Gloria Onyuru moved from the United States to Turkey in 1966 and has lived there ever since. She and I exchanged emails about her life in Turkey, how she has found a way to practice Christian Science in that country, and how she has been inspired to pray about the current tensions in the Middle East.
As a Christian Scientist born and raised in the United States, how did you come to live in Turkey, and how has living there shaped you spiritually?
Love brought me to Turkey. I met my husband, a Turkish national, at a university in St. Louis, Missouri, in the United States, which we were both attending. We decided to get married, and in 1966 we moved to Turkey permanently, bringing with us our first son, who was less than a year old at the time.
I was not prepared culturally, linguistically, or mentally for all the challenges that a young foreign bride with a small baby would need to overcome in Turkey. If it had not been for the love and understanding that my husband and I shared, I probably would not have endured. Central heat and hot water, a telephone, a television, ready-made baby food, previous experience in cooking from scratch—these were all things I wished I had in Turkey but didn’t have. What I did have was the love of a husband and his family, and that carried us through most of the ups and downs.
Church is not the place where we meet; it’s why we meet. Sometimes we meet in a home or in a pastry shop or in an office building, but the reason we meet is to pray together and to think about God.
All of this was very far from where I had grown up in Oklahoma in the United States. Each week my mother had always made sure I was at our Christian Science Sunday School and the Wednesday evening testimony meeting. When I went away from home to go to college, I quit studying Christian Science and going to church. That’s when I, a non-practicing Christian Scientist, met my non-practicing Muslim husband. The difference in our religious backgrounds never seemed to bother either of us. I was who I was, and he was who he was—and we saw each other as both children of God.
There came a time, however, after we were living in Turkey, when a crisis in our family made me realize that I could not live without Christian Science in my life. I ordered a Christian Science Quarterly in the mail so that I could read the weekly Christian Science Bible Lessons.
When it arrived, I opened it to find that “God” was the subject of the first Bible Lesson that quarter. Nothing had really changed since the last time I had seen a Quarterly—there were the familiar subjects for each weekly Bible Lesson, the Golden Text, the Responsive Reading, and the citations from the Bible and the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. As I looked through it, I wept. I felt as if I had come home. I dug out my grandmother’s old copies of the Bible and Science and Health, which I still had, and started studying Christian Science again, including the Bible Lessons.
I called a Christian Science practitioner who was listed in The Christian Science Journal and asked her to pray for me. She guided me to pages 308 and 309 of Science and Health, which tell of Jacob’s wrestling with error, his victory, and his name being changed to Israel. On page 309 we read: “If these children should go astray, and forget that Life is God, good, and that good is not in elements which are not spiritual,—thus losing the divine power which heals the sick and sinning,—they were to be brought back through great tribulation, to be renamed in Christian Science and led to deny material sense, or mind in matter, even as the gospel teaches.”
I realized that I had forgotten that “Life is God, good, and that good is not in elements which are not spiritual,” and that I was being “brought back through great tribulation.” I was being “renamed in Christian Science” as God’s spiritual idea. Many years before, I had been taught in Sunday School that I was God’s loved child, His spiritual idea, His image and likeness (see Genesis 1:26, 27). But I had not taken that truth seriously, had ignored it, and sometimes had even refused to entertain such a concept. Now I had an opportunity to acknowledge God and to sincerely accept who I really was as the reflection of His all-good, spiritual nature.
The crisis in our family was resolved, and I kept studying Christian Science. Several years later, I decided to take Christian Science Primary class instruction. I have been attending yearly association meetings in the United States ever since.
To your knowledge, are you the only Christian Scientist (or one of a few) in Turkey? Are you able to have a church experience?
People at my husband’s business, where I help out, know that I’m Christian (they’re all Muslim). A copy of the Bible, copies of the writings of Mary Baker Eddy, and a Christian Science Hymnal sit on the corner of my desk for all to see.
I know of just a handful of Christian Scientists in this country. One lives in Istanbul, and the remaining few live in Ankara, where I also live. Christ Jesus told us, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). I meet almost weekly with a couple of Christian Science friends, meeting with each one separately on different days, and when we meet we read aloud the Bible Lesson for that week and discuss it. Sometimes I feel as if I’m experiencing church every day of the week.
Church is not the place where we meet; it’s why we meet. Sometimes we meet in a home or in a pastry shop or in an office building, but the reason we meet is to pray together and to think about God, to be at one with Him in the sacred sanctuary of our individual consciousness, and to feel His power and presence as a group. As “we lift our hearts in praise” (Margaret Morrison, Christian Science Hymnal, No. 371), understanding more of divine Spirit and our true spiritual identity as the likeness of Spirit, we heal and are healed, save and are saved.
Any one of us could often use a reminder of Spirit’s allness. Church provides us with an opportunity to be reminded of this. Reading the Bible Lesson aloud together unites our hearts in the oneness and allness of divine Truth and Love. When that happens, it is such an inspiring expression of Church.
Do neighbors and others in Turkey know you are a Christian Scientist?
