Articles

WHAT IF A CHURCH BUILDING burned to ashes: black paper powder instead of hymnals and committee reports, smoke instead of furniture and walls. What would be left of Church? Everything! One may ask, "What burned then if Church is left intact?" Papers, drywall, and tiles were burnt, but not Church! Then what is this Church unconsumed by fire—indestructible in every way? How often did Jesus refer to church activity? Didn't Jesus mention the word church only three times in the entire Gospels? Did Jesus only deliver a message of love to humanity and not mean to get involved with church activities, which started later? No, Jesus lived his concept of Church.

THE FIRST GLIMMERS of my commitment to the practice of Christian Science, and the healing love that it brings, began in a hospital in another country, thousands of miles from my home in the United States, with the words of a pediatrician: "Your son has a 50–50 chance of living through the night. If he lives, he will in all likelihood be physically and/or mentally handicapped.

The History of Christian Science class teaching begins in 1866, the year Mary Baker Patterson (later Mary Baker Eddy) suffered a serious injury in an accident. Three days later, to the amazement of her friends, she was healed.

1. Leigh Daugherty's article, "Keeping Confident in Christian Healing," brings fresh, experience-based inspiration to the Journal's feature section this month.

MY RIDING INSTRUCTOR WAS NOT HAPPY. I'd been trotting my horse, Belle, on a circle in the grass, and she'd been poking her nose up and looking around, blatantly ignoring my cues.

LAST YEAR the Christian Science Board of Directors came to Uruguay and met with a group of about 20 young people in Montevideo, the capital. I was there.

Why Me? I KNEW THAT I COULD STUDY AND PRACTICE Christian Science without being a member of a church. So, when members of the branch church I was attending encouraged me to join, I didn't really understand why I should, although I enjoyed the inspiration I was getting from the services.

I WAS RAISED IN A VERY RELIGIOUS AND LOVING HINDU FAMILY in India. Prayer has always been a part of my life, but I thought prayer mostly involved doing things such as fasting, chanting, worshipping idols, and making pilgrimages to certain religious sites.

LOOKING BACK ON THE IMPACT of my first healing in Christian Science—an instantaneous and permanent release from migraine headaches—I'm struck by how this Science helped prepare me to put down fear and trust God completely even in the midst of uncertainties. I saw that right where doubts and difficulties appear, then and there God's love strengthens us.

I WAS READY TO BE MARRIED. I had a home, a career, investments, even a cool car.