ASH FROM 9/11 was still on the sidewalk when our search committee found a rental space two blocks from the World Trade Center site. We spent months before the tragedy looking for something in midtown, but this was a clear call to establish the Comforter's presence where it was most needed.
Funds poured in. In 2003, the doors opened at our jointly maintained Tri-state Reading Room (New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut), a space comfortable and current in style, abundantly stocked—and technologically on point. Our librarian at the time, Jim Logan, recorded over 2,000 newcomers in those first two years, with more copies of Science and Health sold than in any of the past 25 years. Five years, and one move later, the numbers steadily rise.
The peace, comfort, and healing embrace of Christian Science that was our fervent offering then, is still what we offer today.
A "prayer crew"—initiated a few years back by one of our members—is still active today, and the results are tangible. Whether it's the "Something made me..." voiced by visitors who suddenly find themselves walking in for the first time, or maybe it's a day when six different nationalities are served. Or when those in physical pain or wretched mental turmoil find themselves quietly, lovingly healed.
Our present Reading Room is an easy bike ride over the Brooklyn Bridge for me. Though we're no longer in the hub, we're in sight of the World Trade Center site, just a few steps away from bustling subway stops. As a steady stream of construction and office workers, tourists, students, immigrants, parents, and nannies pass by, we pray to know what their needs are, instead of second-guessing what we think they want. Our goal isn't to convince or convert—when the need is met, the interest sparks.
Our Web chat sign about overcoming depression drew in a pregnant woman whose past choices made her doubt she'd be a good mom. The truths she heard on the chat palpably comforted and encouraged her, and gave her practical, spiritual laws she could pray with. Our "There is an answer" list offers up articles in our publications and on the websites spirituality.com and christianscience.com that reflect front-burner topics like unemployment, finances, and health issues.
And we offer the greatest newspaper in the world—The Christian Science Monitor. Our 32-inch swing-out computer displays CSMonitor.com 24/7 in our window, which gives a heads-up that the Monitor is available online daily. It also spikes sales of the weekly print edition—multiple copies of the "Marriage and Infidelity" cover edition sold when we paired it with a poster of the Christian Science Sentinel article on the same theme. When a man poked his head in asking directions to a local card shop, we offered him a sample Monitor along with directions. "No thanks," he said—he was a professor with more than enough to read. "A professor of what?" he was a asked. "Health care." Really! Did he see the special health-care edition of the Monitor? He wrote down the site to e-mail to all his students.
When visitors ask to use our computers to check their e-mail, there's a cheerful rule: before they do, we show them two Mother Church sponsored websites. We've found that people often come in wanting one thing, but realize their real need is for something else—an underlying yearning for healing, forgiveness, or understanding. We're considered the "local Christian bookstore," and we're totally fine with that description. "The word Christian is important," says one of our librarians, Cindy Roemer. "People like knowing we're spiritual haven in an increasingly secular city." And the main book sold—Science and Health—is all Christian books wrapped up in one: theology, commentary, testimony, dictionary, biography, and oh, by the way—it heals!
One day, a woman asked for a book to help her understand her protestant church policies. My fellow librarian introduced her to Science and Health as a means of understanding the Bible—surely the foundation of all church policies. "But," the librarian couldn't help mentioning, "it has an added benefit—it heals." That did it. She wanted the book—because she wanted healing. Another time someone asked for books about Gnostics. When asked what appealed to her about them, she said she was exhausted with cold church doctrine. While searching online to help her, I was able to talk a bit about Mary Baker Eddy's similar journey. She walked our with a new purchase under her arm—Science and Health. To me, these are natural openings to introduce the book that God leads people into a Reading Room for—and intuitively many of them know it.
As a steady stream of office workers, tourists, students, immigrants, parents, and nannies pass by, we pray to know what their needs are. Instead of second-guessing what we think they want ...
We continue to face down the lie that anyone can resist Truth and Love. At a meeting of our Tri-state churches, one woman understandably threw up her hands saying, "There's so much resistance to Christian Science!" Suddenly someone blurted: "No there's not!" She related that she'd just had a call from a medical nurse—a young mother who'd come upon some of our Church-sponsored websites. She loved the wholeness of the faith, God's complete love, embracing the health of the body as well as the soul. "Where is the nearest church?" the nurse asked. A light went on in the room. The illusion of resistance took a blow, and the next day the Reading Room was swamped with customers.
It's humbling when we realize that sometimes the "resistance" is ours.
And, yes, we have slow days, just like everyone else. But there are far and away more days when we feel the prayerful unity of all the supporting churches, and nothing feels better. Like looking across the room and seeing our regular visitor—a retired pastor from China chatting away in Cantonese with a first-timer who's perusing the Chinese printouts. Or giving a quiet, hesitant newcomer a Monitor, and finding out his nephew is about to be shipped off to Afghanistan. "A million times—a million times—I walk by this place," he said, tears streaming down his face. "Why am I here?"
Our previous branch church chair Kay Zurcher says: "When Christian Scientists are asked where a Reading Room should be located, many would reply, 'well located in thought.' They'd be right. But it's like saying you can be healed, but then not see that healing manifested. Location does matter. Along with deeply understood prayer that it's 'well located' in the public's thought." She continued: "I'd rather see a huge church building sold and use some of the funds for a Reading Room in a busy area. Jesus preached and healed in temples, but was more likely to find himself among the people right where they were working and living. If we see ourselves as maintaining a vital daily presence in the community, rather than maintaining a building, the rewards are amazing."
Since 2007, we've had over 11,000 visits to our present location. They find us—open. That's the unselfed love part. It reminds me of the verse in First Corinthians: "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal" (13:1). We can have all the faith in the world, all the spiritual understanding, but if we haven't made the sacrifices to keep the doors open the hours the public needs to be able to find the Christ—the Comforter—the public may only hear "tinkling cymbals."
When the doors are open, and the message is clear, the joy is unmatched.
Church Alive offers reports from around the world on what Christian Scientists are doing to share their love for Christian Science with their communities. The views expressed in these reports are entirely those of the contributing authors.
