Dear Members of The Mother Church,
James J. Rome learned about Christian Science in the late 1800s after he moved from his native Scotland to the United States. He later became both a practitioner and teacher of Christian
Science. By 1906 he lived just a few blocks from the construction site in Boston that was soon to be the Extension of The Mother Church, and as he later recounted, he was asked by a member of the Christian Science Board of Directors “to do a little watching at the church” when the completion of the project was in doubt.
After the church building was finished and dedicated—on time—Mr. Rome wrote a letter of gratitude to Mary Baker Eddy that included these words: “But what of this magnificent structure? Whence did it come? To me it is the result of the love that trembled in one human heart when it whispered: ‘Dear God, may I not take this precious truth and give it to my brothers and sisters?’ How can we ever thank God enough for such an one,—ever thank you enough for your unselfed love” (Mary Baker Eddy, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, pp. 60–62).
