About the 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.”

“Rejoice Evermore”

Christian Science Sentinel, November 24, 1923

The Bible talks much about rejoicing. It says that even the little hills rejoice, and that the trees of the field clap their hands. It presents picture after picture of a world given over to rejoicing. Men are told to rejoice in the Lord, in salvation, in the glory of God, in every good thing. More than this, they are admonished to rejoice in the midst of suffering and tribulation. The apostles frequently maintained joy and gladness in the presence of apparent trials and troubles.

To rejoice when good is evident seems natural. When the sun shines benignly and the earth is bright and prosperous, then it is easy enough to be glad; but why should we sing hymns of thanksgiving when only discord and disaster are to be seen? To rejoice at such times is something that most Christians have often found difficult. But when we learn in Christian Science the allness of God and the consequent nothingness — the unreality — of evil, it opens the door to always being joyful. How wonderful that under whatever apparent circumstances, we may declare for and dwell with the grandeur of our perfect God and His perfect creation! Surely this is always sufficient cause for rejoicing.

Whatever the apparent conditions, we can therefore recognize our God-given ability and right to always turn immediately from the testimony of the deceitful material senses and fix our gaze on the truth of being. Such turning proves that to rejoice in good means the vanquishment of evil.

When Paul and Silas sang in the prison, their bands were loosed and they walked forth free. It is inevitable that right rejoicing will put to rout any claim to a presence and power opposed to God. Many a burdened one has found himself freed when he has turned and sent forth songs of praise because of God's allness. To thank God that He is All, to realize the truth of such thanksgiving, even in a limited measure, is to lift one's self out of the clamping beliefs in another power and presence than God, good.

This, however, cannot be done successfully from any motive other than the highest. In Miscellaneous Writings Mary Baker Eddy tells us, “The unerring and fixed Principle of all healing is God; and this Principle should be sought from the love of good, from the most spiritual and unselfish motives.”

Christian Scientists, in their endeavor to gain an end to suffering and woe, often wonder why they find the results so slow in appearing. If, at such times, they will examine their motives, they often discover that a desire for healing of discomfort and discord has been the motive. Let them turn their thought to God’s love, to glorify Him, and to learn to reflect His goodness and grace, — then the rejoicing will take on a new tone, and good results begin to follow!

Mrs. Eddy’s writings are full of admonitions to rejoice evermore. She understood the satisfaction and abundant reward which always result from the unselfed purpose to “rejoice in the Lord alway.” Perhaps no cause for rejoicing is more full of hope and assurance for all mankind than the wonderful vision of good which she sets forth in “No and Yes,” where she writes, “We can rejoice that every germ of goodness will at last struggle into freedom and greatness, and every sin will so punish itself that it will bow down to the commandments of Christ, — Truth and Love.” Here, indeed, is marvelous reason to rejoice unceasingly!

The Bible records Paul's words to the church of the Thessalonians, “Rejoice evermore.” No matter what the condition in which Paul might find himself — whether it was in the company of friends who knew the truth, or whether he was being subjected to mockery or imprisonment — Paul rejoiced and was able to rise above all impositions, because he saw the illusory nature of them all, through his understanding of the truth as it had been revealed by Christ Jesus.

An outstanding example of this is recorded in the sixteenth chapter of Acts. Paul and Silas had been thrown into prison, their feet being made fast in the stocks. “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God ... and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed.” After witnessing this, the keeper of the prison and his entire household were converted.

The one who understands to some extent the allness of Spirit and the nothingness of matter can rejoice even in circumstances which may seem the darkest and most foreboding to human consciousness, because he knows that as he is faithful in applying his knowledge of Truth, spiritual law operates in his behalf to destroy the conditions which false belief would seek to convince him are formidable and real.

As Mary Baker Eddy writes, “Let us feel the divine energy of Spirit, bringing us into newness of life and recognizing no mortal nor material power as able to destroy. Let us rejoice that we are subject to the divine 'powers that be.'” (Science and Health)

Every healing that takes place through the understanding of Principle, through the same understanding, in degree, as Jesus possessed, brings with it happiness and joy. The joy does not arise alone from the mere overcoming, but also from what it represents. The truth about the allness of Spirit, the truth about the omnipresence and omnipotence of good and the nothingness of matter or evil — that is the cause of the rejoicing.

In one of her poems, “Feed My Sheep,” Mrs. Eddy points out the desire of every earnest seeker after Truth, for its application to the needs of humanity, yearning for the guidance of the divine Principle of good, desirous that spiritual understanding should take the place of “the stubborn will.” The first verse of the poem brings out very wonderfully the position of all who have gained some understanding of Principle, and who are seeking to apply it as they proceed along “the rugged way": —

Shepherd, show me how to go

O'er the hillside steep,

How to gather, how to sow, —

How to feed Thy sheep;

I will listen for Thy voice,

Lest my footsteps stray;

I will follow and rejoice

All the rugged way.

Christian Science Sentinel, January 25, 1913

Perhaps no comment about Christian Scientists is more frequently made than that they are a happy people, and this is explained in great measure by the fact that a permanent radiance is reflected in the face of those whose consciousness is filled with hope and gladness. They are faithful to the Bible injunction, “Rejoice evermore.”

There is no surer sign of fidelity to the Scriptures and loyalty to the life of the Master, than the reflection of peace and good cheer by his followers. It is significant that the Bible contains something like forty different Hebrew and Greek words for joy, happiness, and their synonyms, and how many of the Psalms are devoted to praise.

Few incidents in Mrs. Eddy's career seemed to bring her more joy than the gift to her followers of Christian Science hall in Concord. On the walls of the upper room in this beautiful temporary church home, remodeled from an old mansion, she had these lines inscribed: —

Daughter of Zion, awake from thy sadness;

Awake, for thy foes shall oppress thee no more;

Bright o'er thy hills dawns the day-star of gladness;

Arise, for the night of thy sorrow is o'er.

To recall what a happy people Christian Scientists are, is to recognize the reason for their joy. Indeed, it is not natural nor normal that any child of God should manifest anything but joy. Emerson's happy faith led him to say, “All I have seen, teaches me to trust the creator for all I have not seen.”

In God there is only life, love, peace, and joy; therefore, His child is the possessor of good cheer. Doubt, gloom, and impatience can be banished by reflecting the good, for their manifestation, not being of God, cannot be real. We need to know that we cannot be imposed upon by any darkened sense, and that in reality eternal life is our heritage. We shall confidently abide in the light when we fully recognize the realities of God's creating; for truly beholding these, we can have no consciousness of darkness.

In Genesis we read: “God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” Remembering his blessings in this way one can lift his head “above the mist” into the sunshine of light and joy, and become a member of the glad company who “rejoice evermore.” To the joyous, sufficient for each day is the good thereof; and the psalmist's words are ever theirs: “Thou art the God of my strength.”

Humanity are often robbed of the joy which belongs to them, through false fears of misfortunes which they anticipate. The earnest and sincere students of Christian Science have learned to trust in the supremacy of divine Love, and so their joy abides. Their experience leads them to appreciate that wise and witty aphorism of the American poet, James Russell Lowell, who says: “Let us be of good cheer, remembering that the misfortunes hardest to bear are those which never happen.” Recalling the misfortunes of those who have not the light of Truth, we should seek with renewed earnestness to use the privilege which is ours: of bringing comfort, joy, peace, and health to “those who sit in darkness,” and thus, as the poet enjoins, —

Make some other life more happy

By the life you live.

Make some other heart more steadfast

Through the help you give.

Through the gladness shed around you

Yours shall be the gain,

For the life for others given

Is not lived in vain.

Christian Science Sentinel, December 28, 1907

It is pleasant to give and to receive the cheery greeting, “A Happy New Year!” It is an expression of kindness; and if we find ourselves sincerely wishing for the happiness, the good of all men, we have taken one distinct step toward bringing about that happiness.

The next and more significant step is to be happy ourselves, to have that wholesome, all-the-year-round rejoicing which is in keeping with our faith, and which makes one's companionship a comfort to all with whom he associates, especially the discouraged and despairing. The New Year word of happy hope is good — but far better is that unspoken cheerfulness which perennially reveals our courage, our confidence, our self-command, our fearlessness, and our inner joy.

History tells us of few men who had more frequent or more serious occasions for dejection than did St. Paul, and yet he was, and will ever remain, the bearer of comfort and good cheer to all who hear his words. His letters overflow with glad assurance, and his climax is invariably an anthem of rejoicing. He learned, as we must, to “rejoice in the Lord alway.” This is the secret of all genuine gladness and good nature. In better health, in better lives, in a more inspiring sense of God and of man, in the unfailing certainty of Life, the imperishability of Truth, the infinite embrace of Love, Christian Scientists have many reasons for that optimism.

Christian Scientists are called to rejoice. Says Mary Baker Eddy, “The various contradictions of the Science of Mind by the material senses do not change the unseen Truth, which remains forever intact.” (Science and Health, p. 481) He who comes to know God as revealed in Christian Science finds an anchorage in the depths of being which renders him superior to the storms, the shifting conditions of human sense. His joy is undisturbed, whatever the tenor of daily experience, since he has no question of the triumph of Truth, the eternal sovereignty of good. This is what men need to find in us for the New Year.

Christian Science Sentinel, December 20, 1924

Awake, awake, and greet the shining morn;

Oh, tell the sleeping world

That Christ the Lord is born.

He comes to rouse the slumbering hosts,

He comes to conquer error’s boasts.

The Lord is come!

Arise, arise, and sing your songs of praise;

Oh, tell the weary world

How wondrous are Truth’s ways.

No more shall men let fear hold sway,

No more shall sorrow rule the day.

The Lord is come!

Rejoice, rejoice, and join the happy throng;

Oh, tell the waiting world

It need not suffer long.

To-day will Love remove all pain,

To-day may all their birthright gain.

The Lord is come!

Awake, arise, rejoice forevermore;

Oh, tell the happy world

God opens heaven’s door.

And all shall know His ways are best,

And all shall find eternal rest.

The Lord is come!

