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.”

“Do You Hear What I Hear?”

“The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made even both of them.” (Proverbs)

“Mozart experienced more than he expressed.” (S&H 213)

During the Cuban missile crisis of 1962, people were bombarded by newspaper headlines, radio, and TV broadcasts all focused upon the nuclear annihilation of the world. Like the rest of the world, New Yorkers had also been saturated with these relentless doomsday reports. It seemed so real, so logical, so inescapable that the Cold War between Russia and America had now at last heated up, and there was nothing anyone could do to restrain it from setting the whole world on fire.

Walking the streets of New York City, observing all the glum faces passing by him, composer Noël Regney wondered how he could possibly write a new Christmas song assigned to him by a producer. But then suddenly, amidst all of this intense fatalism, he saw two babies smiling at each other from their sidewalk strollers, and immediately, a song came to him in a flood of inspiration: “Said the night wind to the little lamb, ‘Do you see what I see?’... Said the little lamb to the shepherd boy, ‘Do You Hear What I Hear?’” Shortly after this, the Cuban missile crisis was over.

At the beginning of every day I must ask myself the same question, “Where art thou? To what sound have you attuned your ears today, Truth or error? Are your ears attuned to the still, small voice of the Lamb of God? Or to the inharmonious messages of mortal mind, broadcast day and night so insistently? Thus, Mrs. Eddy admonishes, "Do you not hear from all mankind of the imperfect model? The world is holding it before your gaze continually …” (S&H 248)

Noël Regney had experienced great suffering during World War II. Nevertheless, by the grace of God, he was able to transcend those traumatic memories, choosing to live in the now, a state of harmonious receptivity that directed him to two bright angels on the gray streets of a city which, like so many others all over the world, had bought into a tale of discord. Through that harmonious encounter he was then able to tell the true story, uplifting, as never before, the God of “All-Is-Well!”

written in October 1962, lyrics by Noël Regney

Said the night wind to the little lamb

Do you see what I see

Way up in the sky little lamb

Do you see what I see

A star, a star

Dancing in the night

With a tail as big as a kite

With a tail as big as a kite.

Said the little lamb to the shepherd boy

Do you hear what I hear

Ringing through the sky shepherd boy

Do you hear what I hear

A song, a song

High above the tree

With a voice as big as the sea

With a voice as big as the sea

Said the shepherd boy to the mighty king

Do you know what I know

In your palace wall mighty king

Do you know what I know

A child, a child

Shivers in the cold

Let us bring him silver and gold

Let us bring him silver and gold

Said the king to the people everywhere

Listen to what I say

Pray for peace people everywhere

Listen to what I say

The child, the child

Sleeping in the night

He will bring us goodness and light

He will bring us goodness and light

The child, the child

Sleeping in the night

He will bring us goodness and light

Christian Science Sentinel, December 20, 1919

Jesus spoke by parables to the people; for, as he explained, “in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive.”

Today Christian Science demands, as did Jesus, that man reach the Horeb height of spiritual vision and see things as they are in reality, and not as they seem to be to material sense. Christian Science promises that if man will look beyond the veil of sense testimony, he will find the “pearl of great price;” he will find health, peace, and life eternal.

What is it that prevents us from seeing the truth? — what but the belief in a mortal or carnal mind, the blinding enemy of mankind, which the illuminating vision of Christian Science dispels in the same way as the darkness is dissipated by the rising sun.

When Mrs. Eddy discovered Christian Science, it was not a new creation any more than was Newton’s discovery of the law of gravitation or Marconi’s discovery of the law of wireless telegraphy. The truth she discovered, or uncovered, was always at the point of vision where she found it, but it required her spiritual insight to perceive it. It was there, but the human mind could not see it. It was expressed in the Bible and the Bible was accepted by the Christian people of the world as the word of God; nevertheless, this age was without a seer or prophet until Mary Baker Eddy, through her purified and uplifted thought, pierced the veil of sense and beheld the light of Life, Truth, and Love. Just as the watchful shepherds of Bethlehem saw the light that flooded the hillside about them, out of which came the glad tidings of the birth of the Savior.

In Miscellaneous Writings (p. 1) Mrs. Eddy says, “Goodness reveals another scene and another self seemingly rolled up in shades, but brought to light by the evolutions of advancing thought, whereby we discern the power of Truth and Love to heal the sick.”

After the crucifixion, the chastened affections of Mary Magdalene lifted her thought above the stern evidence of death and enabled her to be the first of Jesus’ followers to see that he had risen. Thomas, on the other hand, mystified by doubt and despondency, refused to accept the testimony of his brother disciples who had seen their risen Master, and would not believe until he could examine the wounds in Jesus' hands and side. The loving reproof of Jesus, “Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed,” shows how he longed for this disciple to lift his vision through awakened faith and purified consciousness to behold, as did Mary Magdalene and the other disciples, the living, incorporeal Christ.

On page 476 of Science and Health Mrs. Eddy makes the following reference to Jesus' spiritual insight: “Jesus beheld in Science the perfect man, who appeared to him where sinning mortal man appears to mortals.” Mind finds expression through sight, and the narrowness or breadth of the vision depends upon the quality of the thought.

When Elisha was apprehended at Dothan by the army of the king of Syria, his servant saw that the heights were surrounded by the horsemen and chariots of the enemy, and he cried out to his master in terror. Elisha did not admit as true the evidence of danger brought to him through his servant. He said, “Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.” Was it not his spiritual vision that enabled Elisha to know that the recognition of God’s presence is more potent than the host of Syrian horsemen and chariots?

Elisha was not afraid, because he knew that whatever claimed to be the enemy of God or of God’s child, was impotent, unreal, and untrue. He prayed and said: “Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw.” The effect of Elisha’s prayer was to inspire the young man to cast off fear and discover the protecting and sustaining power of Truth all about him; for it is recorded that he beheld that “the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.”

