Every three years, the Board of Education, an auxiliary to the Massachusetts Metaphysical College, holds a Normal class to prepare and authorize dedicated practitioners of Christian Science to teach this healing practice. This past year the entire membership of The Mother Church was specially invited to prayerfully support this Manual-authorized class, and the response to this request was immediate and effective. It helped awaken thought worldwide to the importance of the Normal class to the Cause, as well as to the foundational role of Primary class instruction in the life of a practicing Christian Scientist. We’re so happy to tell you that this Normal class, which took place in early December 2018, has graduated a class of inspired and devoted new teachers who are ready to serve in countries around the world.
Jill Gooding, CSB, of Ripley, Surrey, England, taught the class. After attending college in the United States, Jill served as Dean of Women at Oswego University in New York State. Later, she and her husband, John, raised their daughter and son in England, where Jill has filled many posts in her branch church and devoted her life to the public practice of Christian Science. Truly “a citizen of the world,” Jill has served on the Christian Science Board of Directors, lectured all over the world for ten years, and served as President of The Mother Church. She also represented The Mother Church on a trip to Eastern Europe after the Berlin Wall came down. She has been a Christian Science teacher since 1985.
The 2018 Normal class included students from six countries: Australia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Germany, Togo, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