Christian Science Journal, December 1904

Some years ago, when I began attending the Christian Science church, I carried to the services a heart full of fear and sorrow. I was in great tribulation, and was seeking a way of release from the burden of care and evil which oppressed me. I knew enough of the successful results of Christian Science work to feel confident of the outcome and looked for freedom and happiness in the future, but I considered that the present trouble would bring unhappiness and fear so long as it should last.

At these church services I was much helped by the bright faces and confident, happy manner of the many other students I met there. At first, supposing that this joy was the result of victories won, I accepted it as proof that my own troubles would disappear in this light of Truth and that then I, too, would be happy. But as I made friends of these students and learned of their lives, I found that the greater number of them were carrying burdens just as heavy as mine, and that, like myself, they were seeking the freedom promised to those who know the truth! I began to marvel at this unvarying atmosphere of joy, confidence, and light each one expressed. Then I learned the meaning of the Scripture, “Rejoice in the Lord alway.” During this time of progress I learned the scientific value of rejoicing “in the God of our salvation.”

Every true Christian Scientist stands to-day a witness to the fulfilment of Jesus' words: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” It has been proved over and over again, and in every conceivable way, that no discord remains where there is an absolute acknowledgment of the supremacy of Spirit.

If everyone who is healed was grateful not only for what Christian Science has done for him, but intelligently grateful that there is such teaching as Christian Science; if everyone who is healed discerned that in his healing the world receives the proof of Immanuel and is released from its bondage, how much more quickly will the universal rejoicing come.

This is a sunny precept. When we read it we feel that the time of the singing of birds has come. That joy should be made a duty is a sure token of the blessedness of the New Covenant. We ought to rejoice that there is a command to rejoice. Glory be unto the God of happiness who bids his children be happy.

Some things, being once done, are done with and you need not further meddle with them; but you are never done with rejoicing. “Rejoice evermore.” The apostle speaks of rejoicing as a personal, present, permanent duty to be always carried out by the people of God. The Lord has not left it to our own option whether we will sorrow or rejoice; but he has pinned us down to it by positive injunction — “Rejoice evermore.”

Whatever happens, rejoice. Come what may, rejoice. If the worst darkens to the worst — if the night lowers into a sevenfold midnight, yet “rejoice evermore.” This carillon of celestial bells is to keep on ringing through the night as well as through the day. “Rejoice, rejoice, ye saints of God at every time, in every place, and under every circumstance. Joy, joy, for ever. Rejoice evermore. In the midst of a thousand duties, amid the surges of ten thousand trials, still rejoice.” There is to be about the Christian a constancy of joy.

If you find it difficult to rejoice, begin with prayer. Prayer will make the darkening cloud remove; and then you will rejoice. If supplication is over, and you are not rejoicing, then sing a psalm. Often does holy music set the prophet going. Let us sing a song unto the Lord; and if we have no joy in our hearts already, we shall not have sung very many verses before rejoicing will drop on us like the dew which soaks the dry and dusky tents of the Arabians. If neither prayer nor praise will do it, then read the Word. Sit still and meditate on what the Lord has spoken.

And now, just for a minute or two, I desire to speak upon the quality of this rejoicing.

Brethren, this is not a carnal rejoicing. If it were, it would be impossible to keep it up evermore. There is a joy of harvest; but where shall we find it in winter?

No: if your joys spring from earthly fountains, those fountains may be dried up, and then your joys are gone. The joy which God commands is a joy in which it is impossible to go too far. It is a heavenly joy, based upon things which will last for evermore.

We like excitement of a proper kind, and we covet earnestly a high and holy joy, but if our rejoicing does not come out of a clear understanding of the things of God, and if there is no truth at the bottom of it, what does it profit us? The religion of Jesus Christ acts upon truthful, reasonable, logical principles: it is sanctified common sense. A Christian man should only exhibit a joy which he can justify, and of which he can say, “There is reason for it.” I pray you, take care that you have joy which you may expect to endure for ever, because there is a good solid reason at the back of it.

The joy that can be with us evermore is a part of ourselves, a power of the new nature which God works in us by his own Spirit. It consists in the great cheerfulness of the new-born disposition; a full conviction that whatever God does is right; a sweet agreement with the providence of God, let it ordain what it will; an intense delight in God himself and in the person of his dear Son; and consequently a quietness, a calm, a stillness of soul, “the peace of God which passeth all understanding.” This holy rejoicing is a drop of the essence of heaven.

What a God we have! “God my exceeding joy,” said the Psalmist. “Delight thyself also in the Lord.” Every attribute of God, every characteristic of God, is an inexhaustible gold mine of precious joy to every man who is reconciled to God.

Into the house of God I went

Weary at heart, my courage spent.

Forth from the house of God I came,

My heart a leaping living flame.

Prayer and praise and Truth’s clear ring

Had touched my life and made it sing.

Christian Science Journal, January 1935

I will lift up my heart and voice

Though error’s claims seem sore;

In dauntless faith I will rejoice

And sing forevermore.

Rejoice in ever present Love

That casts out hate and fear,

In joyous Life that knows no death,

In Truth forever near.

Do discord, lack, and loneliness

Seem bitter every hour?

Rejoice to know their nothingness,

And good’s unfailing power.

Does sickness seem to bind in chains

My free, unfettered sense?

Rejoice to stand a witness true

To God’s omnipotence.

God is my refuge, safe, secure,

From every wind that blows,

There I may rest and joyful sing,

Content my Father knows.

My every need, by Him supplied

From out His boundless store.

So I, in dauntless faith rejoice

And sing forevermore!

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From Mrs. Eddy

In the first century of the Christian era Jesus went about doing good. The evangelists of those days wandered about. Christ, or the spiritual idea, appeared to human consciousness as the man Jesus. At the present epoch the human concept of Christ is based on the incorporeal divine Principle of man, and Science has elevated this idea and established its rules in consonance with their Principle. Hear this saying of our Master, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.”

The ideal of God is no longer impersonated as a waif or wanderer; and Truth is not fragmentary, disconnected, unsystematic, but concentrated and immovably fixed in Principle. The best spiritual type of Christly method for uplifting human thought and imparting divine Truth, is stationary power, stillness, and strength; and when this spiritual ideal is made our own, it becomes the model for human action.

St. Paul said to the Athenians, “For in Him we live, and move, and have our being.” This statement is in substance identical with my own: “There is no life, truth, substance, nor intelligence in matter.” It is quite clear that as yet this grandest verity has not been fully demonstrated, but it is nevertheless true. If Christian Science reiterates St. Paul's teaching, we, as Christian Scientists, should give to the world convincing proof of the validity of this scientific statement of being. Having perceived, in advance of others, this scientific fact, we owe to ourselves and to the world a struggle for its demonstration.

At some period and in some way the conclusion must be met that whatsoever seems true, and yet contradicts divine Science and St. Paul's text, must be and is false; and that whatsoever seems to be good, and yet errs, though acknowledging the true way, is really evil.

As dross is separated from gold, so Christ's baptism of fire, his purification through suffering, consumes whatsoever is of sin. Therefore this purgation of divine mercy, destroying all error, leaves no flesh, no matter, to the mental consciousness.

When all fleshly belief is annihilated, and every spot and blemish on the disk of consciousness is removed, then, and not till then, will immortal Truth be found true, and scientific teaching, preaching, and practice be essentially one. “Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth. . . . for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” (Romans xiv. 22, 23)

There is no “lo here! or lo there!” in divine Science; its manifestation must be “the same yesterday, and to-day, and forever,” since Science is eternally one, and unchanging, in Principle, rule, and demonstration.

I am persuaded that only by the modesty and distinguishing affection illustrated in Jesus' career, can Christian Scientists aid the establishment of Christ's kingdom on the earth. In the first century of the Christian era Jesus' teachings bore much fruit, and the Father was glorified therein. In this period and the forthcoming centuries, watered by dews of divine Science, this “tree of life” will blossom into greater freedom, and its leaves will be “for the healing of the nations.”

Ask God to give thee skill

In comfort's art:

That thou may'st consecrated be

And set apart

Unto a life of sympathy.

For heavy is the weight of ill

In every heart;

And comforters are needed much

Of Christlike touch.

— A. E. Hamilton

Shepherd, show me how to go

O’er the hillside steep,

How to gather, how to sow,—

How to feed Thy sheep;

I will listen for Thy voice,

Lest my footsteps stray;

I will follow and rejoice

All the rugged way.

Thou wilt bind the stubborn will,

Wound the callous breast,

Make self-righteousness be still,

Break earth’s stupid rest.

Strangers on a barren shore,

Lab’ring long and lone,

We would enter by the door,

And Thou know’st Thine own;

So, when day grows dark and cold,

Tear or triumph harms,

Lead Thy lambkins to the fold,

Take them in Thine arms;

Feed the hungry, heal the heart,

Till the morning’s beam;

White as wool, ere they depart,

Shepherd, wash them clean.

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History Corner

Christian Science Sentinel April 1915

When our revered Leader ordained the Bible and Science and Health as the pastor of the Christian Science church, she in due time also provided a series of Lesson-Sermons calculated to give to the world, through the light of revelation and reason, a more perfect knowledge of the way of salvation. We are told in the Christian Science Sentinel of March 2, 1899, that the subjects chosen follow the order our Leader was accustomed to employ in teaching her classes; and our text-book, “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” gives the fundamentals of these sermons in the chapter entitled Recapitulation.

The first of these Lesson-Sermons, very fittingly and of necessity, has “God” as its subject. The second one, “Sacrament,” may not seem to be closely connected with the first, but a little study shows that it is the bugle-call to us to declare our fidelity to God, to walk uprightly and work righteousness, thus preparing ourselves for a larger unfoldment of the truth to be presented in the succeeding lessons. The following six sermons, “Life,” “Truth,” “Love,” “Spirit,” “Soul,” “Mind,” unfold in varying ways a fuller concept of the ever-living I Am. The next two, “Christ Jesus” and “Man,” deal with the divine idea: its presentation to mankind by Jesus, and the revelation that the divine idea or image is the spiritual man.

The succeeding five sermons, “Substance,” “Matter,” “Reality,” “Unreality,” “Are Sin, Disease, and Death Real?” explain spiritual reality and its mortal mind counterfeits, and as if to refute the human belief that such experiences as sin, disease, and death are to be classified as realities, the last named challenges this baseless assertion.

