About the new cover:

From In Defense of Mary Baker Eddy, and the Remnant of Her Seed, by Paul R. Smillie:

In the Christian Science Sentinel of September 6, 1913 on page ten, Archibald McLellan stated three most important points about the cover of the Sentinel and a minor change made at that time on its cover. Speaking of this change he said, “Beyond this there can be neither desire nor occasion for change in the Sentinel, because,” he said, “Mrs. Eddy’s instructions forbid any change.” He explained this by saying, “Mrs. Eddy likewise gave instructions.” The word “instructions” is most important. Speaking then of the two women, the lamps and the inscriptions beneath them, he said they had been “preserved as expressive of our Leader’s thought. ...” Mrs. Eddy requested that the cover of the Sentinel be light blue in color.”

The Church Manual

Miscellaneous Writings, page 148

The Rules and By-laws in the Manual of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, Boston, originated not in solemn conclave as in ancient Sanhedrim. They were not arbitrary opinions nor dictatorial demands, such as one person might impose on another. They were impelled by a power not one’s own, were written at different dates, and as the occasion required. They sprang from necessity, the logic of events, — from the immediate demand for them as a help that must be supplied to maintain the dignity and defense of our Cause; hence their simple, scientific basis, and detail so requisite to demonstrate genuine Christian Science, and which will do for the race what absolute doctrines destined for future generations might not accomplish.

Collectanea of Items By and About Mary Baker Eddy, p. 52

We think before we speak, then if our thought is right our words will be as nearly right as our thoughts; but if our thoughts are wrong and our words are right, the result will follow the wrong direction. We may deceive man but we cannot deceive God. He searcheth the heart and rewards or punishes the motive until the act follows in the right direction. Oh! Thou eternal Love, I leave my adopted children — and Thy children — to Thee who art wisdom, unfailing and unfaltering wisdom and Love, to guard them in this hour of the attempted reign of M. A. M., the reign and rule of all that is selfish, debased and unjust.

My beloved students: Enter into the closet of divine Love and there in humility ask this ever-present power to shield and to defend you from the enemies of your souls and bodies, to defend you and guard you and guide you in the paths of righteousness, pleasantness and Truth.

Be not deceived; “God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” God knows your motive and will reward it or punish it according to His wisdom and justice, not yours. Not the so-called human, but the divine wisdom shall reign despite your mistaken human hopes, motives or acts. Examine your motives; ask if selfish desire governs them; or if in obedience to the divine command you are taking up your cross and following Him. Self-seeking will never result in Soul-finding — in finding divine wisdom and Love apart from self, and self swallowed up in a victory of Soul.

There is but one way of salvation from sin, disease and death, and this way is to take up the cross in order to follow Christ; then God, who knows your motive, will reward your act according to that motive and not according to your words. Hear O Israel: You cannot succeed with a wrong motive, for it will result in a wrong act.

Cleanse your hearts, ye doubleminded, and keep your account with God, for ye shall be judged according to the Book of Life that registers motives, and records the impulses of Mind, not matter. Let thy tongue and thy pen be employed in the execution of right motives, then shall thy reward come from heaven, that overcometh the powers of earth and wherein and whereby man deals justly, walks humbly.

Miscellaneous Writings, page 99

Science is absolute and final. It is revolutionary in its very nature; for it upsets all that is not upright. It annuls false evidence, and saith to the five material senses, “Having eyes ye see not, and ears ye hear not; neither can you understand.” To weave one thread of Science through the looms of time, is a miracle in itself. The risk is stupendous. It cost Galileo, what? This awful price: the temporary loss of his self-respect. His fear overcame his loyalty; the courage of his convictions fell before it. Fear is the weapon in the hands of tyrants.

Men and women of the nineteenth century, are you called to voice a higher order of Science? Then obey this call. Go, if you must, to the dungeon or the scaffold, but take not back the words of Truth. How many are there ready to suffer for a righteous cause, to stand a long siege, take the front rank, face the foe, and be in the battle every day?

In no other one thing seemed Jesus of Nazareth more divine than in his faith in the immortality of his words. He said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away;” and they have not. The winds of time sweep clean the centuries, but they can never bear into oblivion his words. They still live, and to-morrow speak louder than to-day. They are to-day as the voice of one crying in the wilderness, “Make straight God’s paths; make way for health, holiness, universal harmony, and come up hither.” The grandeur of the word, the power of Truth, is again casting out evils and healing the sick; and it is whispered, “This is Science.”

Our common Master did not pen

His followers up from other men;

His service liberty indeed,

He built no church, he framed no creed;

But while the saintly Pharisee

Made broader his phylactery,

As from the synagogue was seen

The dusty-sandalled Nazarene

Through ripening cornfields lead the way

Upon the awful Sabbath day,

His sermons were the healthful talk

That shorter made the mountain-walk,

His wayside texts were flowers and birds,

Where mingled with his gracious words

The rustle of the tamarisk-tree

And ripple-wash of Galilee.”

“Thy words are well, O friend,” I said;

“Unmeasured and unlimited,

With noiseless slide of stone to stone,

The mystic Church of God has grown.

Invisible and silent stands

The temple never made with hands,

Unheard the voices still and small

Of its unseen confessional.

He needs no special place of prayer

Whose hearing ear is everywhere;

He brings not back the childish days

That ringed the earth with stones of praise,

Roofed Karnak’s hall of gods, and laid

The plinths of Philæ‘s colonnade.

Still less he owns the selfish good

And sickly growth of solitude,—

The worthless grace that, out of sight,

Flowers in the desert anchorite;

Dissevered from the suffering whole,

Love hath no power to save a soul.

Not out of Self, the origin

And native air and soil of sin,

The living waters spring and flow,

The trees with leaves of healing grow.