When the enemies of physical sense press close about us, let us recall what Elisha said to his servant, “Fear not,” and through the light of Christian Science look beyond and above finite sense into the realm of infinite, divine Love, whose presence is sufficient to protect against all evil. Happy indeed is he who has found through Christian Science the Christ, Truth; who, in the turbulence of mortal strife, feels that indefinable peace “which passeth all understanding;” who can stand in the face of malice and hatred and be conscious of ever present Love; who can demonstrate God’s bountiful supply out of seeming poverty and want; who can approach apparent danger with that courage born of an abiding faith in God’s protecting care; and who can see God’s perfect child in place of sick and sinning mortal man.

Christian Science Sentinel, March 24, 1928

Many a fervent prayer has seemed to go unanswered — not because God does not hear, but because our thought is not open to God’s answer! The listening ear has the assurance of answered prayer. The “still, small voice” of Truth is always speaking, but it remains unheard when men are unwilling to hear.

When a heavenly host proclaimed the birth of the Saviour, only the wakeful, watchful shepherds caught the overture from on high, and received it with joy and thanksgiving.

In our present time, one appeared who was found waiting and listening when the utterances of Truth came. Weary of the disappointments and sorrows of mortal life, Mrs. Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, turned away from the evidence of the senses. She withdrew from society for three years, studied the Scriptures and pondered the things of Spirit. Sir Edwin Arnold, to whom she presented a copy of the first edition of Science and Health, wrote (Mis., p. 153):

Peace on earth and Good-will!

Souls that are gentle and still

Hear the first music of this

Far-off, infinite, Bliss!

If we would hear more of the sweet concords of Truth, we must withdraw from the material concept of life and ponder the things of Spirit. We must silence the restlessness of material sense and grow in gentleness and grace. Discords will diminish as we cultivate the listening ear, so that we may hear the harmonies of good. Divine Love is continually filling the universe with right ideas, which work together for good; and the rhythm of these is the music ready to be heard by every listening ear.

It is the privilege of everyone to turn away from the carnal mind and become conscious that good has all power. This is possible when human will and material sense are silenced, and the hungry heart turns unreservedly to God with a deep and sincere desire to know and do His will.

The way out of a perplexing situation may not be clear. Indecision and insecurity, fear of failure and defeat, may argue. But these messengers of gloom can be silenced, and along with them, self-will, self-justification, and self-love. When the tumult is stilled, the listening ear of spiritual understanding will catch the right idea, which always directs aright. But it means being “gentle and still,” being willing to listen. In this state of consciousness, it is impossible to go far astray. Truth will convey the right idea and impart with it a sense of certainty and joy. May not this be the import of Mrs. Eddy’s words in the following hymn?

“I will listen for Thy voice,

Lest my footsteps stray;

I will follow and rejoice

All the rugged way.”

(Poems, p. 14)

When the answer comes, indecision and uncertainty vanish like mist before the sunshine. Too often we cling to our own way and refuse to hear, until sorely pressed with heartache and suffering. But the heavenly host of God’s thoughts still ring on the midnight of mortal sense, and are audible to all who are wakeful and watchful.

Christian Science Sentinel, March 16, 1918

Mrs. Eddy’s statement on the first page of the Preface to her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, says, “The time for thinkers has come.” The thinker is the true helper of mankind. Concerning this, Mrs. Eddy says in her Message for 1900 (p. 3): “The right thinker and worker does his best, and does the thinking for the ages. No hand that feels not his help, no heart his comfort.” Mortal mind, however, is afraid of the thinker, and in every nation devises plans whereby to make his way difficult.

In one land, for example, it will establish ancestor worship and try to clamp with the rigid hand of the past, the actions of men, women, and children of today. In other countries it will be the utterances of some wise talker or theologian of the past that are fashioned into shackles wherewith to limit the thinker. If you accept the ancestor and his tradition, if you accept evil heredity and perverted or incomplete views of God, you let the past build a prison house for the present.

Christ Jesus disturbed the settled views of the religionists of his time because he brought God into the present. They were ready to talk all day about their ancient God, and to discuss the records of Israel’s past, and had endless pages of commentaries and comments on the law. The result had been a making void of the real law of God through beliefs, traditions, and theories of mortal mind. The seeker after God and His peace and salvation was given instead “the commandments of men,” connected with which were controversies and doubtful disputations.

Christ Jesus brought life where theological death reigned, because he was a thinker who made Life his premise and understood that God is Life; hence he could say, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” It is well to remember that the discovery of Christian Science was due to thinking from the premise that God is Life.

The mindless traditions of the past have been referred to as imprisoning men to keep them from thinking, and it might be added that men are likewise imprisoned by the mindless mesmerism of the present.

Now it does not matter whether mental suggestion is well-intentioned or of a harmful nature so far as the freedom of the victim is concerned. He has no joy of freedom, for he has his emotions and passions, his hopes and fears, played upon relentlessly by mortal mind.

True thinking is following Christ. Thinking brings out fullness of character or perfect manhood and womanhood, namely, “the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.” Here no longer do vexing imperfections and irritating antagonisms arise, since the differences upon which these are based are harmonized. Paul puts the matter in a sentence when he says, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Christian Science Journal, February 1928

Since angels are referred to about two hundred times in the Bible, it is highly important that we understand their true meaning. It had long been believed that angels were guardians who appeared to the ancient worthies in some mysterious way but were never heard of in present-day experience. For example, no promise in the Bible was considered more beautiful, yet more uncertain of present-day fulfillment, than that in the Ninety-first Psalm: “He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.”

How the world needs to know that God still guides men, and that His Word can and will lead us out of all our distresses, even as it did in the time of Jesus! Mary Baker Eddy defines “Angels” as “God’s thoughts passing to man; spiritual intuitions, pure and perfect; the inspiration of goodness, purity, and immortality, counteracting all evil, sensuality, and, mortality.” (S&H p. 581) Angels are always present; but we have been so busy entertaining material thoughts that we have failed to notice their presence. When we do not seem receptive to them, it can only mean that there has been an attempt to create, instead of to receive, God’s thoughts.

