Our church, a branch of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, was dwindling through attrition. We were down to just a handful of members, and our spirits were flagging. Disbandment seemed imminent.
I relished this challenge to better demonstrate the utility of our branch church, knowing we could rely on God’s guidance.
At this time, my life was burgeoning with opportunities and signs of progress, but the church’s appeared to be declining. I could not accept the reality of such an imbalance; it was not consistent with what I knew to be true from my study of Christian Science, which assures us that “progress is the law of God” (Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 233). To me, this has always meant there cannot be progress in one area of our life and not in another, because that would be inconsistent with divine law. God’s law of Life governs man, and this Life is not fragmented, compartmentalized, or out of balance, but reflected in indivisible good.
Furthermore, for decades our church had been a blessing to me and to our congregation, and many of the church’s neighbors had expressed gratitude for its presence in the neighborhood. I was confident that anything that was a blessing to mankind couldn’t be thwarted or closed down, since God’s laws uphold and maintain His own ideas.
It seemed to me that our circumstances were offering each of us, as members, a glorious opportunity to demonstrate this in regard to our branch church, and to elevate our concept of what Church is and rededicate our lives to its healing mission. I relished this challenge to better demonstrate the utility of our branch, knowing we could rely on God’s guidance.
The thoughts that came to me in prayer gave me courage. One of them, for instance, was the idea that “one with God is a majority.” Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer of Christian Science, makes reference to these words of Wendell Phillips in her Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896 (see p. 245). I saw that progress doesn’t depend on numbers of members. All it takes is for any one person to understand man’s oneness with God—to know that God is ever present, all-knowing, and all-powerful, and that we are inseparable from His wisdom and love.
As I prayed, I kept in mind these lines from the definition of Church in Science and Health: “The structure of Truth and Love; whatever rests upon and proceeds from divine Principle” (p. 583). I knew that this spiritual structure, built on the recognition of spiritual reality and the demonstration of Christ-healing, is eternal and can’t be lost or destroyed. These truths became so compelling as to embolden me not to give up, but to allow God to point out the way.
It became apparent to me that my prayers also needed to address the signs of apathy and lack of activity that seem to characterize declining memberships, and that I had to reverse this false picture about our church in my own thought. I realized that there was one God, one Mind, governing us all, energizing and activating His ideas. No division can exist in this Mind, nor is any fear able to rob us of our hope and expectation of success.
A couple of public Christian Science events we hosted and the prayers of a Christian Science practitioner, engaged to support our prayers for our church, were instrumental to our progress. It wasn’t long before we began to see signs of growth. Several longtime attendees of our services enthusiastically applied for membership in one week.
All in all, looking back, it was a time to expand our understanding of God as all-inclusive Love.
One of the first practical steps we took was to stand outside on the church’s front porch before the services and testimony meetings, greeting the neighbors, passersby, and attendees with genuine love and affection. This put an end to the belief that we were a cold and unloving group. One man exclaimed that in all the years of passing by the church, it was not until recently that he’d had a desire to come in. He loved us and we loved him, and now he is a church member.
We also decided we would drop all labels. Anyone who came into our thoughts or passed through our doors, we were determined not to think of in terms of being young or old, rich or poor, educated or simple—all would be seen as God’s child. Precious in every way and equal in quality.
Little by little, new people began to attend our services and meetings. Now, at Wednesday evening testimony meetings one has to stand up quickly to testify to God’s loving and healing care, or someone else will pop up first! Seldom is there any period of silence, and many give gratitude for the existence of our church as an anchor for their faith.
Early in our reestablishment, a man came in during a Sunday service looking for a quiet place to reflect on God. He said he knew instantly that this was his church. No one here was going to criticize him, or judge him. The music and readings seemed prepared just for him. He joined. He is now married, and he and his wife have been members for several years, and their son is in our Sunday School.
Another young man who was walking by the church felt drawn to come in. After attending services for a few months, he was quickly healed of a long-standing problem of marijuana use. We are also grateful for another man’s freedom from gang harassment. This was a very troubling, even threatening, situation. The harassment ended when the man realized that everyone involved was truly God’s child—His image and likeness, and therefore good—despite appearances. Both of these men became church members.
All in all, looking back, it was a time to expand our understanding of God as all-inclusive Love. It turned out to be an inspiring experience, a wake-up call for us all to demonstrate the utility of our church by expressing impartial, divine Love as we had never done before.
Now our church is fully functioning, with new visitors coming in frequently. Blessings and healings abound at our services, a testament to what our prayers for church make possible.