The following six sermons, “Doctrine of Atonement,” “Probation after Death,” “Everlasting Punishment,” “Adam and Fallen Man,” “Mortals and Immortals,” and “Soul and Body,” take up some of the perplexing doctrines of scholastic theology and clearly explain them in the light of Christian Science. The first one reveals unmistakably what is required of us in order to come into at-one-ment with God, and the second unfolds the fact that after the transitional experience called death there still remains the necessity of continuing the work of attaining at-one-ment with God, “till we all come ... unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.” In the third sermon of this group we learn that punishment continues only while sin continues, or we might say that punishment ceases as we come into the realization of man's at-one-ment with God. The fourth discloses the fact that God's man never fell from perfection, and therefore that the real man's at-one-ment with God is forever indestructible and unchangeable, an unimpeachable fact of eternal history. As if more fully to explain this subject, the fifth sermon shows beyond question that God's man is pure and unfallen, while the sixth is a fitting climax, dealing with the great thought of God and His spiritual reflection as coexistent, eternal, and perfect.

The sermon, “Ancient and Modern Necromancy, alias Mesmerism and Hypnotism, Denounced,” is the only one in the series which has as its specific object the exposure of error, — its subtlety, its powerlessness, and its utter nothingness. Some Christian Scientists labor under the mistaken impression that they do not like this sermon, yet we all should realize that its teachings are very vital, else it would not have been given us. Its importance may be discerned to some extent if we will but remember that Mrs. Eddy was not able to publish the first edition of Science and Health until she had prepared the chapter on Animal Magnetism, as we read on pages 37 and 38 of “Retrospection and Introspection.” On page 64 of this same work Mrs. Eddy states, “It is scientific to abide in conscious harmony, in health-giving, deathless Truth and Love,” but she immediately points out that “to do this, mortals must first open their eyes to all the illusive forms, methods, and subtlety of error, in order that the illusion, error, may be destroyed;” adding the significant warning, “if this is not done, mortals will become the victims of error.” This sermon exposes error and its “illusive forms, methods, and subtlety,” to the end that error may be destroyed, its nothingness made plain to us, and we be saved from becoming its victims.

The next three sermons, “God the Only Cause and Creator,” “God the Preserver of Man,” and “Is the Universe, Including Man, Evolved by Atomic Force?” may be conveniently grouped together, the last one dealing with the materialistic theory of creation in contradistinction to the two preceding ones, which unfold the great fact that the universe, including man, is evolved and preserved by infinite Mind.

The last sermon of the series is entitled “Christian Science,” the “divine laws of Life, Truth, and Love,” or the laws governing “the divine manifestation of God, which comes to the flesh to destroy incarnate error” (Science and Health, pages 107, 583), the laws whereby we can demonstrate man's scientific unity or at-one-ment with God. Thus do the Lesson-Sermons become “God's love-tokens,” as we read in the Sentinel of March 9, 1899, and they “bring rest to the heavy-laden, life to the dying, and light and joy to all.”

Let there be peace on earth, And let it begin with me; Let there be peace on earth, The peace that was meant to be.

With God as our Father, Brothers all are we. Let me walk with my brother In perfect harmony.

Let peace begin with me; Let this be the moment now.

With ev'ry step I take Let this be my solemn vow: To take each moment and live Each moment in peace eternally. Let there be peace on earth, And let it begin with me.

The folksong movement of the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s produced many songs known for their ease of singing, straightforward texts and prophetic messages. Sy Miller (1908-1971) and his wife Jill Jackson-Miller (1913-1995) collaborated to produce a song that has become a signature composition devoted to world peace and harmony among peoples.

In an archival interview aired on David Freudberg’s National Public Radio program Humankind, Jill Jackson talked about her background and the context of the song.

“When I attempted suicide [in 1944] and I didn’t succeed,” she said, “I knew for the first time unconditional love — which God is. You are totally loved, totally accepted, just the way you are. In that moment I was not allowed to die, and something happened to me, which is very difficult to explain. I had an eternal moment of truth, in which I knew I was loved, and I knew I was here for a purpose.”

This realization was followed by years of exploring her spiritual nature and her relationship with God. Jackson discovered her love for writing, and began writing songs with Sy Miller after they married in 1949.

In 1955, she wrote the lyrics for “Let There Be Peace on Earth” while her husband wrote the melody. The song was introduced at a California retreat to a group of young people who were from a wide variety of religious, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. The young people had come together for a weeklong experience devoted to developing friendship and understanding through education, discussion and working together. The song’s focus on peace and God made it easy to cross many boundaries.

Sy Miller wrote about the effect of the song: “One summer evening in 1955, a group of 180 teenagers of all races and religions, meeting at a workshop high in the California mountains locked arms, formed a circle and sang a song of peace. They felt that singing the song, with its simple basic sentiment — ‘Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me’ — helped to create a climate for world peace and understanding.

“When they came down from the mountain, these inspired young people brought the song with them and started sharing it. And, as though on wings, ‘Let There Be Peace on Earth’ began an amazing journey around the globe. It traveled first, of course, with the young campers back to their homes and schools, churches and clubs.”

Miller noted that the song was then shared in all 50 states at school graduations, PTA meetings, holiday gatherings, celebrations of Brotherhood Week, Veterans Day, Human Rights Day and United Nations Day. Kiwanis clubs sang it, as well as 4-H clubs, United Auto Workers, the American Legion, the B’nai B’rith and the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE).

The song was taped, copied, printed in songbooks and passed by word of mouth. Eventually it spread overseas, sung by Maoris in New Zealand and Zulus in Africa.

The song has been recorded by a host of vocal artists including Tennessee Ernie Ford, Pat Boone, Mahalia Jackson, Johnny Mathis and Placido Domingo.

It received the George Washington Honor Medal from the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge for “Outstanding achievement in helping to bring about a better understanding of the American Way of Life.” The National Conference of Christians and Jews has also honored the composers with the Brotherhood Award.

In 2009 Random House published “Let There Be Peace on Earth” as a children’s book.

I love him for the man he is,

Not what he seems to be.

I love him for the good that’s his,

Not what he thinks of me.

What matter if he thinks me odd?

I know that he is not.

I know that he is loved of God

And has no unkind thought.

I love him for his true selfhood,

Noble and perfect and true.

I know that he thinks only good

And know he knows it too.

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Interesting Squibs

No time is so well spent in every day as that which we spend upon our knees.

Tomorrow I plan to work, work, from early until late. In fact, I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.

Prayer time must be kept up as duly as meal-time.

The greatest answer to prayer is that I am brought into a perfect understanding with God, and that alters my view of actual things.

Faith consists, not in ignorance, but in knowledge, and that, not only of God, but also of the divine will.

How many of us will ever sit, bow our heads, and pray “Lord, show me where I’m wrong.”

If a man is called to be a streetsweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great streetsweeper who did his job well.

Labor disgraces no man; unfortunately, you occasionally find men who disgrace labor.

Get but the Truth once uttered, and it is like

A star new-born, that drops into its place;

And which, once circling in its placid round,

Not all the tumult of the earth can shake!

When you pray, rather let your heart be without words than your words without heart.

The good old days were never that good, believe me. The good new days are today, and better days are coming tomorrow. Our greatest songs are still unsung.

Not only is there a right to be happy, there is a duty to be happy. We are all under obligation to contribute as much joy as lies within our powers.

The U.S. Constitution does not guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself.

People see God every day, they just don’t recognize him.

Happiness is a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.

Hold on; hold fast; hold out. Patience is genius.

Genius is nothing but a greater aptitude for patience.

May you have warmth in your igloo, oil in your lamp, and peace in your heart.

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In Support of Our Nation, Our World

The Bible states in Isaiah, chapter 40, “O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!”

Why does the scripture enjoin us to “be not afraid . . . be not dismayed?”

Because the “good tidings” here are not good tidings to those who love not the Holy One, the one true God, not good tidings to those who have devoted their lives to serve other gods, gods of fear, of selfishness and self-serving motives. The “good tidings,” of their very nature, cannot help but to reveal these false gods: the good news of the unreality of sin (recognized as reality by traditional theology), the good news of the unreality of disease and death (recognized as reality by materialistic science and medicine). Materialistic Science, Theology, and Medicine are the mountains of bad tidings that the good tidings of Christian Science make low and disintegrate.

So it takes courage to proclaim the “good tidings” against the mountains of resistance. It takes “counting the cost” requisite to wage war with 10,000 against an enemy of 20,000. Once empowered, however, we can rise to the awareness that our God is the God of a visible few people teamed with heavenly armies of teeming, invisible multitudes, so that it only appears to mortal-mindedness that we are 10,000 against 20,000.

“One man of you shall chase [rout, put to flight] a thousand: for the Lord your God, he it is that fighteth for you, as he hath promised you.” Joshua 23:10

Emboldened, uplifted by this awareness, God will give us new ways (ever-new sharp threshing instruments) to keep up with and meet each new challenge as it arises, new courage to “lift up [our] voice with strength” against it, to bring low these mountains of materialism — first in our lives, and then in the world outside, as never before.

Note in Esther, chapter 8 verse 2 and verses 7-8, how Haman’s estate was turned over to Esther and how the king did not take action by himself, but instead ordered Mordecai to write the decree saving the Jews: that is, to write whatever words were appropriate for his people’s deliverance. Note also that the king ordered Mordecai to seal the decree with the king’s ring himself.

This demonstrates how God delegates all authority and power to those worthy of his trust. Queen Esther and Mordecai were not allowed simply to sit back and let the king do all the writing of the decree and the sealing of it with his ring.

Before the threat to the Jews was instituted by Haman, Esther had no idea of the authority she had by virtue of her position as queen.

Similarly, Christians and Christian Scientists must not be passive but must realize (make a reality of) who they really are; must divest themselves of the grave-clothes, rags and sackcloth of ignorance of the authority they truly have in Christ as image and likeness of God — enthroned with Christ in the heavenlies — and must put on the royal robes of spiritual authority to usher in light, joy, and salvation to a threatened world.

from 1915 Association Address

To say that right must win is begging the question. Christian Science makes it possible for right to prevail, but this means that there must be Christian Scientists.