Angels meet the need of the mental state in which they find us, and they speak in terms we cannot fail to understand. It may be because of the familiar language in which we hear these angels or messages from God that we sometimes fail to recognize their spiritual origin. We may have thought of them as intuitions or inspirations of the human so-called mind.

Mrs. Eddy also says: “The Old Testament assigns to the angels, God’s divine messages, different offices. Michael’s characteristic is spiritual strength. He leads the hosts of heaven against the power of sin, Satan, and fights the holy wars. Gabriel has the more quiet task of imparting a sense of the ever-presence of ministering Love. These angels deliver us from the depths.” (S&H pp. 566, 567) This interpretation of angels and their mission is also borne out by a passage in the twelfth chapter of Revelation, where John tells us that “there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.”

The mission of angels is the deliverance of mortals from the false beliefs of material sense, or the serpent, — the devil or Satan, — whose lies since time began have claimed to reverse man’s real spiritual nature by insisting that he is material and subject to sin, sickness, and death.

How joyful just to be still and listen for God’s voice! We can hear it as we walk along the street, as we are busy with our household duties or in our offices. However crowded or confused the place may seem, His angels of peace are there to calm our thoughts. However silent and alone we may think we are, His angels of love are there to cheer us. So, no one can plead lack of opportunity to learn of God when His angels are ever present, pointing us Godward, always away from evil and materiality.

As we learn to lift our thoughts constantly for these spiritual guides, we find that even before we have called, God has answered. Our thoughts sing with truth sometimes even without a conscious desire on our part; and who has not found himself repeating a beloved promise from the Bible, a thought of Truth, or a verse of some hymn, and almost before he realizes it? Does not this prove that we do dwell “in the secret place of the most High,” and that His angels do have charge over us, to keep us in all our ways?

There is a beautiful hymn that I love very much and think of often in the early morning hours of the day. It is hymn #36.

Church of the ever-living God,

the Father’s gracious choice;

Amid the voices of this earth

how mighty is Thy voice.

Thy words amid the words of earth,

how noiseless and how pure:

Amid the hurrying crowds of time

Thy step how calm and sure.

Amid the restless eyes of earth,

how steadfast is Thine eye,

fixed on the silent loveliness

that fills the morning sky.

That is only part of this lovely hymn, but I pray with those words for myself at the dawn of each new day. So, now first thing upon rising, instead of running to check my phone, looking for emails, catching up on the news, etc., I remind myself to fix my eyes on the “silent loveliness that fills the morning sky.” And my, it is always so lovely! I remind myself to take time in total silence to listen for the angel voices. I spend more time prayerfully in silent communion with the Father. It is wonderful, and really, the only way to start the day.

And how about the “hurrying crowds of time” especially at this busy holiday season? Remember to keep your step “calm and sure.” No need to hurry. We have been instructed, “pressure is animal magnetism.” You cannot hear the Father’s voice if you are rushing about.

And His voice, as the hymn states, is mighty and noiseless and pure. We must be quiet in order to hear this noiseless, pure voice. It is why Mrs. Eddy says, “I love to observe Christmas in quietude.” Shut out all the clatter and the clamor. Sit quietly and listen. The benefits of this practice are manifold.

In Deuteronomy we read, “Out of heaven He made thee to hear His voice, that He might instruct thee.” Yes, God actually made us, created us with the innate ability to hear His voice. Isn’t that wonderful? He made us to hear His voice and He is instructing us and guiding us in all our ways.

So, this Christmas season and throughout the year, remember this beautiful Hymn. Let it help determine your morning hours and let your entire day be one of constant communion with your heavenly Father. Hear the angelic voices sing! Your Christmas will surely be one of peaceful and joyful blessedness.

Christian Science Sentinel, December 22, 1928

Once more the bells ring out their peals

As heralds of the dawn;

The Word goes forth with joy and hope:

To us the Christ is born!

Thus Love, awakened in each heart,

Steals forth to bless and cheer,

And wipe away with mighty power

Earth’s unavailing tear;

Thus to the listening ear there comes

A wondrous sweet refrain:

Lo, peace on earth, good will to men!

The Christ’s eternal strain.

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Items By and About Mary Baker Eddy

Fragments Gathered from Unpublished Items Ascribed to Mary Baker Eddy

God of the rolling year; our thoughts

In trembling rapture soar

Thanksgiving — e’en amidst our tears, We fervently adore.

Rock of all ages,

Thou the strength Of this dear pilgrim land,

Still prove her tower and strong defence —

Bless with a Father’s hand;

Where distant torch-light gleamed of yore,

Through forests old and dim,

And o'er the haunted solitude

Rose faint the pilgrim’s hymn;

Where roamed the wild, untutored foe,

Where thrilled the bugle’s call,

Now dance and song with harpstrings flow

Through the lamp-lighted hall.

Change, too, hath swept o'er hearth and heart,

Deep shades to life are bound!

Death’s desolation hovers o'er

The board with bounty crowned.

Once love was there, with household words,

Which breathed without alloy;

Alas! for them, the few who meet,

Mid pageants stripped of joy.

Isaiah 9: 6 — 'For unto us a child is born ...'

Essays and Other Footprints ("Red Book")

Over eighteen centuries ago, the advent of a babe stamped a new impress on history.

Little dreamed the Emperor, enthroned in his gorgeous palace upon the Capitoline Hill, that a babe slumbering in a manger in the obscure hamlet of Bethlehem, a remote province in Assyria, was to establish an empire before which the power of the Caesars must dwindle into insignificance. When the child Jesus was born, all the nations known of that period were in subjection to the government of Rome. Around the Mediterranean shores were clustered the thronged provinces and majestic cities, that gave Rome the palm of dynasties. The Atlantic Ocean was an unexplored sea. The Indies had but a fabulous existence. Rome was then the world, and Caesar was the governor of Rome. He could do what he pleased with the property, the liberty and lives of over three hundred millions of people comprising the Roman Empire.

Such power no mortal ever swayed before; such power no mortal will ever sway again.

