Dear Fellow Members and Friends,
Many of you are familiar with the Church Alive initiative already, but some of you might still wonder, “What is Church Alive all about?”
Church Alive is a Board of Directors’ initiative (see the September 27, 2010, Christian Science Sentinel announcement) to support member-to-member sharing about our church experiences, inspiration, and needs. This type of support for each other’s work has strengthened church from the earliest days of Christianity.
If you’re interested in learning from other members’ prayers and successes across the globe, you’ll enjoy the Church Alive weekly newsletter included below (visit christianscience.com/churchalive/newsletter to subscribe). It’s free and includes current stories and insights delivered to your inbox every week.
Warmly,
Lyle Young, Clerk of The Mother Church
Visit christianscience.com/churchalive to find hundreds of church experiences and insights shared by members from all over the world. You’ll discover a community of members and friends actively witnessing the healing power and growth of church, together. Here are some examples of what you’ll find on Church Alive. For information on Summits, Workshops, and Community Connection Calls see the website above.
Blogs
- “Let’s hear it for ‘messy’ churches”—Setting aside familiar habits and organizational tools in church can be messy—but it also can be freeing.
- “ ‘Judge not’ ”—Being willing to let go of the habit to judge fellow church members and branch churches blesses us individually and collectively.
Your Church Experiences
- “Abundant ideas and a second lecture fund”—A church is led to start a second lecture fund to host lectures outside of their local community, resulting in a lecture at a Boy Scout Jamboree.
- “New opportunities to share”—After moving to a new location, a branch church actively pursues new opportunities to support their community.
Roundtable Chats
- “ ‘Love is the basis of all that we are doing’ ” (Engaging with Church: Inspired Church Work)—How do we overcome a sense of burden in church work? How can a branch church pray about a lack of members willing to serve? Practitioners Anne Cooling and Sushil Likhi share helpful ideas on these questions and more.
- “ ‘We’re in this together’ ” (Engaging with Church: Church and you(th))—How can a branch church pray about simplifying its bylaws and policies, and inviting a more welcoming atmosphere for all ages? How can we prayerfully support young people, even if they aren’t presently attending church or actively participating? Christian Science practitioners and teachers Susan Mack and Dave Stevens explore these ideas and more.
Field Videos
- “A greater sense of freedom” (First Church, Mountain View, CA)—The Mountain View church was interested in revising their cumbersome church bylaws. As part of this process, they began an extensive effort to determine what was the essence of church. Now, they have simpler, one-page bylaws, a set of guidelines that can be changed by members or the board, and a greater sense of inspiration impelling their church services.
- “It’s all baby steps” (Informal group in Botswana)—The Botswana Christian Science Group shares how they continue to build their membership from the local community, despite challenges.
Church related healings
- “First Reader freed from speaking difficulties during a service”—A congregation joins in a moment of prayer, resulting in quick and complete healing.
- “Stomach discomfort—healed”—When this writer encounters a physical challenge, she finds comfort in the ideas presented at a lecture sponsored by her church.
