the largest and last peace march in Leipzig—just days before the fall of the Berlin Wall. I visited with the pastor of St. Nicolas Church, who started the famous peace marches. I asked him, "How did they begin?"
"It started very small," he said, "with just a few people quietly talking about freedom. The next week more people gathered and gained the courage to talk with others. Soon the group moved from the sanctuary to the streets."
Eventually thousands came with candles and prayers—marching toward hope and the expectation of freedom.
Several years later—in a film about those events—an East German police officer was shown looking out over the crowd of thousands of marchers and saying: "We were prepared for everything—except candles and prayers."
"Candles and prayers" helped move the largest totalitarian system into obscurity.
Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer of Christian Science and a spiritual reformer and advocate for world peace, wrote, "If we look back upon the nations that have ruled the world, we shall learn how impotent are all the material implements and appliances of power, if there be not a groundwork of right, a spiritual strength, for the support of greatness." A10372A. Manuscript of a sermon titled, "Substance and Intelligence," The Mary Baker Eddy Collection .
CERTAINLY, there were many aspects that brought about the fall of the Berlin Wall. But it was the women, the mothers and grandmothers, aunts and sisters, who prayed, taught the prayers, and held firm to the promise of freedom. I saw, and actually felt, the spiritual force that gave courage to move the marchers into action.
The force of spirituality is felt today by people of all lands and cultures. The spirituality that is common to all of our religions is the platform upon which we must build lasting peace—heart by heart, community by community.
In the 21st century, lasting peace can only be ensured as grassroots efforts are valued and included in the process. Women have a unique role and contribution in these grassroots efforts since it is the arena through which we have accomplished significant changes for centuries. Spirituality must abide in our hearts and our communities to establish peace on a permanent basis.
Today people in communities throughout the world are searching for spiritual answers. There is a yearning for peace in every one of our hearts, and the search for it draws its strength from spirituality. Spirituality is both the fuel for that search and the goal of it.
Spirituality is a higher, perhaps the highest, gift our creator has given us. It is our tool, our energy, our intuition and it moves us forward, beyond what we ordinarily think we can do. Spirituality literally teaches us how to take the next step when reason and resources let us down. It is our currency for transformation.
Spirituality is beyond denomination or religiosity. Everyone reflects spiritual power. It belongs to each of us.
Spirituality keeps us at one with our creator—a force, a presence, a love that guides us.
We find ourselves in the embrace of our creator who is Love. And this Deity, this Allness, answers our prayers, dries our tears, tempers our indignation, gives us access to the heart of humanity as a participant, companion, example, leader, follower, innovator.
A higher power, the Infinite Wise, has bestowed on each of us the ability to live in peace. We see here today how faith traditions across the world honor each individual and his or her relationship to a higher power and presence.
A Power that is not political . . . but universal.
A Presence that is not only Father . . . but Mother.
A Power that loves . . . and does not judge.
A Presence that is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
To attain permanent peace in the world, our spirituality lifts us above cultural, political, and even doctrinal barriers. Again, from Mary Baker Eddy: "When the doctrinal barriers between the churches are broken, and the bonds of peace are cemented by spiritual understanding and Love, there will be unity of spirit, and the healing power of Christ will prevail." Pulpit and Press, p. 22.
May the light of this conference shine in our hearts, communities, and the world with healing. God bless.
Women's leadership and social transformation
WORDS FAIL TO EXPRESS the deep privilege I feel being here with all of you. To experience the individual and collective spiritual power of womanhood as it moves to action for the purpose of peace in the world is deeply significant for me.
My colleague, Virginia Harris, chairman of the Christian Science Board of Directors, in her talk presented October 7, 2002, spoke about the search going on in so many hearts at this conference—a search to find meaning, purpose and peace. She said, "Spirituality is both the fuel for that search and the goal of it." We could say, then, that spirituality is the answer to what humanity is yearning for, seeking and demanding.
If spirituality is at the core of humanity's needs, spiritual leadership is profoundly important.
As I consider spiritual leadership and women, I turn naturally to the example of the woman who founded the church and the faith tradition that I represent, Christian Science. Mary Baker Eddy was a 19th-century woman—truly a religious and spiritual leader. She never gave up on what she felt God had called her to do even in the face of great opposition and hatred. She humbly trusted divine Wisdom to guide her every step of the way.
Mary Baker Eddy lived a life of spiritual and social transformation. A deeply devoted Christian thinker, she wrote a book on spirituality, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, that has sold over 10 million copies. She healed, taught, lectured, wrote, edited, founded a college, established a worldwide movement, published magazines and a newspaper, The Christian Science Monitor.
Mary Baker Eddy wrote: "The time for thinkers has come. Truth, independent of doctrines and time-honored systems, knocks at the portal of humanity. Contentment with the past and the cold conventionality of materialism are crumbling away." Science and Health, p. vii.
This statement reveals some things about Mary Baker Eddy as a woman, a leader, and a spiritual thinker.
• She was an original and courageous thinker—setting out to break the chains of materialism.
• Her work is appealing to the "thinker" in everyone She challenged conventional thinking and religious practices to find ultimate spiritual Truth.
• She dedicated her book to "honest seekers forTruth" Ibid., p. xii.—giving them practical ways to find it and prove it. I am a seeker, and my own life-journey has been informed by the power of spirituality in many different ways and under some very diverse circumstances.