It is not something which prevails merely because it is right. It prevails because it is scientific and therefore requires demonstration, and this means that there must be somebody to demonstrate it. This is why we are the light of the world in the degree that we are that light.

We cannot outline, but we can know the Truth. It will change many things for all nations, whether they be on one side or the other. The world will never again be as it has been in belief. The very heavens of belief are being shaken. Our treatment, then, taking cognizance of hypnotism, must destroy it and its effects, and relieve both those who practice it and those upon whom it is practiced. We must always remember that the hypnotist is the person who is the most thoroughly hypnotized, for he is the one who most believes in hypnotism.

Christian Science Sentinel 1918

Nations which are organized on the basis of peace are naturally taken by surprise when they find themselves involved in war. For a nation to be perpetually on a war basis implies metaphysically that it is also perpetually thinking war, planning war, preparing war. When this mental warfare translates itself into physical warfare, the war nation simply continues to do in the open what it has been rehearsing in secret.

Totally different is the nation which is inclined to peace when it is faced by war. It is conforming, as closely as its understanding will permit, to the demands of individual rights and the ideals of liberty and light.

The working Christian Scientist is not in the mental position either of the war nation or the out-and-out peace nation. In a sense he is always at war, yet always at peace.

The human consciousness is the battle field in which spiritual sense contends with material belief, the realization of life eternal with a supposed opposite, the metaphysical with the ecclesiastical, health with sickness, sin with holiness. The experience of every Christian Scientist forbids him either to invite or to evade war. He is ready for whatever may come, for the teaching of his faith prepares him to recognize every form of evil as unreal and every manifestation of good as indestructible. He has no illusions about those evils which are put forward in the name of good by material religion, medicine, or science. His hope is in God only, in Spirit, Truth, Love — and in this sign he conquers. Throughout Mrs. Eddy’s writings human existence is frequently portrayed as a battle. She warned her faithful followers of hidden foes and forewarned them of conflict. It would have been well had the world heeded her inspired words.

Years ago on the occasion of a Fourth of July Sunday service Mrs. Eddy said (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 177): “Never was there a more solemn and imperious call than God makes to us all, right here, for fervent devotion and an absolute consecration to the greatest and holiest of all causes. The hour is come. The great battle of Armageddon is upon us. The powers of evil are leagued together in secret conspiracy against the Lord and against His Christ, as expressed and operative in Christian Science. Large numbers, in desperate malice, are engaged day and night in organizing action against us. Their feeling and purpose are deadly, and they have sworn enmity against the lives of our standard-bearers.” These words were prophetic and the history of the Christian Science movement has made mental warriors of its adherents who stand for Christ’s peace.

But the human consciousness which is leavened by Christian Science does not remain upon the battle field when victory is won. God was not in the conflict which human sense produced. God was ever with His own, watching, waiting, protecting, and cherishing the spiritual individuality, the Christ-idea, which is the true man of divine origin.

This man dwelling in absolute divine Science reflects the peaceful, constructive activities of the divine Mind, thinks in accordance with that Mind, is wholly spiritual, can never be touched by shot and shell, overwhelmed by the sea, or manacled by false belief. This man of God’s making has no duality which alternately wars and then makes peace, but is one and complete, reflecting eternal peace and the power of God which destroys all evil. This man, as Mrs. Eddy writes, on page 475 of Science and Health, is “the compound idea of God, including all right ideas; the generic term for all that reflects God’s image and likeness; the conscious identity of being as found in Science, in which man is the reflection of God, or Mind, and therefore is eternal.”

The Christ-idea is safe in the bosom of the Father.

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Watches to Work with Often

March 19, 2020

“The joy that accompanies spiritual understanding knows enough to give thanks for what eye hath not seen. That is why no one can take our joy away from us. The Master said this because he knew joy as a thing of consciousness which cannot be discovered, located or interfered with by that which seeks to make us unhappy.”

from 1936 Primary Class by Bicknell Young, page 15

Since joy and gratitude are the two key ingredients in the recipe for healing, let us keep ourselves — and everyone — in the joy of the Lord! We can be so grateful that everlasting Life overflows with only good for all of God’s children. His economy, the economy of Soul, is balanced, abundant, meets every need — and cannot be manipulated by animal magnetism through fear or hate! God is calling to His children, and those who answer, reap the blessings that obedience to His law brings. Animal magnetism is powerless to entice anyone away from singing praises to God!

“Abiding thus in God and He in us, our life cannot be less than full, free, joyous, immune from disease, out of danger, and safe from destruction.”

from Lectures on Christian Science by Peter V. Ross, page 26

June 21, 2018

Children, “God is your refuge and a strong deliverer. He will hide you under His wings till the storms are past and the sunlight of His presence cheers and invigorates you with new strength and exaltation.”

from Divinity Course and General Collectanea, (the “Blue Book"), by Mary Baker Eddy, p 115

Children around the world are protected at all times by Truth, Life, and Love, “for of such is the kingdom of God.” (Mark 10:14) Malicious mortal mind, appearing as [witchcraft, satanism, pedophilia, pandemic] — rape gangs in the U.K.; drug cartels seeking to illegally enter the U.S.; — or under any guise, anywhere! remains powerless to abuse, exploit, or prey upon children, as God's promise is “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper.” (Isaiah 54:17) Therefore, the innocent are surrounded by the impenetrable armor of God in very practical ways, and the guilty will find “Truth, Life, and Love are a law of annihilation to everything unlike themselves, because they declare nothing except God.” (S&H, p. 243)

“Children, you are a perfect thought of God, made in His image and likeness, surrounded by His love, as by a strong fortress, through which no evil can reach you. God is your Mind, your Life, your strength, and you are governed by Truth and Love.”

from Watches, Prayers, and Arguments, given by Mary Baker Eddy, page 154

June 21, 2016

“Thus abiding in Truth, the warmth and sunlight of prayer and praise and understanding will ripen the fruits of Spirit, and goodness will have its springtide of freedom and greatness.”

from Miscellaneous Writings, by Mary Baker Eddy, page 331: 8-11

The world is crying out for that stability which can only be found in the Truth of God’s Goodness and care for man. Let us know that the readings, testimonies and music [at our church services] — tomorrow night — will reach the listeners with that heavenly message of Truth that can’t be shaken. It cannot fail to feed the hungry heart and error cannot block this outpouring of Love because every statement of Truth comes forth with the might of Omnipotence!

“So, when day grows dark and cold,

Tear or triumph harms,

Lead Thy lambkins to the fold,

Take them in Thine arms;

Feed the hungry, heal the heart,

Till the morning's beam;

White as wool, ere they depart,

Shepherd, wash them clean.”

from Hymn 304 by Mary Baker Eddy, in the Christian Science Hymnal

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From the Early Workers

Christian Science Sentinel

Wherever there is a magnetic field, we find forces pulling in opposite directions. Much of the violence that occurs in the world today is the result of a kind of mental magnetism that can be described as animal in nature. One form in which it appears is polarization of thought, and this polarization produces conflict.

Christian Science defines animal magnetism as the influence on human consciousness of materialistic, or mortal, belief. This influence is generally recognized in cases of mass hysteria, where intense emotion expressed by a large number of people affects the feelings and decisions of others. This same influence is often the cause of everyday fears, apathy, mental irritation, and even sickness, unless it is understood and its influence resisted so that its action can be nullified.

Christian Science stands for the individual's duty to do his own thinking uninfluenced by the thoughts of others. It reveals God as the one, infinite Mind, and it demonstrates man's capacity to express himself as an idea of this Mind. It shows further that by rejecting all thoughts that do not emanate from the infinite Mind, one can discern clearly what is right and what is wrong in human life, and he can make decisions that are constructively effective. As one maintains this kind of an alert against false influences, he can also maintain the health of his body.

When nations are going through great changes, human opinion sometimes becomes so polarized as to produce an electrifyingly magnetic effect. People respond to mass mental influence by doing things they would never do under ordinary circumstances. And many who consider themselves opposed to what is going on become so mesmerized by this influence that they do not see what is being done before their eyes. Recent history provides vivid illustrations of this, and we can see it today in the way people think in regard to such problems as war and the concept of law and order. Opinions have become so one-sided that a magnetic mental effect is being produced. Many are influenced by it without knowing it.

When you talk to people about war, the polarization becomes evident, for reason stands the chance of being blurred by animal magnetism. Facts are ignored or disbelieved — either war is unjustified and should be stopped immediately, or war is necessary and must be carried to a victorious conclusion. Likewise when people discuss the actions of the police in the handling of racial disturbances or student riots, there is little middle ground; one seems to be either for the police or against them.

It is not the purpose of this editorial to argue for or against war, for or against current methods of maintaining law and order. But for anyone who needs to make important decisions today, it should be helpful to recognize that unless one understands the influence resulting from the polarization of human opinion and guards himself against it, this influence can cause one to make wrong decisions. It can also affect one's health. But one can be alert to the nature of his thoughts and to their source. He can reject thoughts and feelings that do not originate in the all-intelligent Mind, and reflect the thoughts that do have their source in this Mind. He can recognize the symptoms of false mental influence, and arrest their effect upon both his decisions and his health.

Such mental alertness demands humility — the humility that recognizes the one Mind only as right. Human decisions can approximate what is right. Until the human yields entirely to the divine, there must be at least two sides to consider in working out any human policy.

Polarization of opinion is a denial of a supreme Mind, or God. It is the result of the human mind deciding for itself that it holds the issues of right and wrong. But if there is an infinite Mind, and if man is the image, or idea, of this one Mind, the very existence in human consciousness of conflict shows that this consciousness has yet to reach the point of divine intelligence where it can judge what is all right or all wrong.

