One thing leads to another, but often in unexpected ways. Just ask Judy Jackson. Three years ago Judy had no interest in Christian Science, yet today she is a Christian Science practitioner. Why? "Openness," Judy told the Journal's Jeffrey Hildner. And by that Judy means not only her own receptivity to new ideas, but also the Church's warm encouragement of her spiritual quest. "If I, as an outsider, hadn't been welcome at The Mother Church's Annual Meeting in 2002, I probably still wouldn't be interested in Christian Science," Judy said. Connect the dots—from early respect for The Christian Science Monitor and love of The Christian Science Publishing Society's world-famous Mapparium to attendance at that Annual Meeting and a subsequent love affair with The Mary Baker Eddy Library for the Betterment of Humanity—and you'll see the major outlines of Judy's serendipitous journey to Truth and her own healing outreach to others.
I HAD BEEN A LAW PROFESSOR at various universities since 1969, and I came to Boston in 1981 for what I thought would be a one-year stay to get a midcareer masters degree at the Harvard School of Public Health with the idea of eventually teaching Health Law. During that year, I visited historic and interesting places in the city. I had heard about the Mapparium and wanted to see it.
I had been raised Presbyterian, and I think the only experience I had connected with Christian Science to that point involved the Monitor. Consumer protection was becoming a major new field in the early '70s, and Ralph Nader was just beginning his activities. It was very exciting. Ralph was hiring college law professors, sort of as role models for young students, I think, and I wrote to him. I wrote to him on a Thursday, and on Sunday I was in Washington interviewing with him. And one of the things I noticed in Washington was that The Christian Science Monitor gave Nader very good coverage, so I became familiar with the newspaper. I wouldn't say I read it a lot, but when it covered consumer stuff, I did.