“Dream not, O friend, because I seek

This quiet shelter twice a week,

I better deem its pine-laid floor

Than breezy hill or sea-sung shore;

But nature is not solitude;

She crowds us with her thronging wood;

Her many hands reach out to us,

Her many tongues are garrulous;

Perpetual riddles of surprise

She offers to our ears and eyes;

She will not leave our senses still,

But drags them captive at her will;

And, making earth too great for heaven,

She hides the Giver in the given.

“And so I find it well to come

For deeper rest to this still room,

For here the habit of the soul

Feels less the outer world’s control;

The strength of mutual purpose pleads

More earnestly our common needs;

And from the silence multiplied

By these still forms on either side,

The world that time and sense have known

Falls off and leaves us God alone.

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Interesting Squibs

All who call on God in true faith, earnestly from the heart, will certainly be heard, and will receive what they have asked and desired.

Faith is believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe.

More things are wrought by prayer than the world dreams of.

We impoverish God in our minds when we say there must be answers to our prayers on the material plane; the biggest answers to our prayers are in the realm of the unseen.

It takes an intellectual to solve a problem but a genius to prevent one.

Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.

An evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God, is the great sin of the human race. This has in all ages led nations and families, as well as individuals, to seek help in trouble from man rather than from God, and always to their disappointment and ruin.

The less government interferes with private pursuits, the better for general prosperity.

All the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom; justice; honor; duty; mercy; hope.

It’s a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it.

The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.

There is no passion to be found in playing small—in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.

A ship in the harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.

He who fears being conquered is sure of defeat.

The reward of a thing well done is to have it done.

Advice is like snow; the softer it falls the longer it dwells upon, and the deeper it sinks into the mind.

You can observe a lot just by watching.

We cannot do everything at once, but we can do something at once.

Eternity is the present hour.

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History Corner

Christian Science Journal 1897

In the park system around Philadelphia is the beautiful Wissahickon Park, where there is a massive stone building erected in 1738 called the “Monastery.” Its historical interest arises from the fact that it served as the place of worship of a peculiar sect which came from Germany known as German Pietists — but the locals called them the “Hermits of the Ridge.”

There were forty men, under the leadership of Johannes Kelpius, a young scholar and mystic, of great piety and spirituality, who was drawn to the New World by his religious faith.

Kelpius and his followers were earnest and enthusiastic students of the Bible. They were rigid moralists, having turned their backs upon the world and its allurements, pursuing in their wilderness retreat a systematic study of the sacred Word. They were manifestly governed only by a deep and serious purpose to learn and live the spiritual teachings of the Bible. By their piety, meekness, and simplicity, they made a deep impression upon the religious life of Pennsylvania, many traces of which are yet seen.

The primary purpose of this sect in coming to the “wilderness” of Pennsylvania was that they expected there to find or have revealed to them the Woman of the Apocalypse, — the “Woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and twelve stars on her forehead. She who had fled to the wilderness.” It is said that their reasons for coming to Pennsylvania were that from many events and signs,—in which the Thirty-years’ War, the newness of the country, its peculiar situation, etc., cut an important figure, it was believed America was the place for the coming of the “promised one,” the “Deliverer.”

While their hopes and expectations were not realized within the time and in the manner looked for, we who observe the present signs of the times can readily see that they had caught glimpses of coming events that may well be said to have been prophetic. Truly in the “wilderness” of America has appeared the “promised one,” the “Deliverer,” and we rejoice and are privileged to see that “glad day so long foretold,” and for the coming of which so many devout hearts have longed and prayed.

Regarding Mary Baker Eddy’s place as the Woman in the Apocalypse, Rev. G. A. Kratzer, in his book Revelation Interpreted, has some very interesting notes on Revelation 12:6.

Verse 6. “And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and three score days.”

“Coincidently with the disappearing of pure spiritual truth from the activities of the visible world, the love of pure truth, divine love, the ‘woman,’ disappeared, for the most part, from the world of men. Such sense of truth and love as they had was adulterated, after the second or third century, with belief in material powers, love thereof, and with reliance upon material means for healing the sick, etc. When Jesus, near the commencement of his ministry, was not active in the visible world, preaching and healing, for a period of forty days, he was spoken of as being ‘in the wilderness.’ He was simply ‘withdrawn from the world,’ withdrawn from material sense into spiritual sense. Likewise this ‘woman,’ this spirit of divine love, is represented as being ‘withdrawn from the world,’ and so ‘in the wilderness’ from the standpoint of the world’s activity, for ‘a thousand two hundred and threescore days.’ This is the period or length of time repeatedly spoken of by St. John as the period during which the dragon, or evil, is to have marked and undoubted ascendency in the mental realm and in the world, so far as men are concerned.

“It is interesting to note that one Bible commentator has described this period as a period of 1,260 ‘years’ lasting ‘from A. D. 606, when the Pope of Rome was, by Phocus the Emperor, constituted the universal Bishop of the Christian church, to A. D. 1866.’ (The Self Interpreting Bible.) This commentator probably did not know, that 1866 was the date when Mrs. Eddy discovered Christian Science, that reappearance of pure spiritual truth in the world, which undoubtedly presages the early fall of the dragon and of all those human institutions, organizations, and forms of government which derive their power largely from the dragon.”

How blessed we are to have the privilege of living in this time! “May we be worthy such a grace.” (Hymn 176)

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From the Early Workers

In reality, what is the difference between 1888 and 1889? None. With God “one day is as a thousand years.” Our human years are vain attempts to compute infinite time, when there is no infinite time, the very terms involving a contradiction. Infinity is boundless; time is bounded; therefore there can be no infinite, or limitless, time. “Time shall be no more,” said the Revelator.

With God, there is only the eternal Now. In divine order the earth, like every other planet, swings about the sun. The time thus occupied we call a year; yet our computation is not accurate. It takes more than 365 days for this revolution, so we add a day every four years; but even then the estimate is imperfect, and once in so many centuries we must drop our Leap Year Day. It is as if God laughed at our feeble attempts to rightly divide the indivisible.

