“Church Alive” is the perfect description of the branch church my husband and I belong to in St. Louis, Missouri. Some may think that statement is a stretch! After all, this branch has one of the smallest memberships of the several very active branches in our metropolitan area (the large Christian Science populace is concentrated in the suburbs, rather than in the heart of the city where this branch is located). And, while the large edifice is historic and beautiful—it was built at the turn of the last century and was the first Christian Science church in the area—many would argue that it has too few people in a very large space.
Yet, you’d only have to become involved with the membership to discover that the outward appearance is deceiving. The fact is, this church is vibrant, warm, creative, involved, and focused on healing. And this atmosphere carries over to the joyously active Sunday School and children’s room. Adding to the church’s strength is a membership that is diverse in terms of age and ethnicity.
About a year ago, a spiritual adventure took the church to an even higher level of aliveness, when a young dad quietly suggested that qualifications for membership were too restrictive.
After sincere prayer and thoughtful discussion, the membership committee presented a bylaw amendment to the membership. The amendment focused on offering a warm embrace to applicants rather than a list of “thou shalt nots.” Lively discussion ensued, and though the discussion wasn’t confrontational, the proposal was tabled with everyone agreeing to continue to pray.
Before the next business meeting, a committee member rewrote the amendment to include four pertinent statements by Mary Baker Eddy that describe the general Christian spirit—and a sampling of the specific behaviors—expected of all church members (see Science and Health, pp. 453:29-454:3 and 157:8–10; Rudimental Divine Science, p. 3:14–23; The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 114:3–6).
With the presentation of the new amendment came a gentle shift in thought. After several minutes of united, tender editing and wordsmithing, the amendment passed unanimously.
And as a result of the shift, more members are now involved in the application process. Application endorsers and the membership committee work closely with each other, and especially with the applicant new to Christian Science, to offer support and mentoring when necessary.
Rejoicing abounds! And the steady stream of visitors and new applicants for membership is just one example of the forward-moving thought that is sustaining this branch church on its ever-lively adventure.