Christian Science Sentinel, December 27, 1919

Mrs. Eddy refers to Christmas as a time for remembering rather than for the confusion of merrymaking and the giving and receiving of souvenirs. She says, “The memory of the Bethlehem babe bears to mortals gifts greater than those of Magian kings, — hopes that cannot deceive, that waken prophecy, gleams of glory, coronals of meekness, diadems of love.” (My. 258) To her, Christianity had arrived in full stature and power. She well understood what the all-satisfying spiritual gift is when the sinner is regenerated, and those weak and worn with illness find themselves quickened with a divine strength.

One who was healed through Christian Science declared: “To me the most convincing proof that the healing came from God, was that I loved good, I had turned right around; had begun to be mentally regenerated.”

The question important for every man to consider is whether or not the Christ is born to him. Does he know of the disappearing of evil because consciousness has become cognizant of good? Is there the subsiding of willfulness, pride, envy, and covetous desire because the birth of true Christianity is going on through regeneration by the holy spirit of God?

The apostle Peter reminded his Christian brethren of the important fact of their new birth when he wrote about their “being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.” This familiar passage gains somewhat from a closer translation: “You are born anew of immortal, not of mortal seed, by the living, lasting word of God.”

The apostle lifts up this truth like a lantern on our path, and in its light we more clearly understand what Mrs. Eddy says concerning Christmas celebration. In The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany (p. 262) her statement is: “I celebrate Christmas with my soul, my spiritual sense, and so commemorate the entrance into human understanding of the Christ conceived of Spirit, of God and not of a woman — as the birth of Truth, the dawn of divine Love breaking upon the gloom of matter and evil with the glory of infinite being." Further, as setting us an example by the expression of her own ideal, she says: "I love to observe Christmas in quietude, humility, benevolence, charity, letting good will towards man, eloquent silence, prayer, and praise express my conception of Truth’s appearing.”

Let every creature hail the morn

On which the holy child was born,

And know, through God’s exceeding grace,

Release from things of time and place.

I listen, from no mortal tongue,

To hear the song the angels sung,

And wait within myself to know

The Christmas lilies bud and blow.

The outward symbols disappear

From him whose inward sight is clear,

And small must be the choice of days

To him who fills them all with praise.

Keep while ye need it, brothers mine,

With honest zeal your Christmas sign,

But judge not him who every morn

Feels in his heart the Lord Christ born.

Christian Science Journal, December 1893

Sound over all waters, reach out from all lands,

The chorus of voices, the clasping of hands;

Sing hymns that were sung by the stars of the morn,

Sing songs of the angels when Jesus was born!

Bring hope to the nations!

The dark night is ending and dawn has begun:

Rise, hope of the ages, arise like the sun,

All speech flow to music, all hearts beat as one!

Sing the bridal of nations! with chorals of love

Sing out the war-vulture and sing in the dove,

Till the hearts of the peoples keep time in accord,

And the voice of the world is the voice of the Lord!

Clasp hands of the nations

In strong gratulations:

The dark night is ending and the dawn has begun;

Rise, hope of the ages, arise like the sun,

All speech flow to music, all hearts beat as one!

Blow, bugles of battle, the marches of peace;

East, west, north, and south let the quarrel cease:

Sing the song of great joy that the angels began,

Sing of glory to God and of good-will to man!

Hark! joining in chorus

The heavens bend o'er us!

The dark night is ending and dawn has begun;

Rise, hope of the ages, arise like the sun,

All speech flow to music, all hearts beat as one!

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Visit to the Mother Church

I had always wanted to visit The Mother Church — the original Church at the Christian Science Plaza in Boston. For many reasons I wasn’t interested in visiting the extension or the Plaza per se, but I really wanted to sit at the cornerstone of the original Church. So when we flew to America to thank our dearest Church at Plainfield, my husband was extremely focused on getting me to the original Church in Boston, as he knew I had wished for this.

On the eve of the appointed day, I suddenly wanted to back out of it — so many emotions came up that seemed to suggest that I didn’t want to see the human organization; those who had so dishonored the express wishes of our dear Mary Baker Eddy, those who had deliberately hidden away the Christly writings of our early workers.

At this point my Plainfield practitioner was extremely clarifying and encouraging. She was able to show me that Christian Science belongs to all of humanity, throughout all time. So strong was this moral Truth that I no longer felt that I wanted to exclude myself from visiting the original Church; and I no longer felt that any person could ever be excluded from visiting such a holy place that God Himself has blessed.

So the day came and we joyfully journeyed to Boston by ferry, then navigating through the busy city on a hot day, and eventually stepping out onto the quiet Christian Science Plaza. It suddenly seemed like an important moment to us both, and so we slowed our walking and stopped. I said a heartfelt prayer of love and walked into the Plaza feeling a deep peace, a great comforting and grounding peace. We made straight for the original Church and sat down with some gravitas at the 1894 cornerstone. A

few minutes later my husband remarked how incredibly peaceful the whole area seemed, as we looked out over the reflecting pool. I had to agree that this felt far more peaceful than my turbulent thought had been imagining.

Time passed in silence, and we thought to take a walk around the area and the extension and other buildings, which seemed boring and vacuous by comparison, so we returned to sit again at the 1894 cornerstone. And now the peace was so deep that I felt within that God’s work is done. Christian Science is here and is leavening the whole lump, and this is going on continuously, flowing out from this very stone out to the whole of mankind, and you are part of this leavening — every honest seeker is part of this leavening. And I felt deeply within, just as Mary Baker Eddy wrote: “Thy kingdom is come; Thou art ever present”!

I am so grateful to have sat at that holy cornerstone and felt what I felt that day, which has greatly strengthened me. Thank you, God, thank you Christ Jesus, thank you Mary Baker Eddy, and thank you to our practitioners and teachers at this precious independent Christian Science Church.