As saith the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians, quoting from one of the ancient Jewish prophet-poets:

I have heard thee in a time accepted,

And in the day of salvation have I succored thee;

Behold, now is the accepted time,

Behold, now is the day of salvation.

Dispose of its adverse happenings of the past; they never were. Your line of ancestry does not trace back to mortality. You came direct from eternal Life. In fact you are that Life on exhibition in the world.

Only this morning a woman stepped into the office who had recently sustained injuries interfering with her ability to navigate. This morning she walked naturally. Her face was bright and beaming. Her eye was clear and glad. She asked me, “Do you know how I did it? I kept saying, Thank God I am able to walk.”

Here is the key to the situation. Do not think you have to prove anything. You do not. You have to gratefully acknowledge what already is. And the fact is you are fashioned in perfection. Nothing has been added or subtracted which would mar your symmetry. You never inherited anything less than the best.

The memory of wrongs, evils, failures, must yield its ghost to the angels of Truth which show that error never really happened, nor made history. A student was talking with Mrs. Eddy, telling our Leader how her husband was suffering from injuries received in the Civil War. Mrs. Eddy quickly asked, “What war?” The lady explained, “Why the Civil War.” Mrs. Eddy again asked, “What war?” Again the explanation, “Why the Civil War between the North and South.” Still the same question, “What war?” but she added, “I see you both believe there was a war.” With that, the light broke through.

Today should be our Pentecostal Day, the day on which we are filled with spiritual Power, or filled with the Holy Ghost. If there is any feeling of disturbance in our thought this morning; if there is any bitterness, or dislike, or aversion to anyone, or to anything in all the world; if there is a clouded past or an anxiety for the future, let it all vanish into its native nothingness. And let us breathe in silent prayer the words of our beloved Leader, “Fill us today, with all Thou art, be Thou our saint, our stay, alway.”

What are the vital points in this prayer? Not only service and love for mankind, but the great need of being responsive to Truth only. In this way, material resistance to Truth is made nothing, and we are free to reflect spiritual power.

How does this spiritual power come to the individual student? Spiritual power comes through our individual responsiveness to Truth. In the proportion that we are responsive to Truth and let Truth be present in us and as us, there is also present active, spiritual power. And all material resistance will disappear from our consciousness in the proportion that we free ourselves from the false claims of error.

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Current Articles

Every year on January 1, we hear about people making New Year’s resolutions. It always reminds me of something Mary Baker Eddy wrote in Science and Health, on page 253: “If you believe in and practice wrong knowingly, you can at once change your course and do right.” Why wait for the first of January when, as Mrs. Eddy says, we can at once change our course, and with no waiting!

In my home it is usually quiet over holidays, as it was this Christmas. In our Hymnal, Hymn 146 says, “In God I find a precious gift ... the gift of gratitude.” I claimed that as my gift on Christmas day, and it became for me, a gift that kept on giving.

It opened by my being grateful for all the good I witnessed this past year — more spiritual growth than I have ever experienced! — which led me to be grateful for Plainfield Church and all its provisions that helped to open my thought wide for such growth!

And this gift then led me to be grateful for Mrs. Eddy’s provision for Wednesday evening testimony meetings, and for my ability to share at them. This was not always easy for me; in fact, that is an understatement — I just couldn’t do it. But in our Manual, under Testimonials, Mrs. Eddy states that testimonies “scale the pinnacle of praise,” and I wanted to know that. So I began praying to be led to share what God wanted me to share, and for the courage and humility to let Him use me for this purpose.

And what I learned is that, whatever God has led me to share is now continuing to lift my thought higher in the understanding of whatever I had expressed my gratitude for…continuing to bless me.

I am so very grateful for this gift of gratitude I received, and for all the gifts of gratitude that have been shared by all in this church.

In the Bible we read, “What cannot God do?” Since coming to Plainfield Church, one of the most important things I’ve been taught is to rely on God and to ask for His help in everything I do. I’ve seen that, with His help, we can do things we never dreamed possible.

As an example, in the beginning of 2019, our church website was expanded to include translations in a number of Far Eastern languages. As chairman of the Broadcasting and Website Committee, I needed to learn how to make web pages and videos with languages that are read from right to left, rather than from left to right, and also to figure out how to combine each citation of the translated Lessons with the corresponding citation in English. I know that it is only because of God and practitioner support that I was able to get that done, and then to keep up with it all through the year.

All of that has become part of a build system comprised of over 200 little programs that help us make videos and update all the websites each week. If you had told me even three years ago that I would be doing all this, I would have been pretty skeptical, to say the least.

I am constantly amazed at how Christian Science is showing me that my self-imposed limitations mean absolutely nothing to God. It gives me such joy to know that God has so much in store for all of us; and if we stop resisting Him, then we will see what we are truly capable of doing, because of Him.

And now, despite having no specific idea what 2020 will bring, I do know that this year will be filled with good and will bring nothing but blessings to all. What a joy it is to be a part of this mission!

The healing of any problem or circumstance does not always require much effort on our part; often it only requires a change in our thinking, which is always attainable. Very often, we have let fear rob us of this power and opportunity. No matter what the conditions are, reverse your thoughts and watch the conditions disappear or return to good, “for God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (II Tim. 1:7)

Recently I was driving to work in severe weather, with heavy rain and strong winds. I was so concerned about safety that I let my thought drift away — and I began to lose control of my driving. My fear became even worse. Then I started to pray very quietly for the weather and the safety of everyone. Then the thought came to me that God governs the universe, including man, which also includes the weather, my driving, and every driver on the road. Suddenly, the weather responded to harmony, and my driving was good and peaceful again. All fear was completely gone. My knowledge of my oneness with God and His presence filling every space was now supreme, and my joy was regained.

