When God presented Himself to Moses on Mount Horeb, in the middle of a burning bush, He said to him: “Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground” (Exodus 3:5). Why “holy ground”? Because God was there. God is holy and present everywhere, therefore we can never be in a place that is not holy, a “bad place.”
In 2006, I had the opportunity to share the teachings of Christian Science with the inmates of the central prison in Douala, Cameroon. When I went in, I had to face the picture of poverty, suffering, human degradation, cruelty, and even death. As a Christian Science practitioner, I prayed to understand better the reality of the ever-presence of God, divine Love, of Love’s power of protection, and, above all, of God’s love toward His children, who are always in His presence. I used passages in the Bible and in the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, in order to spiritualize my thought.
For some inmates, this prison was hell, because at the time, one or two people died every day because of the very poor living conditions (lack of food, of clothing, of protection against the cold, the rain, the sun).
In the group of detainees that were studying the teachings of Christian Science, a great number of them started to ask questions relevant to these difficult situations. Besides the church services that were offered, I made myself available to answer questions and provide Christian Science treatment through prayer to anyone who was interested. I had also obtained permission for the female inmates to attend the services.
The healings through prayer that occurred were actually the trigger that led a lot of inmates to get interested in the teachings of Christian Science and to trust these teachings. Among these healings were those of a hand burned with oil, an infected foot, a nearly punctured eye, skin diseases, cases of fever, jaundice, headaches, and toothaches. But most of all I observed a change in behavior. A great number decided to quit their life of crime.
Several detainees were able to reconnect with their families and friends by understanding that God is the only Mind governing every one of His children.
Among those who had been wrongly accused, some understood that they needed to forgive those who’d had them imprisoned and to go forward with practicing the teachings of Christian Science. Several detainees were able to reconnect with their families and friends by understanding that God is the only Mind governing every one of His children; others were able to break free from bullying and tyranny exerted by other inmates. All this is a confirmation of this statement by Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science: “The best sermon ever preached is Truth practised and demonstrated by the destruction of sin, sickness, and death” (Science and Health, p. 201).
I suggested to the core of regular attendees that we pray together with the aim of demonstrating the reality of good and harmony in the prison. Our Master, Christ Jesus, said, “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them” (Mark 11:24). We all had to trust this promise, and we were all striving to put into practice these messages from Science and Health: “The devotion of thought to an honest achievement makes the achievement possible” (p. 199) and “Hold thought steadfastly to the enduring, the good, and the true, and you will bring these into your experience proportionably to their occupancy of your thoughts” (p. 261).
In our prayerful work, we were all endeavoring to have a better vision of where the children of God really dwell, in the kingdom of heaven, which is defined in the Glossary of Science and Health as follows: “The reign of harmony in divine Science; the realm of unerring, eternal, and omnipotent Mind; the atmosphere of Spirit, where Soul is supreme” (p. 590). Instead of seeing hell, we must see that God is always present everywhere, and not accept for one moment that there could be another power.
Less than a year after starting this work, when I arrived at the prison one morning, I found a crowd of inmates waiting in line. As I was trying to find out what was going on, I was told that someone who was incarcerated in that prison had arranged to pay for three meals a day for every inmate who didn’t have a family or any other support. This person also bought two big tents that would shelter the detainees having to sleep outside in the yard.
Less than a month later, the prison didn’t look the same. There were far fewer prisoners who were exhausted because they were hungry, cold, or sick; the number of deaths as well as the number of those who were sick diminished.
Besides, around the same time, the government of our country passed a decree in order to review the conditions of detention. Among those who were following the teachings of Christian Science, some had been in jail for over a year without appearing before a court. Others should have been released already, but remained incarcerated because their files had been misplaced and no one had helped find these files. And there were a number of other unjust situations like these. A government commission was set up, and it led to the release of over five hundred inmates, and among them were members of the group that had been studying the teachings of Christian Science.
For a lot of members of the group, prison was not hell anymore. It had not become a paradise, but the situation was not as dramatic anymore. There was hope. And a number even began to see their detention as a grace from God that had allowed them to repent and reform and find Christian Science.
Today, a great number of those who were following the teachings of Christian Science with diligence while they were incarcerated are members of branch Churches of Christ, Scientist, where they participate actively, and some even became members of The Mother Church.
I rejoice every day over the opportunity our Father-Mother God gave me to volunteer in this prison for five years, and because I know that other church members have taken over and continued to work with the inmates. The challenges that I faced every day were for me the occasion to pray and to strengthen my trust in God and in the correctness of the teachings of Christian Science. And it was because of the changes that I saw with my very eyes during this time that I can state, wherever I find myself and whatever the situation, “This is a holy place, here and now,” and I can see this truth being realized, because God is present everywhere.
