What are the specific responsibilities and opportunities of the President, one of the Church officers? A By-Law in the Church Manual states, “The President shall be elected, subject to the approval of the Pastor Emeritus, by the Board of Directors on Monday preceding the annual meeting of the Church” (Mary Baker Eddy, p. 25). Mary Baker Eddy did not specify official duties for the President, and the nature of that role has varied throughout its 130-year history.
In the early days of The Mother Church, a group of Mrs. Eddy’s students called First Members handled many of its administrative affairs. In 1892 Eddy wrote to First Member William B. Johnson about the need for a Mother Church President. When the first edition of the Church Manual was published in 1895, it included a By-Law specifying that the President was to serve no more than a one-year term but was eligible for election once every three years.
Eddy wrote to Johnson again on January 21, 1896, as follows: “When you call a special meeting for business—Require the President to take with him to this meeting the Church Manual. Then to refer to its Rules and By-laws when you are not clear on any question and see that they are strictly adhered to” (L00131, The Mary Baker Eddy Library; © The Mary Baker Eddy Collection).
