Church Periodicals.
It shall be the privilege and duty of every member, who can afford it, to subscribe for the periodicals which are the organs of this Church; and it shall be the duty of the Directors to see that these periodicals are ably edited and kept abreast of the times.
—Mary Baker Eddy, Manual of The Mother Church,
Article VIII, Section 14
For a number of years I was a litigation attorney, and I found continuing education to be not only an expectation but also a beneficial support to anyone practicing law. We were encouraged and sometimes required to attend conferences and courses in areas pertaining to our field of practice in order to keep abreast of the latest developments, research, and applications of law. There were many legal publications with articles on various questions of law and practice, as well as analyses of specific cases, how they were argued, and the judicial decisions that resulted. We were also encouraged to share what we had learned in our daily research and application of the law in order to benefit others. Those who took advantage of these many different forms of continuing education commented on how much it strengthened their practice.
Medical doctors, therapists, nurses, counselors, teachers, and many other professionals all have the same need and opportunity for continuing education.
In view of this, I have found it interesting that Mary Baker Eddy included a By-Law in her Manual of The Mother Church to this effect: “It shall be the privilege and duty of every member, who can afford it, to subscribe for the periodicals which are the organs of this Church; and it shall be the duty of the Directors to see that these periodicals are ably edited and kept abreast of the times” (p. 44). The Christian Science Monitor—online and in print—The Christian Science Journal, the Christian Science Sentinel, and The Herald of Christian Science, in all their formats; and the Bible Lessons in the Christian Science Quarterly in citation, full text, and electronic formats are all examples of our professional periodicals.
Now it would be easy to think that these resources are there in case you ever have a problem. You can go to them, find a solution to a personal challenge, and then be on your way—thinking you need to refer to these hardcopy and online periodicals only on rare occasions.
And yet Mrs. Eddy says Christian Science is a universal, scientific system of Mind-healing—universally accessible and applicable to all mankind. And she goes even further to say: “[Y]ou never can be a practical Christian Scientist without healing the sick and sinner besides yourself. It is too selfish for us to be working for ourselves and not others as well. God does not bless it” (Yvonne von Fettweis and Robert Townsend Warneck, Mary Baker Eddy: Christian Healer, Amplified Edition, p. 277).
Rather than the periodicals being a support system we use only on occasion, Mrs. Eddy intended them to be the tools that would enable us to fulfill our mission as healers. Christian Science teaches that health, peace, harmony, and wholeness are natural to everyone right now. When we truly understand this Science, it frees us from suffering and fear so that we can be healers for the world. Demonstrating the power of divine Mind to maintain universal harmony in its creation, we bless our fellow man—and this is “[our] reason for existing” (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 165); it is our profession as Scientists and healers—practitioners of the practical Science of the Christ.
However, when we turn on the TV, go on the Internet, read newspapers and magazines, listen to conversations at the office, at school, a fitness center, or any social gathering, it can seem overwhelming to know how to prayerfully respond to the multitude of struggles and difficulties people are dealing with or where to begin sharing ideas that will comfort and heal. But God has already answered that need. Mrs. Eddy talks about students and practitioners of this Christ Science as lawyers, legislators, physicians—as professionals with a professional job to do—to defend the rights, identity, and freedom of our clients or patients; to overthrow material laws that seem to govern health and well-being, and to replace them with just and true laws of God.
Eddy felt that everything she included in the Manual came through inspiration and revelation from God with the intent of meeting the specific needs of those who were devoting themselves to this profession of Christian healer—whether or not they are advertising in The Christian Science Journal. She writes, “Of this I am sure, that each Rule and By-law in this Manual will increase the spirituality of him who obeys it, invigorate his capacity to heal the sick, to comfort such as mourn, and to awaken the sinner” (Miscellany, p. 230).
So how does obedience to this Manual provision requiring that we subscribe to the periodicals of The Christian Science Publishing Society enable us to be better healers for ourselves and for the world? Because it is our “continuing education”!
Divine Science is infinite. It’s not magic nor the privilege of club membership. It is a Science that requires revelation, reason, and demonstration in order to understand and practice it with confidence and certainty.
For example, many ask how the Bible, which was written centuries ago, could apply to the problems and questions we face today. The periodicals are full of examples of how people from every background, generation, nationality, and even other religions have found that the truths in our pastor—the Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures—have brought healing in every conceivable kind of situation. That’s because our pastor is the Word of God, alive and speaking to each of us now and every moment, and contributors to the periodicals are testifying to this fact.
