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For most people, the atonement is a difficult theological concept. “Please explain it to me,” is a fairly common request.

Q: What if one has a desire to devote more time to the Christian Science healing practice but is struggling to find the time? A: Instead of thinking of going into the healing practice as a process, simply begin to practice. Let your love for God and humanity overcome the fear of lack of time or ability.

Maximum security cell block —Oregon State Penitentiary, summer of 1987. It was noisy and chaotic, but my fellow branch church member—a Christian Science healer and chaplain—moved along, cell by cell, with great calm.

One of Jesus’ final teachings, given to his disciples just days before his crucifixion, includes the instruction to minister to the needs of those less fortunate. He taught of the Son of man commending the work of those who took his mission out into the world.

I grew up in a close family who participated in a Christian Science Church and Sunday School, so from a very young age I learned of Mary Baker Eddy’s lifework: her discovery of Christian Science, writing a book ( Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures ), and founding a church. As a young girl I was so struck by all that she had accomplished as a 19th-century woman.

It’s hard to describe how grateful I am for Mary Baker Eddy and the Church she founded. Her teachings have defined my life since I came to Christian Science in high school, from a mainstream Protestant background.

You might say my family’s “contact” with the Founder of Christian Science and her teachings occurred at the end of her career. At that time, after several tragic years, my grandfather was healed of alcoholism by a Spanish countess, an American by birth, who had become a Christian Science practitioner.

In the 1920s my grandmother was given a book that was to change her life. She had lost her husband in the Great War, and she had two children to bring up on her own with very little money.

A letter to the Los Angeles Times   some years ago in response to a thought-provoking article about church caught my attention. The writer of the letter, who identified herself as a member of a Protestant denomination, lamented that her denomination had gone through what she called a “dumbing-down process.

In evaluating and analyzing world affairs from the daily news, it seems logical to identify the presence of good or evil with a particular person or group of people. Not only are these attributes applied to prominent personalities who receive ample media coverage, but are also present closer to home—with family members, neighbors, fellow employees, etc.