One defending himself from the animal magnetic effects of polarized thought can acknowledge the ever-presence and infinite power of the one Mind. And he can guard his thoughts, searching prayerfully to know their source until he is certain that he is influenced by the divine Mind alone. Mary Baker Eddy writes in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: “Stand porter at the door of thought. Admitting only such conclusions as you wish realized in bodily results, you will control yourself harmoniously.”

from Matthew Henry’s Complete Bible Commentary on Isaiah 9: 7

Glorious things are here spoken of Christ’s government: that it shall be an increasing government. It shall be multiplied; the bounds of his kingdom shall be more and more enlarged, and many shall be added to it daily. The lustre of it shall increase, and it shall shine more and more brightly in the world. The monarchies of the earth were each less illustrious than the other, so that what began in gold ended in iron and clay, and every monarchy dwindled by degrees; but the kingdom of Christ is a growing kingdom, and will come to perfection at last.

It shall be a peaceable government, agreeable to his character as the prince of peace. He shall rule by love, shall rule in men’s hearts; so that wherever his government is there shall be peace, and as his government increases the peace shall increase. The more we are subject to Christ the more easy and safe we are.

It shall be a rightful government. He that is the Son of David shall reign upon the throne of David and over his kingdom, which he is entitled to. God shall give him the throne of his father David. The gospel church, in which Jew and Gentile are incorporated, is the holy hill of Zion, on which Christ reigns.

He shall order it, and settle it, with justice and judgment. Everything is, and shall be, well managed, in the kingdom of Christ, and none of his subjects shall ever have cause to complain.

It shall be an everlasting kingdom: There shall be no end of the increase of his government (it shall be still growing), no end of the increase of the peace of it, for the happiness of the subjects of this kingdom shall last to eternity and perhaps shall be progressive in infinitum — for ever. He shall reign henceforth even for ever; not only throughout all generations of time, but, even when the kingdom shall be delivered up to God even the Father, the glory both of the Redeemer and the redeemed shall continue eternally.

God himself has undertaken to bring all this about: “The Lord of hosts, who has all power in his hand and all creatures at his beck, shall perform this, shall preserve the throne of David till this prince of peace is settled in it; his zeal shall do it, his jealousy for his own honour, and the truth of his promise, and the good of his church.” Note, The heart of God is much upon the advancement of the kingdom of Christ among men, which is very comfortable to all those that wish well to it; the zeal of the Lord of hosts will overcome all opposition.

The Christian Science Journal, October 1911

The fourteenth chapter of Exodus contains a grand lesson of encouragement. When viewed through the lens of Christian Science, the children of Israel’s exodus from bondage is most inspiring.

Under the leadership of Moses the children of Israel arrived at the shores of the Red sea, with Pharaoh close behind. Oppressed heavily by their own fears, the Israelites turned on their courageous leader for having brought them into the wilderness to die under the hand of the Egyptian tyrant. Those who sighed for the old, seemingly safer ways of bondage, when pursued by the chariots and horsemen of error, became “sore afraid” — resentful and fearful.

But Moses drew on the abundance of courage always available to those who trust God, and commanded his people to cease their fears, to stand firmly and experience the salvation which would come from reliance on God, and that God would fight for them.

In just a few words, the Hebrew leader healed the depressed condition of thought which had taken possession of his people, and could vigorously stir his followers into action by the delivery of one of the most remarkable messages from God that can be found in the records of the Israelitish exodus from Egypt: “Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward.”

It sometimes seems in the study of Christian Science that the pathway is obstructed by a veritable Red sea of fear. We feel surrounded by a tangled wilderness of hostile human opinions and beset by a horde of mortal beliefs, originating in ignorance and doubt, which try to prevent our advancement toward the land, the consciousness, of freedom.

To students of Christian Science temporarily pursued by fear and indecision, the commands of God during the period of the exodus may be epitomized in these words: Stop fearing; rely on divine Mind; cease complaining; go forward! Instead of looking back into Egyptian darkness, whining over the demands of progress, it is ours to turn our faces bravely toward the errors which obstruct our path, trust God more firmly, and know that His outstretched arm can always save to the uttermost; then to go forward, never doubting a safe exodus from even the most threatening conditions.

The recalcitrant children of Israel were first compelled to be obedient, to cease their murmurings and to exhibit some confidence by moving up to the edge of the sea, and by facing it fearlessly with faith in the divine power to lead and to protect them through this hour of severe trial. The Egyptians pursued, and in the confusion which followed their ignorance of divine law, they were self-destroyed by the awful daring which they displayed in trying to do violence to the chosen people of God. We are taught in Science and Health that “the only power of evil is to destroy itself.”

It is entirely possible for the sincere, diligent student of Christian Science to prove that God's commands to “go forward” are just as vitalizing, and the means for obedience are just as available, today as they were when the great lawgiver stood almost alone with God, surrounded by a fear-stricken multitude of followers, a hostile army marching toward the rear of his encampment, and a lashing sea before his face.

In every test of faith which may arise in personal, social, business, or church affairs, sincere Christian Scientists discover that obedience and meekness, with spiritual understanding of the divine Mind will always divide the restless waters of mortal belief, fear, or limitation, and open a heaven-protected way whereby they can go forward, under the loving providence of God, in His service and for His glory.

Christian Science Sentinel July 4, 1914

Those who love nasturtium flowers have no doubt noticed that the flower stems vary greatly in length. The flowers on the ends of the vines or in sunny locations, while just as bright and perfect, have short stems, while those close to the ground, under the thick leaves or back in shady corners, have long stems. They have had to reach a long way up to the sunlight. At first, the tiny buds down under the leaves must have had little sense of the sunshine. Thick, overhanging leaves shut them in, but they felt the call of the light; they needed it and steadily they grew toward it. One by one they rose above the leaves, and each finally presented its offering of fragrance and beauty. This effort made them the more desirable for service. They had gained by overcoming.

The lesson is obvious. When we first hear the call of Christian Science, to many of us it seems a long, hard way to reach the plane of spiritual understanding. Inherited false material beliefs seem to hide the light of Truth and interfere with our progress, but, like the flowers, we can rise above them all. Indeed, as Mrs. Eddy has said: “Only as we rise above all material sensuousness and sin, can we reach the heaven-born aspiration and spiritual consciousness, which is indicated in the Lord's Prayer and which instantaneously heals the sick.” “We apprehend Life in divine Science only as we live above corporeal sense and correct it.” (Science and Health)

We do not need to transplant the flower to enable it to reach the sunshine. We know that it will rise above the leaves, and gain by that same effort. So in life, we do not have to go away from our home and friends or change our environment to come into our own. It may be our duty and our vantage to work out the life-problem just where we are, even though our surroundings may seem discouraging. In so doing we shall learn our lessons and gain strength. In rising above the seeming obstacles of our own path, we shall gain the freedom to reach and the wisdom to help others.

As we look at the plants in the garden bed, nothing but leaves may appear; but under the leaves the buds are surely pushing their way upward, and when they reach the light, they will be all the stronger, and have the longer stems we so much desire, because of their patient effort. If, therefore, we see no evidence of the coming of our dear ones to Christian Science, we may still know that all is well. Under the unpromising seeming there is the fact that man, in truth, is God's child, and in the light of the Father's love, ever present and ever active, human sense will in due time yield to the drawing power of love, and spiritual sense will find its blossoming.

These flowers bring us yet another lesson. The buds near the ends of the runners bloom so quickly and easily because the parent vine has lifted them up into the light. This is a thought for us who are parents. We may and should so live that we shall help our children, and bring them more quickly to the apprehension and enjoyment of Truth. Jesus said, “Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid [hinder] them not.” Mrs. Eddy has said: “Christianity causes men to turn naturally from matter to Spirit, as the flower turns from darkness to light. Man then appropriates those things which 'eye hath not seen nor ear heard.'” (Science and Health). If we are truly living the Christ-life in the home, our sweetness and strength will make daily contribution to the betterment, the advance of all about us, and especially those who are nearest and dearest.

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Current Articles

At a recent inspiring Sunday Roundtable, we spoke about going to God for answers and direction. It reminded me of an experience I’d like to share.

I was asked to do a painting for the cover of a benefit program. The benefit (The Touchdown Club) was to award scholarships to young people with promising athletic ability. They also asked me to donate the painting for their auction to help raise money for their cause. I had no problem with the donation, but absolutely no clue what to paint for this “sports” cover. I mostly paint water scenes or sometimes figures, but never anything around sports.

I met with the Club committee and they showed me covers from the last ten years, and I must admit to feeling intimidated when I saw the famous artists they had used in the past. I left the meeting feeling worried that I would let them down.

But, by the time I reached home, the way forward was clear; I would ask God for help and do my best to follow His guidance. The first thought that came to me was to exchange painting a famous adult sports hero, as all the older covers had shown, for painting a child engaged in a sport. I next located a pee-wee football game and showed up with a good camera and a large zoom lens. I introduced myself to the two coaches and started clicking away.

After reviewing the results, and with much more prayer, I selected one action shot of a boy jumping up to block the opposing ball carrier, and started to paint. Stepping back and asking for guidance between every couple of stokes produced a painting that surprised and delighted me. God truly had saved the day and allowed me to help this organization and the award winners with something that I was proud to present.

This is such a good reminder to always be “God-directed” and then only success can follow.

This morning I woke up thinking about the way Mrs. Eddy uses the word “exciting.” She refers to the “exciting cause” of disease or suffering. In our current understanding of this word, most people wouldn’t find either disease or suffering very exciting. But in the nineteenth century, the word “exciting” meant causing disease, because to “excite” meant “to move, stir up, instigate, rouse, to set in motion.”

So, what — according to Mrs. Eddy — stirs up, rouses, instigates, sets in motion disease and suffering? Mortal mind — the mentality that we are each a mortal, born into matter and will die out of it. And what is the remedy? Understanding that there is never anything except the infinite manifestation of the infinite Mind!

Earlier this week, I experienced suffering from what might have been called in Mrs. Eddy’s day “sick headache.” Sometimes it felt hard to hold to the Truth, so I had to keep it simple — God is All, God is Good, Good is All, there is nothing but good. This really did help.

By late evening, I felt ready to eat something, so I put a potato in the microwave. I rarely use microwaves — which became evident when I set the whole potato on fire! Flames and smoke filled the place. Talk about exciting! 