Destiny of The Mother Church:

In November 1893, the work of laying the church foundation was actually begun. It seemed as if Christian Science, by its challenge to sin, had arrayed the forces of evil against the progress of the building. However, the Directors broke through one obstruction after another, until on May 21, 1894, the cornerstone of the edifice was actually laid. In a letter to Mr. Knapp on May 28, 1894, Mrs. Eddy said: “If you keep in your own hands the work God has entrusted to you, all will be well. For you will, can, hear His voice and follow, and none can pluck out of His hands.”

Mr. Knapp’s reply to Mrs. Eddy included a description of the laying of the cornerstone, and is as follows:

279 Columbus Ave.
Boston, Mass.
May 29, 1894
My beloved Teacher:

Your inspiring letter is just at hand. It is the declaration of Spirit and Truth; and I do pray that we may be led and fed and sustained unto the end and completion of this great work which God has given us to do; for without the guidance and protection of God through divine wisdom and understanding, we cannot raise the human, material symbol of Church or manhood above the false claims of sin and error which seem to beset us on every hand. But these false claims have no authority from God, therefore they must all give place to the divine Idea of Christian Science, which establishes the claims of Truth and Love on earth as in heaven.

The Corner Stone of this spiritual building is laid upon the iron bands which circle humanity with the strength of divine Principle as revealed in Christian Science. Thus may it stand through a time and times of revelation, and the half of a time which seems to hang betwixt heaven and earth in the last day; then is the work finished on earth as all is in the heaven of eternal Principle — Life and Love forever.

Let me relate the picture of that day we laid the Corner Stone. I was there in the morning. The workmen said the stone could not be laid for five days. I showed the foreman how it could be done that day, and promised a reward if he would carry out the plan. He changed his voice and said it could be done, and that he would work to that end if it took until late in the day. I was there nearly all the time, directing even where it did not seem my place to do so. But the stone was laid, which contains all your works on Christian Science; and a little before the seventh hour, in the twilight of the evening, the three Directors consecrated the event as you had directed us to do. So with one hand upon the Stone, our heads uncovered and faces toward the western sky, where the clouds of the weary day were disappearing, we stood in silent communion with God, followed with the Lord’s Prayer in unison, as we lifted our voices upon the stillness around us. Thus may it rest until God’s purpose is finished on earth as it is in heaven,

Lovingly yours, Ira O. Knapp

There were only three Directors present at the laying of the cornerstone, because Mr. Johnson was in Pittsburgh, trying to break through the blockade which was holding up the delivery of the steel essential to the construction of the church. Mr. Armstrong’s book, “The Mother Church,” which describes so admirably the building of the original edifice, tells of the mighty struggles which the Directors endured in carrying their Herculean task to completion. It tells of the intrepid Leader, arousing, encouraging, admonishing the Directors, when again and again it seemed impossible to continue the building. Earnest students of Christian Science should not fail to read Mr. Armstrong’s book. They can recognize in this book that the author was a metaphysician who had seen his Leader’s place in Bible prophecy, as his obedience to her every command so clearly indicated. The building of the church had to be done in the face of the very evil which the challenge of the church had already aroused. But God was aiding this enterprise for the establishment of His kingdom on earth, and each time, through spiritual inspiration and strength, the blockade was broken, and the work went forward. It would be impossible for any other church building to meet with the opposition which the erection of The Mother Church encountered, for no other church edifice can ever symbolize in the same distinctive sense the spiritual idea of Church.

Church:

It will endure Triumphant and secure.

Its motives right, its purpose pure,

It heals of sin and sense and feeds the poor,

It builds upon the truth, on God’s foundation sure, A strength, a stay, a light, a way. It ever will endure.

Max Dunaway

Miscellaneous Writings p. 107 (excerpts)

Friends and Brethren: — Your Sunday Lesson, composed of Scripture and its correlative in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," has fed you. In addition, I can only bring crumbs fallen from this table of Truth, and gather up the fragments.

It has long been a question of earnest import, How shall mankind worship the most adorable, but most unadored, — and where shall begin that praise that shall never end? Beneath, above, beyond, methinks I hear the soft, sweet sigh of angels answering, "So live, that your lives attest your sincerity and resound His praise."

Music is the harmony of being; but the music of Soul affords the only strains that thrill the chords of feeling and awaken the heart's harpstrings. Moved by mind, your many-throated organ, in imitative tones of many instruments, praises Him; but even the sweetness and beauty in and of this temple that praise Him, are earth's accents, and must not be mistaken for the oracles of God. Art must not prevail over Science. Christianity is not superfluous. Its redemptive power is seen in sore trials, self-denials, and crucifixions of the flesh. But these come to the rescue of mortals, to admonish them, and plant the feet steadfastly in Christ. As we rise above the seeming mists of sense, we behold more clearly that all the heart's homage belongs to God.

More love is the great need of mankind. A pure affection, concentric, forgetting self, forgiving wrongs and forestalling them, should swell the lyre of human love.

All glory be to God most high,

And on the earth be peace,

The angels sang, in days of yore,

The song that ne’er shall cease,

Till all the world knows peace.

God’s angels ever come and go,

All winged with light and love;

They bring us blessings from on high,

They lift our thoughts above,

They whisper God is Love.

O longing hearts that wait on God

Through all the world so wide;

He knows the angels that you need,

And sends them to your side,

To comfort, guard and guide.

O wake and hear the angel-song

That bids all discord cease,

From pain and sorrow, doubt and fear,

It brings us sweet release;

And so our hearts find peace.

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History Corner

Junction City Republican, Thursday, January 19, 1882

Concord has recently had two visitors who came here upon an unusual and unique errand. These visitors were Frau Bertha Gunther-Peterson, and Fraulein Ida Schoen, of Hanover, Germany, who crossed the water to pay their respects to an eminent citizen of Concord, Mary Baker Eddy, and to present her with a beautiful and valuable copy of the German Bible, the gift of the Christian Scientists of Germany.

Frau Peterson, who is the leader of Christian Science work in Hanover, Germany, is the daughter of a celebrated physician, and is a woman of great intellectuality and marked ability. Through the healing of a friend who had come to America, she was led to send for a copy of the Christian Science textbook Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, of which Mrs. Eddy is the author. From her study of this treatise on the Science of Life, she was herself healed of severe maladies and restored to perfect health. She then visited America and took a thorough course of study in one of the Christian Science Institutes. On her return to Germany she at once entered actively upon the work of applied Christianity with great success.