I can’t say for sure that my neighbors know I’m a Christian Scientist, but people at my husband’s business, where I help out, know that I’m Christian (they’re all Muslim). A copy of the Bible, copies of the writings of Mary Baker Eddy, and a Christian Science Hymnal sit on the corner of my desk for all to see.
I wonder if a reader of this interview might get the impression that, as a Christian Scientist, you are in an isolated, lonely situation. On the other hand, it seems you may have many unique opportunities to put Christian Science into practice.
Being a Christian Scientist in Turkey has been challenging at times, but also very rewarding. A big reward has been having the opportunity to meet and help other Christian Scientists who are visiting Turkey. My husband and I have been very blessed with Christian Science visitors in our home from all over the world, from places ranging from Australia, Switzerland, and Canada, to the United States. And I have accompanied tours of Turkey for Christian Scientists, following in the footsteps of the Apostle Paul’s travels. It has been my privilege to help these friends in many ways.
Have you seen healing in Turkey as a result of practicing Christian Science?
One time a colleague at my husband’s office asked me for healing prayer because she sensed that I am a prayerful person. Speaking only Turkish, she didn’t know the words Christian Science, but she knew that prayer can heal.
She had developed a lump in her breast, and doctors had told her she needed an operation. She was afraid to have the operation, and had asked her doctors to let her wait a while. I don’t remember exactly how I prayed for her, but I’m sure that I dwelled on all the wonderful qualities she expresses, such as love, generosity, a sincere caring for others, fidelity, and order, seeing that they have their source in Spirit, God, not matter, and that they give evidence of the real, purely spiritual qualities of her being. I saw her as spiritual and perfect. It was a simple prayer to our common God.
In a couple of weeks, she came to thank me for my prayers, and she said the lump was disappearing. In a couple of months, it was completely gone, and she was healed.
I have also had plenty of opportunities to pray about doing business in Turkey, since I am in my husband’s office every weekday. I often pray for our business, as well as for other businesses in Turkey, to know that they are all about our Father’s business (see Luke 2:49), which must be honest, upright, pure, and free from corruption.
I recognized that if supply is of God, it is infinite, and as such there is always good at hand.
I have seen how prayer for our business has helped it come back from the brink of bankruptcy. At a time when it looked as if we were at the end of our rope, in deep debt to the tax department, with no real estate investments to sell, and our credit cards maxed out, I prayed to God to understand a spiritual truth which is written in Science and Health: “In the scientific relation of God to man, we find that whatever blesses one blesses all, as Jesus showed with the loaves and the fishes,—Spirit, not matter, being the source of supply” (p. 206). I dwelled on this idea, trusted it, knew it with all my heart, soul, and mind. I released all my fears and knew that Spirit, God, is the source of supply.
Also, I recognized that if supply is of God, it is infinite, and as such there is always good at hand. An article, “Being is unfoldment” by Mary Sands Lee, from the January 1941 issue of the Journal, helped open up my thought to accept the possibilities for good. The article reads: “It would be well for all to recognize and rejoice at, as an evidence of unfolding infinity, everything big or little that comes in the way of good—of supply, or business, or occupation. Such an attitude of thought does much to release frozen assets, whether of opportunity, money, friendship, freedom, or health, and to keep one open to and receptive of good.”
So, whenever we experienced good in our business, however little it may have seemed, I would be grateful and remember, “This good is evidence of unfolding infinity.”
One day after announcing to our employees that they would be receiving half salaries that month, one of our newer employees offered, privately, to loan our business the money he had just received from selling some real estate. A couple of days later a group of employees took up a collection among themselves to pay a debt our company owed. One of the fellows had recently had his car stolen, and he had been planning on keeping the reimbursement money from his insurance company until he could save enough to buy another car. Yet he unselfishly tossed his whole savings into the hat.
I had been praying with a Christian Science practitioner about this financial difficulty, and she assured me that all of this support was an unmistakable sign of God’s love, and that God’s love would continue because of the continuity of good. And continue it did! That very same day we learned that a contract had been signed that would bring our business a large commission.
The financial situation of our business is now balanced, stable, and debt-free. We’re paying our employees full salaries. We have paid back the employee who loaned us the proceeds from selling real estate, and helped him buy his own home. We have also paid back the fellow whose car was stolen, and allowed him to purchase one of our company cars at a reduced rate. My heart sings with gratitude to know that everyone has the opportunity to put the laws of God into effect, and the law of God is that Spirit is the source of supply.
Do you think your time in Turkey has stretched you in your practice of Christian Science to pray for the Middle East, and to see healing about issues beyond those that might just seem to concern yourself?
Definitely. Had I lived in the West all my life, I honestly don’t think I could have found Turkey on the map. By living outside of the United States, where I was born and brought up, I’m more aware of the world at large. I keep up with regional news in the Middle East—Turkey has eight bordering neighbors—as well as what’s going on back home in the US. This broader awareness leads to prayer for the world. The Christian Science Monitor is an excellent tool I use to deepen my understanding of current affairs, to look at them compassionately, and to guide my prayers about news everywhere.