I was immediately reminded of an old article called, “The Smell of Fire,” by Louise Knight Wheatley, so I re-read it. It’s about the three men in the Bible bound up and thrown into a fiery furnace by a king who demands they give up their belief in God. But instead of dying, the three walked around in the flames, joined by a fourth figure, who is pure light. The king is so amazed that he pulls them out, only to find that they are not even slightly singed — unlike my poor potato. And, unlike my apartment, there was no smell of fire on them!

Turns out — this exciting event had something to teach me. The article says: “Let us refuse to allow error to attach itself to us in any way, shape, or manner. Its claim that it once had activity, presence, power, cause, intelligence, or law is a false and spurious claim, and should be seen and handled only as its last, desperate effort, since all else has failed, to get itself perpetuated as a belief of memory.”

I had been giving this seemingly chronic condition of “sick headache” reality by remembering it had happened before! The writer tells us to break this mesmerism by refusing “to accept any argument that perpetuates a belief in a material past.”

It all turned out that my exciting evening of lighting a potato on fire showed me that the exciting cause of disease and suffering is always a belief held in thought — and that when dis-ease is roused, summoned, stirred up, called forth — it is God, Love, Mind, Life summoning the lies so we can recognize them as untrue and let them disappear back into their native nothingness. Because no matter how hard animal magnetism works to destroy the Christ-idea, it can’t. Animal magnetism is nothing, and God is All.

I am so grateful for everything I am learning about the practice of Christian Science here at Plainfield and while working with my practitioner. And I can truly say: This learning and practice is always truly exciting, in every sense of the word!

I learned a valuable lesson about trusting in God's tender, loving care, and being obedient. I owned and managed a horse boarding and training stable facility. After the first 9 or 10 years of owning it, the thought came to me that it was time to sell. However, I didn't want to put a “for sale” sign at the front of the property, as I was fearful that it might scare off some of my boarders, lesson students, and/or riding instructors. I feared that the loss of that income would put me out of business in short order, so confidentiality throughout a sale seemed wise and important.

A Christian Science practitioner pointed out to me the need to trust God, just as the priests carrying the ark of the covenant had to do when crossing the river Jordan; that is, they had to step into the water first, and only after that first trusting step was taken, did the waters part so they, and all the children of Israel, could cross over on dry ground.

Unfortunately, I wasn't ready to trust God enough. For several more years I “held on” at the stable, but the desire to make a change increased as the job became more overwhelming. Then, one evening, I expressed my distress to one of my riding students, who was also a Christian Scientist. She shared the simple truth that God, good, is in control of our lives and careers, so I could just go forward with the sale and not be fearful of what might unfold.

I was so exhausted at this point, with the daily demands of running the business, that I was now finally ready to trust God. So, that evening I was obedient and took the first step forward, which was to type a letter informing all of my customers, instructors, and employees that I had made the very difficult decision to put the entire business and property on the market for sale. I made copies of the letter and began addressing the envelopes. However, God's superior plan soon became apparent to me.

Before I mailed out any of the letters, I got a message on my answering machine informing me that one of my boarder's parents had recently inquired whether or not I'd be willing to sell my stable. Needless to say, I was in awe of the timing of this message! It was so obviously the answer to my prayers, that in my heart I just knew at that moment that this inquiry was going to come to fruition. I engaged my attorney and we met with the potential buyer at his place of business. It turned out that he wanted to purchase the entire business — exactly as I had desired, so that there would be little disruption to anyone involved! The closing occurred in a timely manner, and confidentiality was maintained throughout the process, so no loss of income ever occurred.

I am so grateful for this lesson in trusting God, and learning that when one obediently puts one's foot into the river Jordan, so to speak, God will part the waters for our benefit and growth. During the sale of my business, everyone crossed over on dry ground, together and happy. It was a perfect and smooth transition for all! This demonstration reminds me of what Mrs. Eddy writes on page 117 of Miscellaneous Writings: “God is the fountain of light, and He illumines one's way when one is obedient.”

I was listening to an excellent talk on YouTube by Myrtle Smith from Northern Ireland called “There is Always, Always Something to be Grateful for.” One experience she related stood out to me. A practitioner had a patient who couldn't walk and was getting discouraged. He asked her to do something for him, and she said she certainly would if she could. He asked her to spend time being thankful to God and rejoicing, but she replied that she didn't think she could do that, as she was in a lot of pain, her husband was out of work, and they were in debt, so there was very little to be grateful for.

The practitioner said, well, could she be grateful that her condition was not real to God? She said yes, she could; that all things are possible to God? She said yes, she could; that she was made in the image and likeness of God? She said yes, she could; that she was therefore perfect, beautiful, healthy, free and active? She said yes, she could. So he left her to write a gratitude list, and the next day she brought him a 16-page list of things she was grateful for, and was able to walk to his home to give this to him!

The main point in this talk was, as she described it, the songbird sings before the dawn; in other words, the gratitude has to come first, and this has the power to alter our perception of the situation and bring healing.

I was really grateful for this talk, and I am particularly grateful that technology now enables us to re-listen to so many services, discussions, etc., whenever we wish, and I am especially grateful to Plainfield for all the services, music, Bible studies and readings which are provided free, and are a huge blessing to the world. Much gratitude and love to you all.

I was raised in a religion that taught me to believe that I had “original sin” deep within me. As a result, I was always trying to be good, — to erase or remove this innate sin — often with no success. However, in the Bible I’ve since learned that “it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13)

Mrs. Eddy writes in Science and Health, that “the seed is in itself, only as the divine Mind is All and reproduces all — as Mind is the multiplier, and Mind’s infinite idea, man and the universe, is the product. The only intelligence or substance of a thought, a seed, or a flower is God, the creator of it.” And that magnificent Truth includes me! I don’t have to try to be good, for God, Good, is the seed within me, — God’s idea, — and is forever unfolding. This awesome Truth does not relieve me of any responsibility, for Mrs. Eddy’s statement includes this requisite: “only as the divine Mind is All and reproduces all.” Thus, the demand is a constant affirmation and knowing that God is my Mind, the only Mind, the only Creator, and is forever governing and working in me for good.

Knowing this, frees me from the belief of human parentage and false religious upbringing. In the Bible, Isaiah declares, “Woe unto him that saith unto his father, What begettest thou? or to the woman, What has thou brought forth?” If I believe in human parentage, then I am subject to all the world’s woe-filled beliefs. I think the choice is clear — I choose God as the only Creator, as my only Father-Mother.

I’m very grateful for the Plainfield Christian Science Church Independent. This church gave me a new life and purpose.

Recently Florence Roberts spoke about praising God and not just asking God for something. I have been reading the Bible through and am in the book of Psalms. David, who wrote many of the psalms, did ask for things from God, but he also very often praises God and gives gratitude for blessings received.

I remembered the “Reader’s Prayer” by Grace K. Stitch, part of which is as follows:

“Lord bless the ones who gather here today.

Who reach out for the truth to make them free.

For each heart filled with suffering or dismay

must drop its burdens, healed while praising Thee.”

I thought, I can’t have my arms outstretched praising God and hold onto my problems! I must put the problems down and lift up my thought, remembering all the good God has, and is, giving me (not always easy for me). Then I can be “healed while praising Thee.” And not in the way I want but in God’s good way.

A few of us from the church gathered to watch the John Adams miniseries some time ago, and I was really grateful to get a deeper understanding of what went on during the founding of the United States. But what really stuck with me was how in his later life, President Adams wandered the cornfields with his son Thomas, who has remained faithful to him in the midst of his losses (another son and his daughter). He said: ‘Still, still I am not weary of life. Strangely, I have hope. You take away hope and what remains?... Rejoice evermore! It’s a phrase from St. Paul. I wish that had always been in my heart and on my tongue. I am filled with an irresistible impulse to fall on my knees right here in admiration.’

That has stayed with me, as people used to tell me I was never happy, or at least not happy enough. And truthfully, I wasn’t happy. How could I have been happy without purpose and without having any understanding of Truth, Life, and Love? What a profound difference these last years have been since coming to Plainfield and learning about Christian Science. Finding my purpose in this work, and finding that God is right here, and indeed was all along ... what a paradigm shift from that old depressed way of thought!

I wake up now just elated to get to work. I actually love being alive, and feel such joy through the day. To “Rejoice Evermore” no longer seems foolish to strive for or impossible to do; I did it yesterday, I am doing it today, and see no reason why God wouldn’t make it possible for me to do tomorrow.

What a good God we have! I am so grateful for this Church, for Christian Science, for practitioner support, for the work, and for the simple fact that I can be honestly happy and joyful now. Thank you!

Mary Baker Eddy has given us guidance on how we should go forth into life. In Miscellaneous Writings, page 224, she writes that we should go forth, “with an equanimity so settled that no passing breath nor accidental disturbance shall agitate or ruffle it.” The Webster 1828 Dictionary says, “equanimity” is “evenness of mind; that calm temper or firmness of mind which is not easily elated or depressed, which sustains prosperity without excessive joy, and adversity without violent agitation of the passions or depression of spirits.”

The great man bears misfortunes with equanimity. It reminds me of the admonition to maintain our poise no matter what, because it proves our certainty and confidence of “God with us,” that His allness is here. In that calmness we can hear His voice and know that we are on the side of all power. Mr. Edward Kimball, one of the early workers, has recommended simpler treatments since the labored ones can make a reality of a lie. A writer refers to a statement that Mr. Kimball made in one of his lectures, which states that, “error says I am afraid of the destructive calm of one who knows that I am nothing.”

This is such an imperative point for all of us and I have learned to live this because error’s chief blow, as Mrs. Eddy says, or what kills it, is one’s realization of its nothingness and its powerlessness. I pray that we all, especially now, walk with such equanimity as to help ourselves and to bless those who may observe our example. I’m so grateful for all the teachings from Science and Health, which is shining a bright light on the Bible, and its guidance for all mankind.

Sometimes, when beginning a new year there can be a tendency to look back, perhaps with regret, at our past. Years ago, I was given a statement by a practitioner here that was so helpful to me in dealing with this type of thinking. Mary Baker Eddy says, “The eternal Truth destroys what mortals seem to have learned from error, and man’s real existence as a child of God comes to light.” (Science and Health, p. 288)

God requires us to give our past to Him. Perhaps, in the past, a parent, teacher, or someone else said some unloving or unkind things to you, or perhaps unfairly criticized you, and that voice is hard to shut down. You can take this statement that Mrs. Eddy gave us and apply it to yourself. That “eternal Truth” will destroy what you seemed to have learned from error, and your real existence as a child of God will come to light in all its glory!