Fear is evidence of lack of trust in God, which consequently makes us vulnerable, and exposes us to error, environmental contaminants, sicknesses, and even death. Be on the right side with God, so that when fear creeps into our thoughts, and gets louder, trying to tell us that we are alone, so shall your faith in God get even stronger, knowing that fear is powerless and that God alone governs man, the weather, and the environment. “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” (Isaiah 41:10)

The Plainfield Church has many inspiring offerings on its website. The carousel on the main page of the website has a tab called “Noteworthy News,” that contains many inspiring incidents from the news.

One story that impressed me was of the Azusa Street Revival. It tells of a group of people in the early 1900s who started the worldwide Pentecostal movement. People from that group traveled the world, spreading God’s word. It is so inspiring to read how sincere and dedicated these people were, and it reminds me of aspects seen in this Independent church.

The people came from all nations and countries and tribes; similarly, we have members from many countries around the world, enriching us all. There was never any expression of race or nationality in that Azusa Street church, all children of God; here we are taught to see God in everyone.

There was an upper room where people were always praying, 24/7; in this Independent church, we have Unity Watches, and individual Watches that go on around the clock. It was said that you could feel the power of God in the atmosphere there; those who have come to the Plainfield Church say they feel a very holy atmosphere.

Crutches hung all along the walls, as testimony from those who were healed during the service. In Plainfield every Wednesday evening, grateful thanks are given for healing through the work of dedicated practitioners in this church, or through the learning gained here from the teaching of Mary Baker Eddy’s pure divine Science.

They said that the children loved the Sunday School because the teachers loved it. Sounds like the Sunday School here, with the dedicated teachers who so lovingly welcome children for class, even on a teleconference call; and there is a special website for the children.

Azusa had missionaries who went all over the world; here our missionary is the church website that reaches all corners of the earth with services and many rich offerings.

It was said that children prophesied like adults; children here are fed the pure Word of God, and accept and love the simple truths from the Bible and Mrs. Eddy’s writings.

Plainfield Christian Science Church, Independent is a very special place, and I’m very grateful for it.

Many years ago, it became clear to me that my local branch church members were not “on the same page” as I was regarding the disobedience and obvious misdirection of “the organization.” I thought the only solution would be to start a new and separate church. However, that seemed to be too overwhelming a task at the time, so it was never pursued. How wonderful that you have always been there, but I just wasn’t aware until I found you last year via your magnificent website! Hallelujah! My prayers were answered!!

I am enjoying great joy and spiritual growth as a result of your many awesome activities — from the weekly Wednesday night testimony meetings, the Saturday Bible Studies, the Sunday Roundtable discussions, the Sunday services, and the massive amounts of inspiring materials, articles, books, quotes, etc. available on your incredible website, including many items for free printing or purchase!

Since I first found you a little over a year ago, on the heels of your sharing of the 1910 Coup information — which explained for me the discomfort and lack of ease I have felt with “the organization” for decades — I haven’t missed a single week of your meetings and services, thanks to your endless archives, often taking notes from the instructional comments made, and following up by purchasing and reading articles and books that are mentioned.

All the years of regret at having missed out on being raised in a Christian Science Sunday School are being erased with all that I am learning in the Bible Studies and Roundtables each week. They are so packed full of such helpful comments and inspiration. The most recent enlightenment I’m enjoying is the 3-volume book mentioned not long ago, The Comforter — Physics to Metaphysics, by Yvonne Reus, which is so encouraging in conjunction with our endless prayers that our world awaken to the truth of our dear Leader’s full and final revelation that we all so depend upon, and lean on, every day.

Which brings me to a few other aspects of your special and precious “church of the remnant” that I love so much — your weekly reading of a testimony of healing from the textbook or from Prose Works during every Sunday service, along with the moments of silent prayer for our world immediately following the Lesson Sermon, and the fact that you include citations from Prose Works every Wednesday in the readings at the testimony meetings, not to mention your fabulous magazine, Love Is the Liberator, with its cover that almost brings tears to my eyes every time I see it, as you remain so respectful of our dear, forever Leader’s wishes. I am so grateful for your obvious love and concern for our beloved country, the Constitution, and for the entire world, as opposed to being just a “local” church, with the accompanying limitations in reach, as is the case with most of the Christian Science branch churches, unfortunately.

I have not yet applied for membership in your church, as I am holding out hope that at some point I will be able to share the truth about the 1910 Coup, and the infractions of “the organization,” with my local branch church members, in hopes that they will awaken and enlarge the borders of their tent, as you have done so successfully.

With so much gratitude for the purity and clarity of your thought, and your obvious and total devotion to, and gratitude for Mrs. Eddy, her right place and her right history, as well as the correct history of her Cause!

We learn in Christian Science the importance of standing porter at the door of thought — what we let in, or accept as the truth, will determine our experience. Mary Baker Eddy states on page 392 in Science and Health: “Stand porter at the door of thought. …. When the condition is present which you say induces disease, whether it be air, exercise, heredity, contagion, or accident, then perform your office of porter and shut out these unhealthy thoughts and fears.”

Sometimes this is easy when the falsity of the situation is very obvious. But some suggestions of mortal mind are often more subtle, can seem very real, and we take them in unchallenged. However, we need to learn to be equally in earnest that these are lies too.

Many years ago at a Bible seminar taught by a Christian Scientist, I heard the speaker say: “The prayer that ascends up to heaven is one that has no earthly weight.” I believe he was referring to the symbolism in the Bible of smoke. (Rev 8:4 “And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand.”)

The meaning I took from this is that there is often a need to let go of the false suggestions and fears that may be weighing down one’s own thought. It meant to me that to realize harmony, I needed to totally drop all my human beliefs, human reasoning and fear, and just trust God and the Truth of being. However, it was not until many years later that I had an opportunity to put these ideas into practice.