Living in Ankara, the capital of Turkey, affords almost daily opportunities to pray for government. I often start my prayers for government by understanding that true government is not just a human system of order but government by God, the infinite divine Mind, of His creation. In Science and Health we read, “Be firm in your understanding that the divine Mind governs, and that in Science man reflects God’s government” (p. 393).
I often start my prayers for government by understanding that true government is not just a human system of order but government by God, the infinite divine Mind, of His creation.
God’s government is one of unchanging good, and often my prayer is to understand that God’s man reflects this unchanging goodness of God. The government of this country (and many countries) seems to be carried out by mortals, some good, some not so good—mortal personalities whose character traits can change as the political winds shift from one direction to another. In my prayers I strive to love these politicians as God loves them; to see them as His innocent children, as God made them, His spiritual expression; and to look beyond human faults and frailties.
In praying to have a higher view of politicians, I am grateful for the saving Christ, Truth, which comes to the human consciousness today just as in Jesus’ ministry, shifting our perspective from the material to the spiritual, from believing that there could be corrupt politicians to knowing for a fact that the only real man, the man of God’s creating, is incorruptible, upright, just, and pure. The recognition of this spiritual truth enables us to understand the unreality and impotence of evil, and sets us free to love others as good and in the way that God loves them: as spiritual and perfect. This kind of prayer can serve as a purifying element in the general atmosphere of thought that can bring the power of good to prevail over evil.
When the rhetoric of government officials in Turkey started polarizing people—the word we referring to those who supported the ruling party, and they being all others—at first I resisted praying about this divide. But then I realized that if I didn’t pray for a resolution to the problem, I was perhaps going along with it. Advancing spiritually, I’ve learned to be more unselfish and pray for the unification of all people, basing my prayers on this statement in Science and Health: “One infinite God, good, unifies men and nations; constitutes the brotherhood of man; ends wars; fulfils the Scripture, ‘Love thy neighbor as thyself;’ annihilates pagan and Christian idolatry,—whatever is wrong in social, civil, criminal, political, and religious codes; equalizes the sexes; annuls the curse on man, and leaves nothing that can sin, suffer, be punished or destroyed” (p. 340).
Often in my prayers for Turkey I cherish something Christ Jesus emphasized: “The kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). The realization that we all actually live in the kingdom of heaven, in the omnipresence of God’s government and care, calms my thought, destroys my fear, and I become conscious of the reality of the allness of divine Love, God, embracing me and everyone else in my country. Fear, lawlessness, and violence seem to be so rampant in Turkey, but the understanding of the true, gentle presence of divine Love filling all space and governing all is a sure antidote to evil, error of every kind. I love praying for my country and knowing that my prayers are heard and answered by God.
For the past several years Turkey has been playing host to a vast number of refugees fleeing Syria’s civil war and the terror of Islamic State. The humanitarian crisis is now affecting much of the world, but the problem is particularly severe in Turkey. In addition, violence from the war in Syria has occasionally spilled over across the border into Turkey. How have you been praying about this?
For a while now, I have had a near constant realization of the need to pray for the refugees fleeing from the war in Syria and to help support solutions to the dire humanitarian crisis in that country. The media in Turkey seems to provide 24/7 coverage about the devastation and desperation of Syrian people literally running for their lives.
God, divine Love, is the starting point of my prayer. Only the power of divine Love can heal such an unresolved, age-old conflict as the one we see playing out in the Middle East. We can trust in the power of God’s love to bring healing solutions to light. Folks in the Bible successfully trusted in the power of God’s love to heal and save, and so can we. Their trust in the power of God’s love enabled them to overcome seemingly impossible situations. The millions of refugees fleeing Syria can find hope in the promise of being rescued by the power of God’s love.
The Bible promises that “the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16). How much? Surely enough to rescue anyone reaching out in prayer to God, divine Love, for help. As Mrs. Eddy put it: “The depth, breadth, height, might, majesty, and glory of infinite Love fill all space. That is enough!” (Science and Health, p. 520).
Fear, lawlessness, and violence seem to be so rampant in Turkey, but the understanding of the true, gentle presence of divine Love filling all space and governing all is a sure antidote to evil, error of every kind.
God’s man is never helpless, hopeless, without shelter, unfed, or ignored. God loves and provides for His creation. Because God is Love, His creation—His reflection—is loved. When I think about refugees throughout the world, the following is a particularly inspiring passage: “Remember, thou canst be brought into no condition, be it ever so severe, where Love has not been before thee and where its tender lesson is not awaiting thee. Therefore despair not nor murmur, for that which seeketh to save, to heal, and to deliver, will guide thee, if thou seekest this guidance” (Mary Baker Eddy, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, pp. 149–150).
May each one of these refugees, who are in reality God’s precious children—whether they be in Turkey, in countries neighboring Turkey, or elsewhere in the world—be strengthened and safely harbored in divine Mind, as we pray for their guidance, health, prosperity, and peace. God, divine Love, is on the scene with His omnipresent omnipotence always in action. “Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need” (Science and Health, p. 494).