This movement has a large following in Germany, and, as elsewhere, is growing rapidly. Among the first to visit Frau Peterson for help was the son of the famous Count von Moltke, the great field marshal of the German Empire. Herr von Moltke was completely healed of long-standing ailments, for which he had in vain sought far and wide for relief. His restoration to health was so remarkable that it attracted widespread interest in the court circles of the empire; and among others who became interested is the sister of Emperor William, who is now reading Science and Health with interest and profit.

Herr von Moltke, thoroughly convinced from careful study and from his own practical experience, of the trustworthiness of the Christly religion which had healed him, identified himself with the movement, and, being a talented musician of exceptional ability, gladly gave his services as soloist for the religious services in First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Hanover.

Among others to receive physical and spiritual help in Hanover from this healing religion is a distinguished doctor of medicine, who said to Frau Peterson: “Your religion is doing greater things than I have ever done.” A clergyman was healed of many ailments after an unprejudiced and intelligent study of Science and Health, and is now performing his Christly ministrations in healing the sick and restoring the sinful in the light of Christian Science. After being convinced from a thorough investigation of the Christ Spirit made manifest in its followers, he declared that he must put in practice its divine Principle.

The studious habits, the profound scholarship, the kindly nature, and the simple faith of the German people make easy the acceptance of the Christ Science which Mrs. Eddy has named Christian Science.

In the past, only the State Church of Germany has had a charter from the government. On application, however, from the Christian Scientists, an exception was made in their favor. Apart from the State Church this is the only denomination which has ever been granted a charter by the empire.

Cases of healing have occurred so frequently at the meetings of this Hanover church that now people attend their services for that purpose, and their simple faith is thus manifested.

The gratitude of the German people for benefits received, and their profound reverence and esteem for the Founder and Discoverer of Christian Science is especially marked and notable. This gratitude found expression in the presentation of the gift for which Frau Peterson visited Concord.

This copy of the Holy Scriptures, which is a rare specimen of the printer’s and book-binder’s art, is substantially bound in leather with rich silver trimmings and clasp, upon the latter of which is engraved the name of Mrs. Eddy.

From the title page one learns that the sacred work is a translation of the Holy Scriptures according to Martin Luther, and contains thirty fine engravings upon Old Testament subjects by the great masters, and fifteen rare engravings on the life of Jesus by the world famous artist, Heinrich Hofmann.

A handsome illuminated page has been inserted, which in beautiful German text reads as follows: “The members of First Church of Christ, Scientists, in Hanover, Germany, in profound esteem, present this volume to their beloved Teacher and Leader.” Then follow the names of the donors.

In connection with the expressions of love and gratitude for the physical and spiritual healing that has come to these reverent people through Mrs. Eddy is an interesting incident. One of the early students of Mrs. Eddy was a German, and to him, Mrs. Eddy said, “Germany will be the first European nation to accept Christian Science. Their love of God, their profound religious character, their deep faith, and strong intellectual qualities make them particularly receptive to Christian Science.” In the presence of this prized gift it is seen that this prophecy is being fulfilled. — Concord Monitor.

Christian Science Journal, April 1924

Help me to sing Thy praise

In little, nameless ways.

The smallest deed done, Lord, for Thee

Makes such sweet melody;

Oh, foolishness from singing thus to cease,

Losing, thereby, my peace.

Dear God! the birds upon the leafy trees

Sing but Thy harmonies;

Keep me in tune like these.

And self be silent, lest I miss

This song of happiness.

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Interesting Squibs

I consider a decent respect for Christianity among the best recommendations for public service.

Personally, when I have been in trouble, I have read the Bible until a text has seemed to stand out of the Book, and salute me, saying, "I was written specially for you."

There is, in all God’s good universe, no man who needs healing, no sick body or discordant condition to be changed, no evil circumstance or powerful sin to be overcome, only false belief to be supplanted by the truth, a dream to be awakened from by the spiritual understanding of reality.

We say in Christian Science that Truth uncovers error. As what? As nothing. Always as nothing.

If you keep marching with the Truth, it will make no difference if your knees are shaking; you are not thinking with your knees anyway!

You have not to fight, not to struggle, but only to know.

It is that which thou art most loath to hear that thou hast most need to hear; instead of being angry with him who points it out to thee, thou shouldst be willing to pay him for doing it.

A weak error unfolds a strong truth.

Charles Spurgeon

God’s will for His children is happiness and harmony, throughout eternity.

Morally considered, laughter is next to the Ten Commandments.

The child, through stumbling, learns to walk erect. Every fall is a fall upwards.

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.

In Science, the only error that is to be feared is an unchallenged error. An error that is challenged, is defeated, and a defeated error is unreality.

There is no belief in mortal mind that cannot be corrected. Never doubt that you have the upper hand at all times.

Ring the bells that still can ring Forget your perfect offering There is a crack in everything That’s how the light gets in.

If you obey God’s commands, everything about you will bloom.

A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education.

Theodore Roosevelt

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From the Early Workers

From the Carpenter Collection

We shall do well today if we create a joyful sense in the minds of those who are receptive. They are the shepherds. What is a shepherd? One whose interest in the sheep is greater than his interest in himself. David was willing to give his life for the sheep. He protected the sheep against wild animals. When the lion and the bear came out to destroy the sheep, and to steal them away, he fought and conquered. He would have given his life for the sheep. Thus the shepherds were those whose thought went out and not in. They were all the time thinking of the sheep.

