In "Twelve Years with Mary Baker Eddy" an incident is related that is of special interest to members of branch Churches of Christ, Scientist. We are told by the author, Irving C. Tomlinson, that when a branch church was formed in the city where Mrs. Eddy resided at the time, several experienced students of Christian Science, of whom he was one, prepared by-laws for the new church. These provided that practically all of the church business was to be taken care of by a board of trustees, thus leaving the members little voice in the government of their church. When these by-laws were presented to Mrs. Eddy for her approval, she returned them as unsuitable, saying that they copied the By-Laws of The Mother Church, and that the government of The Mother Church could not be used as a model for branch churches. The account continues, "New By-Laws were then formed, which placed the affairs of the church in the hands of its members, who were to elect the Trustees, and decide all important questions affecting the branch church. The Trustees were to look after the business of the church in the interim between church membership meetings, but the church, as Mrs. Eddy desired it, was to be a democratic institution." It is reported that Mrs. Eddy gave her endorsement to these by-laws.
In the Manual of The Mother Church Mrs. Eddy states that the government of each branch church shall be democratic, and in "The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany" she writes (pp.246, 247): "The Magna Charta of Christian Science means much, multum in parvo,— all-in-one and one-in-all. It stands for the inalienable, universal rights of men. Essentially democratic, its government is administered by the common consent of the governed, wherein and whereby man governed by his creator is self-governed."
The trustees or directors of a branch church do not seek to impose an autocratic rule upon their fellow church members. While it is necessary that they attend to the business of the church and make certain decisions, they bring important matters before membership meetings, where the issues involved may be discussed by the members and voted upon.
An invitation to a branch church members meeting might be phrased in the Scriptural words (Isa. 1:18), "Come now, and let us reason together." At this meeting, the individual church member feels free to speak constructively concerning any questions to be decided upon and to vote according to his honest convictions. The decision reached by a majority vote may not always be the best or wisest one. But those in the minority, while cheerfully accepting the outcome of the vote, can always recognize that divine Principle, Love, on which the true Church is built, is always present in church affairs to bring about harmonious adjustment whenever it is needed.
If all decisions concerning the business of a branch church were made by the church board and the members had little part in the government of their church, there might develop a false sense of harmony, a seeming "peace, peace; when there is no peace" (Jer. 6:14). In a certain branch church where church affairs were not usually discussed in the membership meetings and a vote was seldom taken except for the election of church officers, a gradual change took place. The church government began to conform more closely to democratic fundamentals. When it became apparent that some of the windows in the church needed repairing and strengthening and that this would entail a rather large expenditure for a small church membership, a meeting was called by the clerk of the church to determine the members' wishes in the matter. At once it was voted unanimously that the repairs be taken care of immediately, and generous contributions soon began to come in. The work progressed harmoniously and was well done. In addition, although not anticipated, almost enough money to cover the cost of the window repairs became available through two insurance policies. The foregoing incident shows that the orderly democratic conduct of church business makes for cooperation and harmony.
The democratic procedure of membership meetings provides a good testing ground for the church member's understanding of Christian Science. If he is tempted at times to harbor resentment, envy, intolerance, self-righteousness, malice, or a sense of injustice, he should realize that such errors are inconsistent with the religion he is professing and strive to overcome them and prove them false through the demonstration of his real, spiritual identity, which, as God's likeness, is invariably loving, harmonious, pure, and perfect.
The spiritually enlightened student recognizes that dissension and division among church members are engendered by animal magnetism, or the anti-Christ, and he is therefore alert to watch his thinking concerning the church and church members. He endeavors to maintain at all times the correct view of man as Mind's perfect idea and to hold in thought the spiritual concept of Church, which is given us by Mrs. Eddy in her definition of "Church" in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p.583): "The structure of Truth and Love; whatever rests upon and proceeds from divine Principle."
Still pertinent is Paul's admonition to the Christians at Ephesus (Eph. 4:1—3), "I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." While preparing to attend a business meeting in the branch church of which she is a member, a student found herself hoping that a certain member whom she considered somewhat domineering would not be elected to a position in the church. Immediately there came to her thought this statement from "A Rule for Motives and Acts" from the Church Manual (Art. VIII, Sect. 1): "Neither animosity nor mere personal attachment should impel the motives or acts of the members of The Mother Church." The student then saw clearly that she should silence the thought of false personality and vote for the members most fitted to fill the different positions.
The presence of animosity in one's thinking may be more readily detected than that of "mere personal attachment," yet in the foregoing admonition they are classed together as being equally undesirable. When deciding whom we shall vote for in church elections, the question should not be how well we personally like a church member. Rather, our consideration should be whether the one we vote for is an earnest, consecrated student of Christian Science and a regular church attendant, and whether he is demonstrating the truths of this religion in his daily living. Workers possessing these qualifications can contribute much to the efficient, harmonious government of a branch church.
As the student of Christian Science lovingly and conscientiously takes an active part in the democratic government of the branch church of which he is a member he is helping to fulfill the function of the church, which is outlined in the second part of our Leader's definition of "Church" as follows: "The Church is that institution, which affords proof of its utility and is found elevating the race, rousing the dormant understanding from material beliefs to the apprehension of spiritual ideas and the demonstration of divine Science, thereby casting out devils, or error, and healing the sick."