When our Christian Science society decided to renovate our church building in 2021, we titled the central theme for the project “This Old Church,” a fond reference to a show in which old homes are restored and renovated. To us, this title described our labor of love and our church’s potential for renewal and revitalization. In that spirit, this renovation was a demonstration of the whole church, and our members are happy to have Wendy share the account of it here.
—The Members of Christian Science Society,
Lexington Park, Maryland, US
In Mary Baker Eddy’s primary text on Christian Science, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, she writes, “God is at once the centre and circumference of being” (pp. 203–204). In her Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896, she restates this fact even more succinctly: “God is All, in all.” And she goes on to say, “What can be more than All? Nothing: and this is just what I call matter, nothing” (p. 26).
How can we think of matter as nothing when one needs a job or money or supplies? Recently, it has seemed as though the center or hub of existence were the COVID-19 virus, with the spokes coming out from this hub being things such as sickness, economic uncertainty, job loss, social isolation, and supply chain issues. But this is a material construct. If we see God, divine Mind, as the hub of being, that means divine Mind is the originator of all. Because God, Mind, is good, all ideas stemming from Him must be good—unique and individual, yes, but also always good. And because we are God’s creation, we are all constantly receiving and acting upon good thoughts originating in Mind.
In the Bible we find many accounts of people overcoming lack. After being led by Moses out of Egypt, the children of Israel complained of their hunger and longed for the food they had had while enslaved. Their need was met by God’s continual provision. Christ Jesus fed thousands when only a few loaves of bread and a few fish were available. Another time, the tax money Jesus and his disciple Peter needed was found in a fish’s mouth. Moses, Jesus, and others in the Bible demonstrated that abundance, not limitation, is God’s law of supply.
Over the past year, we’ve had the opportunity to demonstrate this spiritual law of supply in our church. As president of the board of trustees of our branch Church of Christ, Scientist, I felt led to suggest to the other members that we might pursue a grant from a trust established under the will of Mary Baker Eddy to help us address a long-standing mold issue in our church building, as well as to make other necessary improvements.
With a small membership and a small bank balance, we prayed about how to raise twenty percent of the cost, as required for the grant. Specifically, I acknowledged that the running of the church was not in mortal hands, but in accord with God’s wisdom. The answer came in a generous offer from a church member to match donations up to a certain amount, which enabled us to raise the necessary twenty percent.
In praying for our church, I found several scriptural passages especially helpful as the board worked together gathering price quotes, filling out the grant application, and coordinating the work with various contractors. The following verses from First Corinthians were pertinent: “Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all” (12:4–6).
This commitment to pray for church resulted in wonderful demonstrations of supply. We submitted the required paperwork, and later were notified our church had been awarded the grant.
When the painters informed us of a nationwide paint shortage, we prayed to see the spiritual qualities the paint represented, such as beauty and protection—qualities that are never in short supply. Soon after, one of the painters, rather perplexed, informed me that somehow, despite the shortage, they were able to secure the necessary paint for the church.
When it came time for the new gutters to be installed, the vendor told me the cost of supplies had risen since the original estimate, pushing the total cost above the amount of the grant. In prayer, our church worked to acknowledge that the needs of the church, as well as the needs of the vendor, would be met. After installing the gutters, the vendor decided he would honor the original estimate.
And, although the delivery of the new Sunday School furniture was delayed, we continued to hold Sunday School classes uninterrupted.
All told, within seven months, the improvements were completed, including the mold remediation, new paint inside and out, new gutters, new carpet, new Sunday School furniture, new signage, and new exterior drains. Additionally, we had raised more than the twenty percent required for the grant, and this extra money paid—to the penny—for the unexpected cost we incurred for some needed carpentry work.
However modest our needs are compared to those of the children of Israel and the multitudes who followed Christ Jesus, these needs, in whatever form they take, will be met by divine Love, God, just as their needs were met. “Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need” (Science and Health, p. 494).
