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Sitting against the base of a cypress tree, he was not suspicious or forlorn as were some of the men around him. He was reading his Bible and greeted me warmly, saying, “How are you, brother? Grateful for your words, the food, and the book.

When I was five years old, my mom took me to a Christian Science Sunday School for the first time. I continued practicing Christian Science until I was 26, when I met my soon-to-be husband, who was a devout member of another religion.

An understanding and appreciation of the Manual of The Mother Church by Mary Baker Eddy is vital to the progress of every sincere Christian Scientist—but perhaps from a different perspective than may at first be obvious. When we read and study the Church Manual, we certainly become aware of the functioning of the Church body.

“Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation. … And these signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name they will cast out demons;.

At first read, a person might simply pass over that verse—it could sound like just any other colorful, poetic sentence from the Bible. But when I’ve stopped to think it through, I’ve seen that it presents significant, meaningful, and helpful guidance for effective prayer.

Words of truth read during the Lesson-Sermons at all our Christian Science churches have the power to heal every discordant condition that may be troubling those listening to the service. The truths in the words of the church solos and the hymns that the congregations sing, carry the same healing power.

During most of Mary Baker Eddy’s lifetime, the King James, or Authorized Version of the Bible, first published in 1611, reigned supreme as the accepted translation used by English-speaking Protestants and their churches. And it’s clear, from the many positive comments Eddy makes about the King James Version in her writings, that it informed her Christian devotion and practice from childhood onward, and that she deeply loved it.

According to physical science, when the material eye sees rays of light coming from the sun, it is actually a visual effect, or illusion, caused by dust and some form of mist or haze in the air. With just the smallest suggestion of matter, separate, individual rays of sunlight seem to appear.

Christmas is a celebration of the light and life of Christ Jesus. It’s a season to cherish God’s “Son-light”—the timeless Christ dawning in individual human consciousness.

I have loved reading the series this year on “What membership in The Mother Church means to me,” and I am reminded nostalgically, and with some amusement, of my own experience with becoming a member. When I turned 12 years old, I was living just outside of Boston and was attending Sunday School at The Mother Church.