So, what is the eternal Truth of this? The eternal Truth is that God is your Father-Mother. He created you, and His voice was the only voice that you could ever have heard. This voice was always telling you that you are “My beloved child,” and that you express all His qualities. This is one of the many eternal Truths that you can work with to destroy whatever you might seem to have learned from error.

Perhaps another was an injustice that you still seem to be suffering from. What would be the eternal Truth to destroy that? In Isaiah 33:22 we read, “For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he will save us.” In knowing the Truth that you come under divine jurisdiction, God is our lawgiver and our judge, He will right any injustices. Rather than mulling over the error, know this Truth, and the eternal Truth will destroy anything that seems to be wrong. It always has and it always will.

Take whatever error seems to be telling you and destroy it with the eternal Truth and it will be forever destroyed. Anything in the past that seemed to be unhappy or disturbing disappears, fades away from your experience. I have proven this in my life, as have many others. I am so grateful for these laws and rules of the universe that Christian Science gives us. They can be applied to any situation, to any person, anywhere, and they never fail to work because they are based on God!

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Letters of Gratitude

I received my letter of acceptance as a member of the Plainfield Christian Science Church. I can’t describe how grateful and appreciative I am to be a part of this church as I have NEVER joined any organization before. It is my fervent wish to live up to this opportunity and service.

Thank you so much.

I’d like to express my thanks for the Bible Study sessions, which are so good, and continue to fill a need I felt for a long time to have some explanation of the meaning of the Bible stories from a Christian Science point of view. I am very grateful.

I am also very grateful for the Roundtable sessions; and in a recent one, the practitioner explained again about “watching.” I have been trying to write a watch each day since, in line with the notes on your website, and thereby to declare the truth about situations in the news or in our community.

I’m very grateful to be learning the true way to live Christian Science as taught by the Plainfield Church, Independent.

Much gratitude.

Dear Plainfield Christian Science Friends,

Great work you all are doing! I’m so grateful for your YouTube presence. I have been following along for about five years now, and a friend and I decided to apply for membership in your church. Our membership applications are attached to this email.

I just want to say I have been studying Christian Science for approximately 28 years and never felt led to join the main organization, but I do feel led to become a member of your independent church and support the work you are doing in Christian Science, as it is much needed. So much healing and understanding has come from participating in your services, words cannot express — all the readings, the Bible lessons, and Roundtable talks (I really love those!), and I look forward to the continued growth of the Plainfield Christian Science Church, Independent.

The friend of mine who is also applying for membership was introduced to Christian Science only a year and a half ago, and I am so grateful he’s now chosen to go along this path with me and share in our spiritual growth through your church.

God bless you all for your wonderful work in Christian Science.

Every day I am so grateful for this amazing church! Everyone is so truly blessed by it, and the blessings and love keep expanding to all of us everywhere. “Love is reflected in love.” The Plainfield Church is God in action.

Today I give special thanks for the daily watches, which I enthusiastically study every morning as they really do inspire spiritual progress.

I would also like to express gratitude for Doris White Evans’ book, Sermons and Articles on Christian Science. I have learned so much from it, and it is obvious why this Independent Church is so very successful.

I am a student of Christian Science since several years ago. I live in Mexico City. It is nice to say hello to you.

I am glad to write because, first of all, I want to thank all the staff of the Plainfield Christian Science Church, Independent for all the good work you are doing every week. I am delighted with the services, Roundtables, and the Bible Study. Also, with the good articles on the website. It is wonderful that Plainfield Church is sharing them with the world.

Before I continue, I must say that discovering Plainfield Church on YouTube was an answer to my prayers. I just can tell you that I was looking for a Christian Science Church, no matter how impossible it seemed. In Mexico City there is only one Christian Science Church, but it doesn’t inspire me much. At the beginning I didn’t realize that I found something very special in Plainfield Church, but now I am sure of that and I thank God for His mercy. He is always listening to us. I am delighted to hear your beautiful voices talking every Saturday and Sunday in a very scientific way.

Sincerely yours in Christ.

The magnificence of “Roundtable,” the awakening thought, the light of knowing and the supremacy of Truth revealed. The heart is humbled, and shouts joyously for joy, and so for the Roundtable, YouTube, practitioners, Jeremy, church members working for the Cause bringing the “work” to “a light unto our feet” of the teachings and writings of those who lived with and were taught daily by Mrs. Eddy.

What more can I say? I am very, very grateful.

Hello dear in Christ. I am a Pakistani Punjabi Christian. I am learning much from your YouTube channel. The material is very useful to me to understand Scriptures in my mother tongue. I thank God for your ministry. Dear my deeply desire to work with you in that missionary field.

In the Responsive Reading in a recent Lesson, “God the Preserver of Man,” appears the verse, “For with thee is the fountain of life; in thy light shall we see light.” (Psalm 36:9). Each day when I read this, the images from Mrs. Eddy's Christ and Christmas come to thought. The Plainfield November issue of Love is the Liberator features Mrs. Eddy's book, along with comments she made to Irving C. Tomlinson as to the meaning of the illustrations and a paper written by Judge Hanna, where he recounted times he was with Mrs. Eddy, when she was giving instructions to the illustrator.

In all but two of the drawings, the Star is present with its light, illuminating, protecting, guarding, guiding, healing. Within that light there is only light. As I work through my day and with this week's Lesson, I can't help but think about placing myself into that light from the Star — God. It is what preserves me. “In thy light shall we see light.”

I am so grateful for all of the work done by members of this Church and donations made, so that the Carpenter Library could be purchased. It belongs here. For years I have prayed and listened for inspiration on Christ and Christmas and was always disappointed that I couldn't find more from Mrs. Eddy on those illustrations. Now, my search has finally ended in the sense that I have found what I was looking for and it is from the Carpenter Library, but this is only beginning as I ponder the significance of her poem in light of this new material. Thank you Plainfield for safeguarding this Library for all of us seeking the Truth. I am so grateful for this Church, the Practitioners and members, who constantly kindle the light and keep it shining.

The moment I opened our new Love is the Liberator magazine I knew this was a very special issue. They are all wonderful but somehow this one with Mrs. Eddy’s “Christ and Christmas” poem as the theme makes this very inspiring for the season. What a healing message is there for all who read this issue. Thank you to all who put this beautifully done issue together. I am most grateful to have it and know that whoever receives one or reads the magazine on our website will be receiving a precious gift.

I have been learning so much from the Plainfield Christian Science Church, Independent! It is remarkable the diversity of voices speaking and spreading the word.

I have also worked with Gilbert Carpenter’s article “A Right Attitude” this week, re-tempering the steel within. It has been a successful tool for correction when mortal mind tries to persuade me from service to God. Yesterday was devoted to prayer and fasting, no TV, no YouTube, no news, no radio — it was wonderful!

Thank you so much. I’m not sure you folks truly know what a lifeline Plainfield Church is to many of us afar!

I am grateful for the Roundtable of September 20, 2020 in which there was a discussion about food and being grateful for every meal. I am trying to be more consistent about expressing thanks to God both at the supermarket, when carefully buying food and at mealtimes. I also express thanks to God when going for my daily walks —for all the beauty of nature, and especially that I can enjoy all this, when we only have a modest home, so we wouldn’t usually be able to afford to be near any green space. Our home is on the edge of an area called the “green belt” which was legally set up years ago round the edge of some larger towns and cities to stop house sprawling into the countryside, so we have fields and a nature reserve very close by, which we both appreciate greatly.

The most recent Roundtable was very good, expressing gratitude and joy as a step on the way to healing, and I am grateful for the Plainfield teaching which is very different from other churches and so helpful to our progress in everyday life.

I’m also grateful for the subject of rushing. I had never heard about this before and I did a great deal of rushing around, especially at work where the volume of work always exceeded the time to do it. These days I make a conscious effort to take time to talk with the staff in shops, neighbors, etc., in order to express care for them as much as I can, and be grateful to be among God’s children, and it has definitely led to a better quality of life and more joy.

Much gratitude and love to all at Plainfield.

Thank you for your Lesson Sermons, Roundtables, books, Bible Studies, and website. You bring me stability in my life by teaching me more and more about God.

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Testimonies of Healing

from N. J. in California

I'd like to thank you all for all that you do for us around the world. I thank each and every member. I thank all those who came before us to lay down our foundation, and those who kept watch!

I joined the Church earlier this year and have stayed in touch with a practitioner. My life changed significantly since reading Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, incorporating the Bible, going to the Roundtables and services. I have suffered from PTSD, anxiety, and panic for over 14 years now after a head on car collision. I have been able to manage it somewhat through prayer and meditation on my own. However, it never fully was relieved. It would raise its head often and take my attention away from God at the most inconvenient times. It negatively affected my work, my relationships, meeting with people and basically just living my life.

After meeting with a practitioner on a bout with PTSD and what felt like error all over me, she led me to some Christian Science readings, and I had a better perspective. I was feeling much better and had forgotten all about our conversation. It was on our next call she said she had prayed for me about my PTSD, anxiety and panic. It wasn't until she mentioned it that I realized I had finally been completely free of these attacks and feelings. It has been several weeks, and I react internally completely different to certain situations that would activate it. I am now getting used to living without this constant panic and fear.

I write this to tell others that Christian Science works; God works. What a loving God who works through those that have a right relationship with Him. I have gone to doctors, been on medication, therapy, meditation, and none of that completely removed the lie. I am so thankful and grateful to be free.

Christian Science has changed my life in so many more ways, to a life that works, flows, is bright and vibrates with Truth, Light and Love. I was unable to accomplish this on my own or in any other way. What I have been looking for all my life was lovingly given to me through this church and the true teachings of Mary Baker Eddy. I can now see my life from a Spiritual perspective, rather than mortal mind perspective. I see Love now in my life where error told me there was no love. I am so happy now, I have more energy to pray, watch (destroying the lie), help others and work correctly for our world. I am no longer bogged down and now look forward to continuing to grow in these teachings. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

from N. S. in New Jersey

So many blessings have come into my life since joining the Plainfield Church.