The Bible Lessons provide answers to all the questions the public is asking: What is God? What is the Christ? What does it mean to be a child of God? If God is good, why is there so much suffering in the world? How do we heal? How do we overcome evil and death? What is the promised Comforter—the Science—that enables us to fulfill Jesus’ promise that we too would be able to heal as he did and even do greater works if we follow his teachings?
When we go to our pastor to study the Bible Lessons with the desire to fulfill the two great commandments—to love God supremely and glorify Him through healing, and to love our neighbor as ourselves (as God loves us)—we will be actively listening and praying for answers to our neighbor’s problems, to the world’s problems. We will then be ready for opportunities to share these healing truths with others—which may include giving them copies of the Bible and Science and Health or the full-text edition of the Quarterly!
All of our periodicals are designed to keep healers abreast of the needs of the world. The Sentinel’s “Items of Interest” alerts us to the signs of the leaven of the Science of the Christ at work in human consciousness—leavening thought in the sciences, medicine, theology, education, global relations, and many other areas, so that we too can recognize this progress and support it. The Editor’s View in The Christian Science Monitor also points out forward momentum in the world—heartening indications of the spiritual leaven that is uplifting and purifying humanity.
There are sections in the periodicals which help us understand how better to offer satisfying explanations of the Bible and healing answers to young people in Sunday School, newcomers in Reading Rooms and church services, and those searching for wholeness in our communities. There are articles sharing research into the life and teachings of the discoverer of this Science, Mary Baker Eddy, and application of that research to daily life. Her example inspires our ability to argue the divine law that frees people, and gives us the courage and confidence to stand firm in the face of overwhelming odds.
It can seem overwhelming to know how to prayerfully respond to the multitude of struggles and difficulties people are dealing with or where to begin sharing ideas that will comfort and heal. But God has already answered that need.
There are specific examples of physical, emotional, mental, financial, and relationship challenges that have been successfully healed through this scientific system. These testimonies show how the person prayed, the specific divine laws he or she relied on, and the need for persistence and patience in order to succeed.
If you’re looking for ways to work with those in need, you’ll find accounts of how members of institutional committees have brought a healing message to those in prisons or mental institutions; and reports of how churches have built bridges to the medical community, university classrooms, and members of other religious communities, opening dialogue and sharing this healing truth through Christian Science lectures.
The Christian Science Monitor is continually exposing instances of injustice, corruption, violence, and other forms of evil that attempt to plague the world so that we, as healers, know what to be praying about. The Monitor also uncovers and highlights specific examples of how individuals and groups of all backgrounds are succeeding in finding healing answers to these problems.
When I first began practicing law, I read an article in the Monitor about the plight of women prisoners in the United States. It explained that many of them received a double punishment—prison time and loss of custody of their children. Judges and prison officials confirmed this for me. It led me to pray about a solution. The result was a comprehensive treatment and rehabilitation program that I designed to keep these women out of prison and with their children. As a result of prayer, it received full funding and community support, and has continued for over 25 years, receiving a presidential award and state funding after I left the program.
Every time we faced a barrier to this work, I would tell my staff that I was going to pray because I was sure God had an answer (none of them were students of Christian Science). Every obstacle fell. Consequently, I was not surprised when one day a member of the program’s executive board called me in tears saying she was very afraid because she had just been diagnosed with a malignant tumor and was supposed to have surgery in a few weeks. I immediately assured her that God was her Life and that she could never be separated from God or from His omnipotent care. She was very comforted. I sent her some Christian Science periodicals to read. She called me back a few weeks later to say that she had gone in for surgery, but after several tests, the doctors could no longer find anything wrong, so the surgery was canceled.
The Christian Science Journal, Sentinel, Herald, the Bible Lessons, and The Christian Science Monitor, each in its own unique way, alert us as healers to the suggestions of the carnal mind, which need to be refuted and overcome through scientific prayer.
When we realize that it is not enough for us to find comfort for ourselves from the ideas in these periodicals, but rather that we need to be sharing them with our neighbors, we’re going to discover that the demand for our healing practice is great. And with such a thorough and ongoing “continuing education” program providing us with fresh daily, weekly, and monthly insights throughout every year, we can have confidence that we are prepared to fulfill our role as healers.
Although I no longer argue legal cases in a court of law, I do still argue cases in a higher court—the Court of Spirit. And I am so grateful for the continuing education and support Mary Baker Eddy has provided us through our periodicals.