I live near a lake, where some Canada geese reside. Each year one pair would nest nearby, producing about five or six eggs, and I always enjoy watching them. This particular year the lawn service put fertilizer on the lawn. I asked to see the bag of fertilizer they used, and it turned out to be more than fertilizer — it included a pesticide that could be harmful; not something I wanted on my lawn.

There were eventually six eggs in the nest and they all hatched a little over a month later. I eagerly awaited this hatching event as the babies are always so very cute. When the time came to leave the nest, one gosling was left behind. It was lying on its back. I immediately remembered the pesticide in the fertilizer that was put on the lawn and I felt terrible. I scooped up the gosling and put it in a shoe box with some grass and water and brought it inside. The situation looked grim. I realized that if ever there was a need for prayer, it was now. I prayed, knowing that God cares for and loves all his creation. Furthermore, I claimed that there was nothing in all of God’s creation that could harm any of His little ones.

The next morning the little guy was still alive but still on his back; apparently unable to turn himself over and stand on his own feet. I saw his family in the yard and felt strongly impelled to take the little guy out to his family. I have learned to listen to those impulses, knowing they are divine. I took him outside and put him right side up on his feet. He immediately recognized his family, perked up, miraculously remained upright and struggled to walk toward them. The parents immediately recognized him and accepted him and were patient with him. They slowly walked him down to the lake.

I was tempted to check on them to make sure the little one was alright, but I remembered the statement made at the Bible seminar, that the prayer which ascends up into heaven has no earthly weight. I needed to just let go and trust God all the way. It was the final step I needed to take in my prayers. So I let go entirely of any desire to help humanly and trust God all the way to care for His creation. After all, God is All and disease, etc., has no cause, no history, no power, and no ability to attach itself either to life or to my thought. All these false claims ask is to be believed. Time to let go entirely of the belief that something outside of God’s power and Allness could have existence or have happened. Time to throw thought entirely on the right side and adjust the balance to the side of God, and so I let go entirely.

The next morning at breakfast, I glanced out the window. It was now a beautiful day and the geese family were all back with all six of the goslings — and I could not tell which of them had had the issue. They all were happy and healthy and vigorous. And I was glad to have learned this lesson to trust God entirely to bring about what was needed and to rely less on my own human efforts.

I am very grateful for three lovely healing gifts this Christmas. The first was coming to church here at Plainfield for our Christmas Eve Candlelight service, surrounded by friends to enjoy the readings and music.

Then came the evening a little three-year-old came to our house and I brought him over to see the child’s crèche I had set up on a table. I had no idea what he would do or say; and when he exclaimed, “That’s baby Jesus!” and he made a cradle with his arms and started to sing, “Sleep baby Jesus, sleep.” We talked about the remaining figures and played with them.

The last gift was my eight-year-old grandchild. I told him that I was going to do a prayer Unity Watch, which he knew about, and that I would be closing my door as usual. About twenty minutes later, I saw the door handle turning, and in he came. I called him over and asked if he would like to see some of the prayers that I was saying; and when I read, “Thou art Truth’s honest child, of pure and sinless heart” (Hymn 382), he said, “That sounds like me.” He then turned and went quietly out the door, closing it behind him.

These were all wonderful gifts that I will always remember.

I am so grateful that Christian Science teaches us to re-learn who we are the right way, in the way that God sees us.

It becomes quite clear that all of us, whatever our bad experiences may have been and are, have largely shaped the way we think about ourselves. Sometimes it’s because of how we were taught, how we were treated, how we were brought up, or what the belief was then — or if we just never understood that being a true child of God means that we have all, we don’t lack anything.

We do not have to accept the wrong thoughts that come. Most of us have lived with these wrong beliefs and have suffered the effects of them. What alarms me most is that we have also often prayed amiss because of not knowing who we are. In a beautiful article by Samuel Greenwood, written in 1906, “How to pray in Christian Science,” he makes a very significant point that believing that God’s man is anything less than spiritual and perfect would disqualify one from praying understandingly. This impressed me so, because he’s saying that our scientific prayer should have its foundation on our perfect birthright and not because we want to heal something, but because we want to see our true likeness as that perfect child of God. When we pray this way, we are in accord with the children of God.

I remember the lessons given here by Mrs. Evans. She spoke to the fact that no one is second class. This article says that we really don’t accept who we are. We cannot think of ourselves as beggars or outcasts. So, we must know that we are all God’s children. He has given us all the good that He has, and we should not let past experiences, whatever we were impressed with when we were growing up, rob us of our birthright and make us bow down to evil suggestions of any kind, be it materia medica verdicts, diseases, fears, or hereditary concepts. Without the understanding that we are indeed God’s children, our prayers go unanswered, leaving us wondering why.

I’m so grateful for Christian Science which is lovingly teaching all of us with the power of Truth to realize who we are and why we should go to God, our Father, with the right sense of that love that He is and expect to be shown what we have always been. I am eternally grateful for this realization because it has changed my life.

For many years our teacher, Mrs. Evans, would give short sermons during each Sunday service. One sermon she gave was on the importance of diligence. She described diligence as doing your very best every day. I remember this sermon so well because when she first started speaking, I thought, “I don’t need to pay attention to this sermon; I am about the most diligent person I know. I am always on time and finish things on time. I don’t need to listen to this.” Right after I thought that, I felt a mental club hit me over the head and tell me to listen, because this sermon was for me.

After the sermon, I couldn’t get it out of my mind. I prayed, “God, what do you want me to get from this?” I started thinking again about how humanly diligent I was, and then it struck me that there were some things that were not quite right in my life. There were some instructions from this sermon for me. Then I realized I was not diligent at all about the things of God, and I needed to be. I needed to put everything in my life in God’s hands, to stop being so human about them and let God govern them.