One of the great values of the practice in Christian Science is the habit it gives to you of thinking out instead of in. When you are thinking out, you are a shepherd; and when you are thinking out, if there is anything good, you are going to get it. And thus, because the shepherds heard, they were aware of the new birth; so we also know that the new birth is now taking place, and our work must be to go out and attract the thought of the shepherds, the receptive thought. We can’t attract anybody else. Of course, the wise men were also attracted because they were receptive. They were away from the body by virtue of metaphysics, and the shepherds were away from the body by way of love and affection, that is, by a feeling of responsibility. So when our thought goes out, it will meet those who through metaphysical thought are absent from the body, and those who by unselfish devotion to others are absent from the body; and those people deserve what we are able to give them: the realization that this is the accepted day and this is the day of salvation.

Salvation is the day when the true idea of man is born into thought. Then it is our responsibility to take care of it, feed it, clothe it, minister to it, and to let it function to bless. Apparently Jesus had very little to do with his family because they needed less, but he went out to those who needed him more and ministered to them; and that should be our effort. We should remember this is a day of giving, and the world has disparaged it and so limited it by thinking of giving as the giving of material gifts.

We say, “What shall I give so and so? I'll run down to the store and see if they haven't got some gift,” when the gift that is beyond price and value is right in your thought if only you are not too lazy to give it. Let your light so shine before men, that they shall see your good works and so be persuaded to glorify your Father who is in heaven. And so this giving of gifts is largely a matter of realizing what is the most important gift you can give anybody. Peter said, “Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee,” and he made the blind to see – and all mankind are blind; and the principal work we have as Christian Scientists is healing the blind – blind eyes that think they see but do not, for as Science and Health declares, on page 479, “An image of mortal thought, reflected on the retina, is all that the eye beholds.”

Christian Science Sentinel, December 21, 1918

Christendom celebrates the birth of Jesus the Christ on December twenty-fifth, but the scientific Christian seeks to make every day a Christ-day. Christian Science invites mankind to rejoice over the fact that Christ is never absent, and to apply this fact to the healing of the nations. Mrs. Eddy has written (Poems, p. 29): –

Dear Christ, forever here and near,

No cradle song,

No natal hour and mother’s tear,

To thee belong.

Jesus came as a little child. The tender spiritual perception of Mary, that man is the son of God, manifested itself in a human babe. Christians, therefore, do well who seek to understand and cultivate the spiritual child quality, for it is this quality in women and men which reveals the Christ to them. While the chief priests and scribes resented the wonderful works of the Messiah, the children cried in the temple, "”Hosanna to the son of David,” and Jesus confounded his critics by quoting the words of the psalmist, “Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise.” The unconscious humility and purity of the child pave the way for true wisdom.

It was the childlike quality in the Wisemen of the East, not mere human wisdom, which brought them to do homage at Jesus' manger. They had seen his star. There were doubtless many wise men and many observers of the stars in the East, but the three alone sought the Christ child. It was the unspoiled wisdom of the child in Jesus himself which made the doctors in the temple “astonished at his understanding and answers,” for there is nothing more disconcerting to religionists splitting doctrinal hairs and magnifying intellectual nonessentials than the direct questions and answers of a little child.

It was the quality of the young child which caused Jesus as a grown man to bless the little ones and set one of them before his disciples as a type of those who enter the kingdom of heaven. The pure, unerring discernment of childlikeness enabled Jesus to select his disciples, to detect those who were ready to follow him immediately, leaving behind the ties of the flesh and making no excuses.

Christ Jesus, as the blessed and beloved child, the heir, brought the gospel to a waiting world, and though the husbandmen might believe they could slay the heir, they could not prevent the rending of the veil, the bursting of the tomb, the resurrection, and the ascension. What Jesus could not say to the materialistic age in which he worked and taught, he left to be revealed by the Comforter, who leads into all truth.

When, in the early years of the nineteenth century, a little child, nurtured in a Godly home, heard herself called by name by the voice of God, there came to that child, Mary Baker, now known to the world as Mary Baker Eddy, the divine commission which she has since fulfilled. Christian Science, the Comforter, which she discovered and founded, has fulfilled the law by bringing to human consciousness the motherhood as well as the fatherhood of God. Thus the complete God is revealed and the understanding of the complete man knocks at the door for admission.

Referring to her discovery of Christian Science Mrs. Eddy writes in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures (p. 109): “The revelation of Truth in the understanding came to me gradually and apparently through divine power. When a new spiritual idea is borne to earth, the prophetic Scripture of Isaiah is renewedly fulfilled: ‘Unto us a child is born, ... and his name shall be called Wonderful.’”

Christian Science Sentinel, February 7, 1925

It is comely to be glad!

Joy is the grace we say to God.

And so, one poet presents the union of gladness and gratitude. Mankind has often searched for these sentiments, wishing it might be grateful and glad; but it has not always been aware that these mental qualities are quite inseparable. For those who realize the desirability — in fact, the necessity — of possessing these beautiful qualities, understanding their close affiliation is a step towards winning them.

When trials and difficulties press hard, mankind has cried out to God for relief, and often wondered why their prayers have not been answered. Yet if counseled to be grateful and glad, how often they have exclaimed: Gratitude! What have we to be grateful for? Gladness! How can we be glad in the midst of such distress? Yet, God’s command has echoed down through the ages: “Be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.”

Jesus understood this demand of the Father so well that his demonstration always included obedience to it. The Scriptures tell us again and again of his giving thanks in the midst of what to the human senses appeared to be most desperate circumstances. And he talked to his disciples of his unfailing joy, stating at one time that he had taught them certain things in order that his joy might remain in them. He always endeavored to lift thought from the material to the spiritual, from the false concepts of mortal belief to the realities of God and His creation.

The people of Jesus’ time were, however, slow to hear, and it remained for Christian Science — the Comforter — to explain God’s creation, that today men may rejoice forever in the things which God creates.

Right here is where we can start to express gladness and gratitude. There is never a moment when we cannot thank God that He is infinite good and that, as His children, we belong to His perfection. Whatever the seeming trial, whatever the apparent difficulty, we may always know the truth that good is real and infinite, and insist vehemently on the great facts of God’s omnipresence, omnipotence, omniscience and of man’s unity therewith. We then quickly see that error can never make us doubt that we already have everything for which to be grateful and glad!

