“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.