So I began to put everything in my life in God’s hands, one at a time. As I began to be more diligent about the things of God, to put God in control of everything in my life, I found my life becoming more ordered. I found the important things getting done, and I did not have to push to be diligent about it because God was taking care of them. This was a big change for me and something I am extremely grateful for. I was headed down a road of human achievement that I know now was destined to be a train wreck. Instead, I have found myself growing in grace and I am very grateful as I see God more and more in control of every detail of my life.

One day last week, late in the afternoon, after a very busy day, I found that one of my hands was extremely painful. It felt as if I had sprained it; I could barely move it. I quietly finished my tasks for the day with my other hand, and I went up to my room to have some quiet time to pray for myself. I recalled a recent Lesson, where Mrs. Eddy said, “The physical healing of Christian Science results now, as in Jesus’ time, from the operation of divine Principle, before which sin and disease lose their reality in human consciousness and disappear as naturally and as necessarily as darkness gives place to light and sin to reformation.” (S&H, p. xi: 9-14) What struck me were those two words: naturally and necessarily. When I thought back on the healings I’ve had in Science, and there have been so many, they didn’t come with trumpets blaring and all kinds of fireworks. They came very quietly and naturally. In fact, almost to where I didn’t even notice it was happening. One minute I was having all this terrible trouble, and just as the light dissipates the darkness, the darkness left, and I could see clearly. I could see what a beautiful world God has created and all the perfection around me. That is how healing occurs, quietly, naturally, and also necessarily. It has to be, because that is the truth of your being. I thought about that statement and it was all that I thought about the rest of the evening.

As I got ready for bed, my hand still ached quite a bit, but I trusted God with it. I had a good night’s rest, and in the morning my hand was 95% back to normal. Very quickly by the end of the morning it was completely healed, and I was so grateful to God. The naturalness of those symptoms disappearing was absolutely a necessary part of this healing.

As a practitioner, people call with problems, and often I am not told how it was resolved. I’ll ask them, and they will say it was healed, almost as though they hadn’t noticed. So please, when a problem is healed and seems so natural, give God the credit! Thank Him; it wouldn’t have happened any other way. God is our great Physician. He is our healer. There is nothing too big or too small for Him.

What kind of thoughts now, do you carry

      In your travels day by day

Are they bright and lofty visions,

      Or neglected, gone astray?

Matters not how great in fancy,

      Or what deeds of skill you’ve wrought;

Man, though high may be his station,

      Is no better than his thoughts.

Catch your thoughts and hold them tightly,

      Let each one an honor be;

Purge them, scourge them, burnish brightly,

      Then in love set each one free.

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Letters of Gratitude

Letter from one of our translators

Here I am sending you the Urdu and Hindi translation of the last 50 points from 500 Watching Points. The Punjabi is in process.

Thank you for your patience, love and sharing in this whole project. It was a wonderful, lovely learning experience and enjoyable journey while working on 500 Watching Points. It has given me a detailed insight about Christian Science and about our Leader, Mrs. Mary Baker Eddy. The journey has inspired me to believe my Creator, Mind, Love, and Life from the core of my heart and allow Him to work for the healing of error in my self-being. 

Thank you once again to allow me to go on this venture. 

For next projects, I am free to work on Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu. Please give me more articles or books to work in this special month, so that I may learn more. I will wait for your email about it.

I wish all of our brothers and sisters in the Church family Merry Christmas and Happy New Year of 2020. 

May this New Year bring a lot of joys, happiness, bright hopes, good health, more strengthening of Christian Faith and bundle of blessings of Holy Spirit in your Church, lives and families. 

My younger daughter Olive has prepared a Christmas wishing card for you. I have attached it with the email. I am not certain if this is viewable for you or not. But she asked me to sent it to you. 

We will keep you in our prayers and ask you to keep our family, community and country in your prayers.

In listening to testimonies from a Wednesday meeting I was amazed to hear Jeremy saying all that he and Plainfield members have achieved in setting up seven new language websites which will serve a very large additional geographical area and new nationalities! I do applaud everyone working on this, and feel it shows not only great dedication and high aims, but also the nimbleness of an independent church. I’m sure this would not have been possible in the organization where things are very ponderous, and no innovation is allowed. So, very well done, to Jeremy and those working on this project — fantastic!

I was very shocked to hear you mention, though, about the “revision” of the Manual (!!!) and the illegal sale and misappropriation of the proceeds of Mrs. Eddy’s Chestnut Hill house. Thank you for bringing these things out. It’s totally shocking, and could not have been accidental.

Hi everyone there! I am from India. I love your teachings on the website and YouTube. I regularly visit the website and I am impressed by the way you have managed all the Asian languages there. The teachings are very heart touching, and the translations are done in a great manner as well. The new languages you put on are really impressive and I love Tamil, Marathi, Sindhi and Nepali as well.

God bless you.

I have been listening to the church services and testimony meetings for a few months (along with a host of articles, readings, and Roundtable meetings online) and I have been truly blessed and touched by the love of this church. I see that Christian Science is the way and the only way, so I am ready for membership. Please accept my application for membership attached.

Thank you for all that you are doing for mankind.

Being a part of your watching gave me a glimpse of what can truly happen when people unite and pray together. The blessed Comforter was present as I meditated upon the reading after the teleconference. Of course, many denominations believe in united prayer. But to pray scientifically and in unity with other “unprejudiced minds” is a primary key that unlocks the door of spiritual demonstration. Mrs. Eddy says there are millions of such minds. If it is okay, I would like to be present again for your watches.

Please find attached my application for membership in the Plainfield Church.

I have sent a donation as thanks for the wonderful work you are doing sharing the true and original teachings of Mrs. Eddy and the writings of the early workers.

I look forward to being a part of your Plainfield Community even though I am many thousand miles away.

The November 2019 Love is the Liberator, themed, “Observing Christmas in Quietude” is wonderfully uplifting and informative. There you can find inspiring articles and poems on Christmas; beautiful painting by one of our members, writings by Mary Baker Eddy and early workers; current articles of great importance; letters from those in the United States, from India, England, and France; and testimonies of current healings. Be sure to take part in this feast of love, and share this very special gift with others as well.

