Welcome

THESE DAYS CHURCHES EVERYWHERE LOOK FOR MEANINGFUL WAYS to meet the needs of their parishioners while trying to keep pace with a world changing faster than the latest version of iPhone. In such a rapidly changing environment, how does a church remain a dynamic and yet stable constant in a world in flux? For the last 2,000 years, Christians have looked primarily to their churches for spiritual sustenance, guidance, and companionship.

GREETINGS OF THE NEW YEAR! WHAT A TREMENDOUS FUTURE WE all have in store! As we look back over the last year—and look forward to 2009—we feel profound gratitude for the continuing good that divine Love brings to each of us individually, and to our dear Christian Science Publishing Society. And as we prepare to launch into our next year of publication, we are acutely aware that the world faces changes and transitions that will surely challenge governments, communities, businesses, families, and each one of us in our daily life.

CHRISTMAS. WHAT A BEAUTIFUL, NOSTALGIC, ALL-JUMBLED-UP TIME of year.

THIS MONTH, WE RECOGNIZE THE NOTABLE MILESTONE OF OUR sister publication The Christian Science Monitor, which reaches its 100th year of publication. Add the fact that this newspaper was started by a woman, Mary Baker Eddy, and the milestone is unparalleled.

When I stumbled onto the teachings of Christian Science as an adult, I already had some pretty firm concepts about Christianity. A lifelong searcher for truth—and a well-taught Protestant —I still had no idea how thoroughly my world would turn inside out and upside down (all in good ways!) because of what this Science would teach me about spirituality and the true nature of reality.

A COMMERCIAL I'VE SEEN A FEW TIMES ON TV RECENTLY SHOWS a series of tiny vignettes: A pedestrian steps off the curb, unwittingly in danger, and the stranger next to him pulls him to safety. Several more incidents follow where strangers help other strangers in small and sometimes tender ways.

LIMA, PERU. "¡BUENO!" OR IN ENGLISH, "GOOD!" IT'S AN EXPRESSION THAT punctuates a lot of conversations in Latin America.

SEVEN SYNONYMS FOR GOD. ONLY SEVEN? The Bible calls God by many names, including Father, Shepherd, Elohim, The Great I AM.

WHEN I WAS A KID, I REMEMBER LEARNING THE TEN COMMANDMENTS in my Protestant Sunday School class. The church I grew up in stressed the importance of the Commandments, and when my teacher told me I must love God more than anyone or anything, I just knew I was a sinner.

RECENTLY MY DAUGHTER ASKED IF I KNEW ANY SONGS WITH THE WORD baby in them for her friend's baby shower. After coming up with only a couple from memory, I took the natural next step: Google search.