My granddaughters have started attending the Sunday School via the teleconference number, and I am so deeply grateful for this. My love and gratitude go to the Sunday School teachers, for the great lessons, love and blessings they bring to all the children who attend. My granddaughters tell me often how much they love Sunday School, where they are learning about who they are as God’s child.

Recently one of my granddaughters was having a lot of anxiety at bedtime and difficulty falling asleep. She told me about this, and we talked about how God's love is always with her. I suggested that perhaps she could listen to some peaceful music before falling asleep. Several days later, she told me, with a big smile on her face, “Guess what. I'm not feeling anxious or sick at bedtime anymore, and I’m able to sleep!” I asked her what brought this about, and she told me she remembered that sometimes when her mother would be listening to the Roundtables, she would ask if she could listen with her, that she really loved them and they made her feel peaceful. So she decided to try to find the Plainfield website on her own, which she did, and she started listening to the Roundtables by herself at bedtime. She said “They make me feel really calm and peaceful and then I’m able to fall asleep.” She still listens to them every night.

I was so overjoyed and grateful to God for her beautiful demonstration of God's love and care for His children. I know that it was God’s angel message that led her to seek out the website and listen to the Roundtable recordings. Truthfully, I would never have thought to suggest that to her, since she is only 11 years old. However, Mrs. Eddy writes on page 6 of Message for 1900, “A child can measurably understand Christian Science, for, through his simple faith and purity, he takes in its spiritual sense that puzzles the man. The child not only accepts Christian Science more readily than the adult, but he practices it.” What a beautiful confirmation this was of that statement.

I am so grateful to God, to Mrs. Eddy for her gift of Christian Science, to this church, our Sunday School teachers and our practitioners who give us the pure teaching of Christian Science. What better gift could we ever give to our loved ones than to share with them the beautiful teachings we are taught and given here.

from L. S. in New Jersey

I am grateful for a healing I had during a Wednesday service. I had been rushing around, and stubbed the toe of my bare foot against a hard surface. After this I realized I had been rushing, and saw the need to slow down. There were several things that I had allowed myself to feel pressured by and allowed to take my peace.

When I got to church, I could barely put any weight on my foot. A member reminded me of the verse from Ephesians 6:15, “feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace,” which is part of the armor Paul tells us to put on in our spiritual warfare. That night, after listening to the healing service, I was able to walk out, putting my full weight on that foot with no discomfort and no more problems after that. I was also reminded to keep a quiet thought and walk with God, not letting anything take my peace. And what I was feeling pressured about was resolved in God's perfect timing.

I am very grateful for our healing services, and for this Science and for learning how to live it in the Plainfield Church. 

Oklahoma

One afternoon while out walking I tripped, stumbled forward and fell face-first into the curb at the side of the road. With some assistance, I was able to get home. I called a practitioner for help. Her calmness helped to steady me as I was quite shaken.

She referred me to two passages in Science and Health, on page 242, that in Science there are no accidents, and on page 397, that man is spiritual. Suffering is in mortal mind. She counseled me to remember Psalm 91, stating that God has given his angels charge over me, therefore I am always in God's tender loving care.

I studied these passages, read the Bible and each day I improved. I had avoided looking at my face in the mirror because of the damage and bruising. However, my right hand was quite swollen and very hard to ignore. I didn't have any ice to put on it, so I used frozen lima beans. I put a plastic bag of lima beans on my right hand and tied it in place with a scarf. As I sat in my recliner looking at the pack of lima beans on my right hand, I thought I should have tied the beans onto my head with a scarf to treat mortal mind where the swelling really was! And, I started laughing with huge chuckles at the image of lima beans trying to heal mortal mind's illusion. The hypnotism was broken and I felt relief over my entire body.

I think I slept for a while, when I heard the still small voice say “Not by power, not by might, but by my spirit.” Later I heard “Cast your net on the right side of the boat to receive bountiful results.”

I am very grateful for the help and guidance of the practitioner. I am so appreciative of Science and Health and Mary Baker Eddy’s dedication in bringing it to be. I am grateful for Plainfield Church for their excellent website and its bountiful benefits.

from J. F. in Florida

Several years ago, when I was fairly new to Christian Science, I was doing some gardening when a bee stung me. It was really painful, and immediately began to swell up. Fortunately, the practitioner was nearby and I was able to ask her for help. I’ve never forgotten what she told me, which was to “love the bee.” Well, I did that, and started to think about all the good that bees do in the garden, and that they were part of God’s loved creation, along with me, and that we could only bless each other. In a matter of moments, the pain stopped completely, the swelling disappeared, and that was the end of the bee sting — like it had never happened.

I am very grateful for this healing and for the practitioner’s help that day, and to have been reminded of this healing today. These blessings that we receive in Christian Science go on and on, and continue to bless us when we need them. I’m so grateful for all the good that Christian Science has brought into my life, and for membership in this church.

from N. B. in Texas

Recently I suffered with a persistent headache that lasted two days. No matter how I prayed about it, the pain would not stop, even when at rest. It was very difficult to go about my daily business and I cancelled appointments, etc. Desperate, I opened my Science and Health to pages 390-393 and worked with the statements given here.

In particular, I worked with “banish the belief that you can possibly entertain a single intruding pain which cannot be ruled out by the might of Mind, and in this way, you can prevent the development of pain in the body.” The healing came quickly, and for that I was very grateful.

However, a few days later, the headache returned. This time, I asked God, Dear God, what shall I pray about to heal this? And the answer I received was, fear. It seems that I was fearful that the problem had returned, and I would have to fight it again. So, when I corrected my thinking, as we are taught in Christian Science, and knew that I could not be afraid of something that God did not create nor sanction, the headache vanished immediately.

I am so very grateful for this healing, and a lifetime of healing by applying Christian Science to all aspects of my life. I am also grateful for Christ Jesus, Mrs. Eddy, and the Plainfield Christian Science Church, Independent website and all that it offers. Oh yes, and all the members who work hard at providing those of us who do not happen to live in Plainfield, a church home.

from L. R. in Massachusetts

I am very grateful for God’s loving care, for Mary Baker Eddy, and the support of my practitioner. About three weeks ago, I called my practitioner, we spoke about many truths, and I felt fortified and ready to face the day. As I was about to leave my home, the thought came to open the window for some fresh air, even though the temperature was in the low 30s.

About 4:00 p.m. the building manager told me that the fire department was in my apartment investigating the smell of gas. I was to plan on staying somewhere else for the night until the gas leak could be repaired. I called a friend, and she said I would be welcome to stay with her. In Isaiah 65, verse 24, it says, “Before you call, I have answered.” Surely that was expressed in every way.

The night before this happened, I and three apartments nearby, were awakened by a loud crashing sound. The fire department determined that the sound we heard the night before was a small explosion in the interior of our building, causing the gas leak.

I am grateful for the fire department, who took extremely good care of us all, and of the situation. The Fire Chief was quick to share what might have been, but was not! If I had not opened my window, the results would have been disastrous. I am grateful for God’s care, and for the support of the practitioner, who begins her day in prayer and gratitude and was there meeting the needs of all callers, knowing that all needs are always met for everyone.

from I. B. in California

I would like to express my gratitude for all that I have learned through the decades, about the amazing Science of the Christ never failing. I would like to share something that happened when I was crossing a river. It wasn’t a huge river, it was a river that you could just walk through on logs and stones. On crossing back over the river, one of the logs moved out of place, and I ended up falling into the river. I fell on my back, and someone gave me a hand up very quickly. When I finished crossing, I realized that my phone was in my back pocket. As I took it out, I was already praying about the wonderful things that I have learned, and the wonderful testimonies I have heard about how any electronics, any automobiles, or anything, is brought to its perfection by knowing it is a perfect idea of God, and that God’s ideas cannot be changed.

I was going through all these divine inspirations, and a few minutes later the phone turned back on. We were at an outdoor place with beautiful mountains, and I wanted to take some pictures when I realized that the camera was not working. I just kept on praying. After we left, someone told me there was a mall nearby with a phone store, and maybe someone could help me. I still kept praying and knowing that God was always in control, keeping clear that God‘s creation cannot be changed. The camera was still not working, so I did go to the mall where the person at the phone store said that my camera would have to be replaced, and that it would cost a few hundred dollars to do so. I thanked them and said I would wait. I knew that I had plenty of absolute truths and inspirations to declare, so I did that. I still held to the wonderful spiritual Truths, and by the time I got to my destination the camera was working perfectly. I could see all my pictures, and I am still using this phone and my camera today.

I am so grateful to learn that it doesn’t matter what it is, who it is, or what it seems to be, when we declare the absolute Truth, nothing can ever change. God always brings everything back as it should be. All the perfection of any person, any sickness, any virus, whatever it is, it is nothing to the divine Mind, who is always in control.

The Berkshires

Announcements

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!

Tenets of Christian Science

Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,
by Mary Baker Eddy, pages 496-497

The following is a brief exposition of the important points, or religious tenets, of Christian Science:—

1.     As adherents of Truth, we take the inspired Word of the Bible as our sufficient guide to eternal Life.

2.     We acknowledge and adore one supreme and infinite God. We acknowledge His Son, one Christ; the Holy Ghost or divine Comforter; and man in God’s image and likeness.

3.     We acknowledge God’s forgiveness of sin in the destruction of sin and the spiritual understanding that casts out evil as unreal. But the belief in sin is punished so long as the belief lasts.

4.     We acknowledge Jesus’ atonement as the evidence of divine, efficacious Love, unfolding man’s unity with God through Christ Jesus the Way-shower; and we acknowledge that man is saved through Christ, through Truth, Life, and Love as demonstrated by the Galilean Prophet in healing the sick and overcoming sin and death.

5.     We acknowledge that the crucifixion of Jesus and his resurrection served to uplift faith to understand eternal Life, even the allness of Soul, Spirit, and the nothingness of matter.

6.     And we solemnly promise to watch, and pray for that Mind to be in us which was also in Christ Jesus; to do unto others as we would have them do unto us; and to be merciful, just, and pure.

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”