In the Journal’s beginning years, dating back to 1883, many readers literally went to a Christian Science practitioner’s residence when they sought healing treatment. Telephones were not as accessible as they are today. So, organizing Christian Science practitioners by their city in the “Directory of Professional Services and Church Information,” located in the back of the Journal (and found in the last 76 pages of this issue), proved to be most helpful.
While office and home visits might still be essential in many cases, today people can seek Christian Science treatment from a practitioner beyond their own local area, via phone, e-mail, Skype, and text messaging. This is also true regarding Christian Science nurses, who often travel to nurse cases well beyond their own immediate location.
The Christian Science Publishing Society is constantly striving to meet Mary Baker Eddy’s directive in the Church Manual to be “abreast of the times” (p. 44). Recently, one of those ways has been reorganizing the Journal Directory. The most significant change is in the practitioner and Christian Science nurse sections. Advertisers there are now arranged globally by continent, country, state/district, and then alphabetically by last name (rather than by city). Churches and societies are also arranged geographically the same way, but continue to be organized by city.