AN EARLY CAREER as a psychiatric music therapist was enhanced and deepened as I took to heart what I was studying and learning about spirituality from Mrs. Eddy's writings. Drawing on an ever-increasing understanding of the inherent spirituality of all people, I was able to approach my patients with spiritual strength and a more healing love.
My spiritual journey was also strengthened and forwarded during a harrowing time soon after the Korean War. I served in South Korea as the program director of a military service club. The environment and political atmosphere were still very tense. We were on the edge and in the aftermath of combat. The Quonset hut I lived in was very close to the demilitarized zone—and it was common to hear shooting, hour after hour, every night.
The service club was a place of refuge for all of us. The soldiers that I was responsible to serve "adopted" an entire Korean orphanage. It was amazing to watch these men with the children. Spirituality was a powerful force during this difficult time. We felt it.
I witnessed the motherhood of God being poignantly expressed by these big, burly soldiers as I arranged for us to spend Christmas Eve with 150 Korean orphans. The soldiers loved and tenderly cared for these children—often with giant tears rolling down their cheeks.
My understanding of divine Love—Father-Mother, God—grew, and I learned some new things about leadership. I had never thought of myself as a "leader of men"—but in many ways, that's exactly what I became. These guys needed a type of leadership that would not come from colonels, captains, or sergeants. It was the qualities of womanhood—compassion, patience, understanding, the willingness to listen—which comforted these military friends of mine, giving them strength for endeavor, helping them solve everyday problems, and encouraging their hope for a permanent peace.
These experiences exemplify important qualities of practical, spiritual leadership. They were foundational in taking me to a new place—as a spiritual healer, teacher, and more recently as a member of The Christian Science Board of Directors helping to guide the international religious and publishing activities of our church in 135 countries.
Mary Baker Eddy's words ring so true—the time for thinkers has come. A time for thinking that forges leadership, builds peace, refocuses on spiritual instead of material values, and brings practical spiritual solutions. Women are bringing a new type of leadership to the world. It is happening now. This Global Peace Initiative is proof. Thank you for making it possible.
The collective power of prayer
AS A WORLD COMMUNITY, can we utilize the spiritual power of prayer to avert conflict and find alternatives to violence?
What a wonderful proof South Africa is of the use of collective prayer! We thank the world for this wonderful gift toward ending apartheid. People in South Africa and elsewhere in the world tapped collective prayer by starting 24-hour prayer chains that helped change prevailing attitudes, especially fear. This was unceasing prayer at its best.
The effectiveness of this 24-hour prayer chain can be likened to the experience of a flock of geese. When you see the geese flying in "V" formation, you might want to consider what science has discovered is the reason why they fly that way. As each bird flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the bird immediately following. By flying in "V" formation, the whole flock adds at least 71 percent greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own. Now, what is the secret of gaining this 71 percent greater flying range? It is the efforts of each individual bird to flap its wings. Similarly, our individual performance is vital toward making prayer chains effective.
How do we do this—tapping into spiritual resources to gain peace?
First, by bringing understanding to our prayer. Prayer isn't just words. It is also a feeling. A feeling of safety in place of fear, a feeling of love in place of hate, a feeling of calm in the midst of chaos. I am not saying we should not use words when we pray, but we must bring understanding to these words. This understanding will help heal conflict in our lives and bring healing to world events.
Second, by transformation of self, home, community, country, through purifying our thinking. We must commit ourselves to renouncing those elements in human consciousness that contribute to conflict, such as selfishness, self-will, envy, greed. Peace begins in the heart of each one of us. When the desire for peace becomes the practice of peace in our lives, then we are helping to spread peace throughout the world. We can then claim our 71 percent bonus.
Finally, by adhering to Christ Jesus' beautiful Beatitudes. In particular, "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy." Matt. 5:7. Practically applying this beatitude becomes a spiritual resource for peace. The Abingdon Bible Commentary notes, "The merciful are men and women who banish all feelings of revenge and ill-will out of their hearts and who seek to cultivate an attitude of love and sympathy toward all mankind, especially toward the disfranchised and dispossessed." Abingdon (Nashville, Tennessee: Abingdon Press, 1929), p. 961 . Applying this attitude made forgiving the perpetrators of apartheid much easier.
During the 1986 riots in South Africa, at one of our weekday evening prayer meetings, a group of students called themselves "comrades" demanded to be given petrol from church members' parked cars so they could go and burn the houses of people said to be sellouts to the liberation struggle. What would you do? Submit to their request? We did not. One of our members told them they were fighting against oppression by being political activists and using firepower. The church members were in turn spiritual activists who chose to fight the system by influencing a change through spiritual thinking and the power of prayer.
Meanwhile, church members had also been praying. Using the Lord's Prayer, holding tight to the truth that God, our Father-Mother, is Love, and man—as His image and likeness—is an expression of this love. As an expression of Love, man could not be a perpetrator or a victim of violence.
The "comrades" left without touching the parked cars. Everyone, every one of us, has spiritual dominion over politics, economics, personal issues, or any other domination.
Indeed, collective prayer supported by individual effort is a spiritual resource for peace.
Bringing understanding to our prayer, transforming our thinking and lives, expressing the prayer of desire, utilizing mercy as a weapon for changing our attitudes—these are all vital tools for tapping spiritual resources for peace.