Our church calendar is full of blessings and has been part of my family’s life for many, many years. Now we are able to receive the daily angel messages electronically.

The enclosed check supports the activities of the church.

I am so thankful for the expressions of God’s Love in my life. One of the evidences that God loves me is that He led me to the Plainfield Christian Science Church, Independent, through a friend. My life has changed for the better since I learned about Christian Science. Since all of this is brand new to me, I was searching for other teachings that might be similar.

In one particular occasion, I was listening to a spiritual teacher and noticed that his teachings were making me feel depressed. I had felt depressed before, but not since God brought me to Plainfield. The thought came to me that God is so loving to me and to all, that He wants us to know the Truth. I remember in that moment this person I was listening to mentioned Mrs. Eddy and her amazing work. In that moment I realized that God was talking to me and leading me back to where I belong. This to me is a beautiful demonstration of God’s Love for me.

I mentioned this to a Plainfield practitioner and she said, “There is no condemnation, and God is showing you how much He loves you.” I am so appreciative of Plainfield, practitioner support, and all the wonderful work that this church provides for us all. There is nothing greater than to feel the Love of God. I feel like a little girl holding my Daddy’s hand, walking into a beautiful day. And for this I am so thankful.

I’m grateful for the Plainfield website and all who work daily to keep it fresh and new. This morning (New Year’s Day) I was feeling a little overwhelmed and melancholy.

I logged on to the website and found several articles that address the New Year, including ones titled, “The New Year,” “Time,” “ Working in Truth,” and “Expanding Your Horizon.” Each article had just the right idea for me, with the focus to address the good here now, which is available for everyone, and lifted me out of the melancholy feeling I had. How blessed we are to have the Plainfield website!

My husband and I had the privilege of attending the Christmas Eve service in this church; it was a time filled with love for God and man, with joy overflowing. This is truly a holy place, with one God, and one aim: to share the light of Christ with the world. Thank you to all the dedicated members who make this outreach possible!

I am writing to thank you for all the inspiring material that you provide on your website. Also, I would like to request your 2020 calendar.

God bless you all.

What an inspiring year it has been at the Plainfield Church! I cannot be thankful enough for the way the Plainfield Church has transformed my life and set me straight by introducing me to Mary Baker Eddy’s pure Christian Science. I had grown up in Christian Science, but things had not been working out that well for me. It was not until stepping into the Plainfield Church for the first time that the veil was lifted! I literally felt it peel away. Everything started to become clear. My life started to transform. It took several years, but things radically changed for the better as I learned the lesson of obedience. Now I relish the “straight and narrow way.” I used to do my best to avoid my misconception of it, but now it’s exactly where I want to be!

Every week I truly appreciate receiving what I consider to be the equivalent of class instruction through the Roundtable discussions and Bible studies. Participation on the Forum allows a deeper and shared understanding of the weekly Bible Lessons. And the church services are a sacred time of uplift and outreach to the world with beautiful readings, testimonies, and music.

Thank you to the devoted practitioners and fellow members of the Plainfield Church, for all that you do to promote true Christian Science to the entire world in what is now a multitude of languages. Please find enclosed a heartfelt contribution in support of this wonderful church.

I very much enjoy your beautiful web page and online tools. The uplifting songs give me new hope in these crisis-ridden times.

Dear ones, you give me so much simply by being out there and doing prayerful work for the final acceptance of universal Christian Science! I pray with you.

The Christmas Eve candlelight service was a wonderful, uplifting event that my wife and I enjoyed very much. Also the testimony about the song, “Make Room,” which led me to some thoughts about Jesus’ birth:

Luke 2:7: The inn symbolizes my heart. The manger symbolizes the unwilling heart not making room for Christ and Christian Science. The babe symbolizes the growing understanding of Christian Science. This growth is natural and divine. It can’t be hindered or reversed.

I am grateful to everyone in the Plainfield Christian Science Church, Independent, for their wonderful service.

Enclosed is a check with love and gratitude for all that good that you do. Thank you!

Thank you to all the members for being so welcoming today! I just found your church, and I really enjoyed the Roundtable and the service. Most of all, I liked the love and joy throughout. Your church is special!

This letter is one of immense gratitude for which I have enclosed a donation check. Your generous offerings online at your website and on YouTube are Godsends, literally.

In the late 70’s or early 80’s I was a Christian Scientist in Minnesota. After two years I sent a formal letter to the Mother Church opting out, not so much because of the teachings, but more to seek other things. Having been a seeker with no childhood religious training, I couldn’t be stopped seeking. So perhaps the Church took me at my word, and I am no longer a member.

Over time, I did not lose my belief in God’s healing power, and I still have no medical insurance or even a doctor. It has truly been God’s blessing, not my formal treatment according to Christian Science ways. After being an evangelical Christian and lastly a Catholic in search of the one true church, I’m thrilled to say I am back to the metaphysical approach.

I came back to the teachings of Mary Baker Eddy with new understanding, I believe, than when I was a new member. However, there is no desire to be part of an organized church again. Even if there was, I live in a small rural town about 90 miles from a Christian Science Church. Hearing the old terms spoken is like putting on a glove that fits perfectly. I have purchased another Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures and in a real sense, it feels like coming home.

Another reason for sending a letter with my donation is simply to connect with like-thinkers fully in touch with the power of Truth, Life, and Love. Thank you, dear ones, for listening. I am already subscribed to your YouTube channel and would love to be on your mailing list if you ever do mailings.

My very best to you and thanks again.

