"WE ARE AN ACTIVE CHURCH IN A CHURCH-GOING COMMUNITY," says John Williams, a longtime member of First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Jerseyville, Illinois. Mr. Williams, who teaches political science at nearby Principia College, explains that people in Jerseyville tend to know others by the church they attend. "A typical question when you meet someone in town is, What's your church home?"
In other countries and cultures, such a question might seldom come up among friends, much less when meeting someone for the first time. But in the openly and seriously religious American Midwest, church affiliations are prominent threads in the fabric of community life.
Christian Scientists in Jerseyville are known as members of "the church that just moved to a new home in the former eye-care center ... you know, the one across from the middle school." Or, as "the church that has a Reading Room right across from the county courthouse." Or they're known individually for serving on community boards and in ministerialalliance-sponsored drives to support those needing food and emergency housing.
Winston Churchill once said, "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give." After conversations with several members of this Christian Science congregation, it's clear that a giving attitude begins at home, within a church family. As member David Cornell puts it, "There is an amazing confluence of love and talent in this church, and a core of love among the members—an expression of divine grace in the affairs of the church. This grace is expressed as an unqualified love for one another, an unearned acceptance of others' ways of living and thinking, and as mutual support. You feel it in a contagious expression of welcome toward members and visitors."
The church's current Executive Board chair, Anne Peter, explains that "it comes naturally to members to include the community" in their welcome and in their prayers. While Sunday services and Wednesday testimony meetings are "fairly traditional," Mr. Peter notes, "we have a spirit of love, and people feel free to come dressed as they choose. And the testimonies on Wednesday evening [when those attending speak spontaneously about healings they've received through prayer] can be more like conversations among members" about the spiritual ideas that helped them that week.
It is not always easy to move the giving beyond church walls—especially to give spiritually in a community in which nearly everyone already has their own church home. "We do not hide our religion," says John Williams, "nor do we force it down others' throats." He adds, "The 'outreach' that works best is evangelizing by living the Christ in our own lives. It's just living your Christianity."
To illustrate, he describes a conversation he had with someone from another denomination who was suffering a crisis of faith, because his thoughts of the Bible had changed from his fundamentalist Christian training and background. Williams's explanation that he read the Bible for its inspiration and not as literal truth gave his friend the peace and assurance he needed at that moment.
Sometimes giving expands with serious outward listening. Wendie Hosmer has chaired the Jerseyville church's lecture committee. (Christian Science congregations sponsor visiting public speakers who give talks based on ideas found in the Bible and Science and Health.) In preparing for a lecture two years ago, Mrs. Hosmer says, "We started asking ourselves one basic question: What are the situations going on in our community that need healing, and not just the needs on the surface? We decided to go into the community and ask what others were concerned about. We talked with schoolteachers, with the police department, including the sheriff, with people in the department of child and family services, with judges, and farmers. The main concern wasn't methamphetamines or child neglect or spouse abuse. Everyone we talked with said the same thing: 'We need healing.' They were very afraid of sickness, and the one that came up most often in our conversations was cancer."
When the town began planning for an American Cancer Society-sponsored "Relay for Life," the Christian Scientists talked it over and decided to participate. Rather than provide financial support for the event [the usual fee was waived], the church was allowed to donate a tent where participants in an all-night walk could gather to hear one of three consecutive talks by a Christian Science lecturer. As David Cornell describes the evening, "It offered a message of hope, peace, and the healing of cancer through prayer."
But, adds Hosmer, Christian Scientists also "walked arm in arm with other participants. Direct contact with people was paramount. It enabled us to explain what Christian Science is, and what it is not. Committing to be part of this event had the effect of lifting thoughts in our church—taking us outside the church's walls. All night, we were focused on healing."
The main concern wasn't methamphetamines or child neglect or spouse abuse. Everyone we talked with said the same thing: "We need healing."—Wendie Hosmer
"I've started to think of Church as something that exists to serve the community," Hosmer continues. "I've found that we have to back up good ideas with action and not just give them lip service. Prayer gives us enlightenment, inspiration," she says, "but we also have to meet people where they are. I know we made contact with our neighbors that night. I know that these efforts changed thought.
"You can't be afraid to get out into your community."
