WHENEVER I'VE VISITED the United States, I have been so tempted to sell my apartment here in Mumbai, India, and settle in one of the lovely cities over there. But my first love always holds me back. This "first love" is my Christian Science branch church—First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Mumbai [Bombay]. Over the years my church has been a hub of activity, and I can conceive of no greater blessing than to serve in God's vineyard right here.
Permit me to go back some years to a time when war seemed imminent between Pakistan and India. As the situation proved extremely tense at one point, our church decided to set up a round-the-clock prayer watch. Other Christian Science groups, societies, and churches all over India requested to be a part of this chain, and regular church attendees who were not members also eagerly participated. Soon we were "overbooked," and people were asking for prayer slots in the early hours of the morning.
Besides praying individually during our allotted times, we also shared ideas with one another that we thought would inspire our efforts. One of the many quotations that poured in from Mrs. Eddy's writings was the statement "One infinite God, good, unifies men and nations; constitutes the brotherhood of man; ends wars; fulfils the Scripture, 'Love thy neighbour as thyself;' ...." Science and Health, p. 340.
And we drew inspiration from the Bible verse "Ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God." Eph. 2:19. During this time visas had been almost impossible to obtain for relatives to visit one another, and doubt and mistrust filled the atmosphere. It helped to be reminded that we had citizenship in God's household, where divine harmony prevails.
A resolution into peace and harmony, as well as an opening of barriers between the two countries, started in the form of reciprocal airline rights, more visas issued, and an historic bus service that crossed the previously unapproachable border. Although we can't prove that our prayers brought about these peaceful changes, we do know that our prayers calmed our own fears, and brought harmony and serenity to our own churches. The unity and love all of us felt for our fellow members, neighbors, and friends, we feel, had a transforming effect on the events we were praying about. These evidences of resolution have shown us that dedicated, consistent prayer can lead us—and our governments—to ways of thinking that neutralize threatening incidents and show the way toward the restoration of peace.
Besides prayer watches, our members band together and gear up for action when we hold events for the public, whether it's a lecture on Christian Science, an open house, or a Science and Health study group. We do not depend wholly on advertisements or fliers. We also go out individually to colleges, schools, student hostels, to meet curious seekers one on one. And depending on the subject of the lecture or event, we notify law courts, public libraries, banks, or art galleries of our upcoming activity related to Christian Science. When doing this, I have kept in mind God's words of encouragement to a hesitant Moses: "I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say." Ex. 4:12. In essence, we let the Christ—that same presence of God that was with Moses—go before us when we welcome people into our church home.
Recently we have seen the result of our outreach prayer in the form of children from the school next door timidly coming to our Reading Room for a drink of cold water. This seemed like a sign from heaven, as we have envisioned our Reading Room as a place where we can meet the immediate needs of our community. When these children began showing up, we shepherded them into the Reading Room, gave them something to quench their thirst, and showed them our children's area. Now they are daily visitors, their numbers have increased, and they make themselves at home—reading, asking questions, borrowing books.
When some of the children asked our librarian for past issues of the Teen Herald of Christian Science, their delight was something to see. Within the next few days we gave several more copies to young newcomers whose classmates had told them about our treasure trove. We saw this as putting into practice Jesus' heartfelt prayer "Suffer the little children to come unto me." Mark 10:14.
Naturally, then, our Sunday School has been very active. Christmas 2005 fell on a Sunday, and the Sunday School superintendent invited all the students and staff to sit together and pick out Bible-based questions from a bag. A four-year-old attending, perhaps for the second time or so, picked out the question "What is your favorite Bible story?" He confessed that he did not know any, but could tell us about his favorite TV character, Mr. Bean. When the superintendent gently explained that Mr. Bean would not qualify as a Bible story, the child tried again. "What about Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?" Amid peals of laughter, other students offered him Bible stories. The moral of this small incident is that this little one, even though a newcomer, took away something of value about the Bible. He now attends Sunday School when his cousins visit from out of town, and he feels quite at home each time.
I am so grateful that our branch church grabs every opportunity to embrace the community. We owe a great debt of gratitude to Mary Baker Eddy, who gave us the practical counsel on the value of looking beyond the walls of our church and moving out of ourselves to see to the needs of others. She wrote: "Who should care for everybody? It is enough, say they, to care for a few. Yet the good done, and the love that foresees more to do, stimulate philanthropy and are an ever-present reward." Miscellaneous Writings 1883-1896, p. 238. This is how our church works to accomplish its mission to heal the sick. And for this reason, I just would not feel at home away from my church here in Mumbai.