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A Watch to Work with Often

December 12th, 2019

“Now there is a claim that there is separation between Mind and idea and that you have to have a telegraphic system [or phones, email, and websites] to link up. Now is there any separation between Mind and idea? NEVER! Then the claim that there is a telegraphic system is not true, for this is the fact in relation to all being; that Mind and idea cannot be separated, and it is the law that they never shall be, and that they are forever performing the functions of being, because Mind is their presence and substance. It is not a telegraphic system but the immediate presence of Mind; for its being is Mind, its substance, its evidence, and all there is to it is Mind.”

from Association Addresses, by Bicknell Young, pages 26-27 of the 1918 Address

The Word of God is love, peace, and freedom! Let us support the outreach of our foreign language websites by knowing they are the Word of God, and bring healing and comfort. Animal magnetism is powerless to disrupt or shut down these websites because the Word of God needs no human government, material devices, or electric charge to reach every man, woman, and child — divine Mind is already there and in complete control! Everyone hungering and thirsting for the Christ will cling fast to the Truth given in our websites, and there can be no resistance to Truth. All our work for the world is God’s doing, and will continue until mankind unites as one in spirit and in purpose!

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Testimonies of Healing

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When Plainfield Church first became independent, we were asked, “How will you survive? What will you read?” As you can see below, through the grace of God, we have survived very well, thank you — and flourished!

We began by writing our own Bible Lessons, and then Independent Christian Scientists from all over the world began sending us writings by early Christian Science workers that were not available anywhere else. And we grew from there — and continue to grow.

Lectures on Christian Science,
by Peter V. Ross

And, our church book store is growing! We have just published a book of Lectures on Christian Science given by Peter V. Ross. This version is accurate and true to the original, just as Mr. Ross first published it. These lectures are wonderfully inspiring, and cover a variety of subjects. His wonderful “plain talking” reaches people at every level, encouraging and healing. This book is available in paperback version from Plainfield Church for $18.00, postage included.

Our Website

Our church website, plainfieldcs.com, has a wealth of inspiring and healing items to read and listen to, including recordings of past services, Bible Studies, and Roundtable discussions.

You will also find a treasure trove of articles and other literature by early workers in Christian Science, including Bicknell Young, Martha Wilcox, Herbert W. Eustace, and many others. There are also audio recordings of many of these articles and books. Audio recordings of the current week’s Bible Lesson, and a Forum to post comments relating to the Lesson are available, and also a Bulletin Board where you can post comments of a more general nature.

YouTube Channel

Our YouTube channel has over 3,000 videos of church services, classes, readings of books and articles, hymns, and music from our services, which are visited regularly by people from all over the world.

Check out all that we have to offer by going to:

YouTube.com/PlainfieldCS

Our Church Publications

Our church publications are available free on our church website, but sometimes it’s nice to have a copy in your hand to refer back to at your leisure, or during the night when there might be a need for comfort. Descriptions and subscription prices are included below.

Newsletter

In alternate months, our church publishes our church Newsletter, “Plainfield Independent.” This publication contains news about church activities, miscellaneous writings, and other fun things that will make you smile, laugh — and think.

Books by Early Workers in Christian Science

Plainfield Church is the source for many books and writings by early workers in the Christian Science movement, many of whom worked in Mrs. Eddy’s home and were taught by Mrs. Eddy herself. These priceless writings are available for purchase at very reasonable prices, and are listed, along with ordering information, on our church website, plainfieldcs.com. Many articles on our church website are excerpts taken from these books, so to have the complete works is a real privilege!

You can find a list of books we have available for purchase by clicking “Store” on the top menu of our website.

Church Membership

“When one sees that Christian Science is the only way, he is ready for church membership, and there is no other requirement.” — Mary Baker Eddy

This is the only requirement for membership in Plainfield Church. We welcome everyone who wishes to become a member and work for God to send in an application, which you can find under the “Members” tab on our website. Or send an email to our clerk at: clerk@plainfieldcs.com.

Websites in Other Languages

Our missionary work is expanding. We have recently launched websites in the languages of Hungarian, Ukrainian, Russian, Marathi, Nepali, Pashto, Persian, Sindhi, and Tamil, which join with our existing Spanish, French, German, Dutch, Chinese, Hindi, Punjabi, and Urdu — that makes seventeen languages other than English!

Much gratitude to all of our translators for their individual demonstrations which are working to bless every corner of the world!

We recently received the following email from someone new in Pakistan:

Accept my greetings and salute for the lovely way to produce your unchallenged true teachings about God, as our Mind, we as His ideal creation and making it clear what the Christian Science Church is giving to the spiritual-thirsty like me. The great work you and your Church is dealing regarding foreign languages is amazing and fruitful. I am having great blessings since I have started learning the Word of God through your website and YouTube channels. Especially Pashto, Sindhi, Urdu, Punjabi, Tamil and Marathi languages are doing great things spiritually in my life when I read and listen to the YouTube lessons.

I greatly appreciate it and ask my Lord for the unstoppable blessings for the whole church worldwide. May you always please my heart and soul by producing these lessons and other great material in all the languages of the world especially for my Pakistani and Indian people. Amen.

I thank you and the whole church again for all of this.

Our goal was, and still is, to get the Word of God out to people all over the world who need this pure, unadulterated Science, as we did, and still do. So you will see that much of what we provide on our website, plainfieldcs.com, is free. Please feel free to browse through all that we have there. You don’t even have to tell us who you are — we warmly welcome everyone!

But there are expenses involved in maintaining a website, and in maintaining our church home and our church services. So if you are helped by what you find here, and you wish to show your gratitude, please use the “donate” button on the website. It would be greatly appreciated!

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A note about the lighthouse sketch by Luanne:

Boston Light — little Brewster Island (outer Boston Harbor), Massachusetts

Boston Light was the first light station in North America and is the country’s oldest continuously used lighthouse site. The original structure, built in 1716, was destroyed during the Revolutionary War. Rebuilt in 1783, it has been called “the ideal American lighthouse.” Designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1964, it is the only manned lighthouse in the United States.

“Publish the Word”

Broadcast the Truth

“Freely ye have received, freely give”

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