Mary Baker Eddy sounds the note of all true gladness and gratitude when she writes: “Divine Science, the Word of God, saith to the darkness upon the face of error, ‘God is All-in-all,’ and the light of ever-present Love illumines the universe. Hence the eternal wonder, — that infinite space is peopled with God’s ideas, reflecting Him in countless spiritual forms.” (S&H p. 503)

Now “the light of ever-present Love” is most wonderful in its effect! No sooner does one accept the truth “that infinite space is peopled with God’s ideas,” — as soon as he begins to lay hold of and demonstrate this ever present good, — gratitude and gladness begin to flood his consciousness. With this illumination, sickness is healed, sin is rejected, lack vanishes into its native nothingness, and “the oil of gladness and the perfume of gratitude” enrich his every word and deed. (S&H p. 367) This is indeed “the grace we say to God”!

Every day I keep

in banquet hall of my heart

a thanksgiving feast

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Current Articles

This summer I had the amazing experience of raising a little brood of baby birds after their nest was disturbed by workmen and it seemed the mother had abandoned them.

Raising these little expressions was both an honour and a beautiful challenge, something that I will remember for the rest of my life. Baby birds need feeding every few minutes from dawn to dusk, so it was a real insight into how hard birds have to work to raise their young. As they became more mobile, I put their nest into a shower room with the plan to release them from there, through the window.

Eventually the chicks did leave and for a few days they stayed around our garden, coming to feed when I called them and apparently doing well. Then one wet, dark morning I went out to the garden and called them as usual. I soon heard one calling to me, it was a quite urgent call and sounded like it needed help.

I called and called and this little thing called back, but I couldn’t see it, and the rain was torrential so I felt I couldn’t do anything more and would come back out later. As I walked around the corner, I saw the bird — not in the tree, as I thought, but on the ground, wet and dirty and unable to walk properly.

I was able to pick it up, and it nestled immediately in my hand. The leg appeared twisted. I brought it back to its nest in the shower room, where it fell asleep. It really didn’t look good, and my human understanding tried to make me believe that the leg was broken. I stood porter on the door of my thoughts and refused to give the suggested appearance any reality. I told the little bird how perfect it was, and that it was the perfect expression of God.

As the day went by it ventured out and did appear to be struggling, but I held my thought to God and refused to give it any reality. I refused to look at the leg. A very simple, straightforward sentence came to mind — “God makes and governs all” — and I just held on to that and thought about what it meant for the little bird and for the whole world.

After a couple of days I was so grateful to see that the leg was completely perfect again. Soon the bird was completely fine and able to fly, perch and hop about as normal, and ready to be re-released. I was so blessed to witness this absolutely amazing healing, and I am so grateful to God for this.

The whole amazing experience has been a real learning curve, in more ways than one. It gave me incredible insights into some of Creation’s quiet, everyday miracles.

The little nest of birds brought so much happiness. Numerous people came to see them and had a go at feeding them, and everyone was entranced by the wonder of them.

I am so grateful to God for sharing this amazing experience with me.

I am very grateful for the experience that I had recently of one of the little blessings of life.

Recently my wife and I went pumpkin and apple picking with our kids and their friend. It was our first time doing something like this, and we had a wonderful time. When we came home the kids happily decorated their pumpkins and placed them outside the front door.

But the following Sunday afternoon, as we arrived home from church, we saw that the pumpkins had been eaten by some wildlife. My daughter thought it was the rabbits, while her brother argued it was the squirrel. I thought it was the deer because only the deer could break pumpkins that big. Nevertheless, they were very upset and wanted another pumpkin. I let them know that I understood why they were upset and made a promise to go with them to pick up some pumpkins. It made them happy, knowing they're getting another pumpkin. But I had already agreed to drop off a church member at her house after lunch, a distance away.

During the drive to her house, we had conversations about different topics, including the kids, but I didn’t mention the pumpkins. But God had a plan and it had already been provided. As we were getting closer to her house, I noticed she was sending a text message. Afterwards she said that she had just sent a text to her husband asking him to put some pumpkins in the goodie bags she had arranged for the kids. Her kindness was God’s answer to my children’s prayers.

All our needs are known to God. Just like Mrs. Eddy said in Science and Health, “Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need.” When I came home, the kids couldn’t believe their eyes, more pumpkins! I am very grateful to God for what He is doing in their lives.

This experience also was another opportunity for me to reflect on God’s love for us all and how He never fails in all His promises. And as the holidays approach, it is important that we take the time to remember all of God’s children everywhere; knowing that no one is outside of God’s love and care, and that He always will meet everyone’s needs accordingly. I am very grateful to Mary Baker Eddy for her revelation of Christian Science that has opened my understanding of the knowledge of God and the divine Principle that is in operation in our lives, and everywhere.

I was thinking today of different things I really wanted to happen when I was younger — and how happy I am now that each of those things did not come about!

At one point I was living in the Boston area, and I really wanted to stay there and keep working in construction. But plans changed and I moved to another town. That move gave me the opportunity to change my career and learn graphic design, which proved to be very helpful when I came here.

Another time, I really wanted to get a job closer to where my children lived, but the only job I could find was another thirty minutes away from them. But this turned out to be in a town that allowed me to strike up a friendship with someone who knew of this church, and our conversations and his contacts helped me to be ready to come here.

And finally, the first few times I used a computer were all I needed to let me know I didn’t want anything to do with them. But God kept nudging me toward them, and, of course, this was also very helpful when I came here.

It makes me laugh to think of these instances, and many others, that I am so glad didn’t work out as I had wanted — and so grateful to be able to look back through all that and see God’s hand at work, guiding me and preparing me to be ready to come here and be useful to Him.

This was wonderful for me to see. It taught me that we may not know what God’s plan is, but that His plan is always better than anything we could imagine for ourselves.

What a joy it is to be a member of this church, and to be here. There is no place like this!

A couple of years ago, I came down with the symptoms of a heavy cold and wasn’t feeling well at all. I really wanted to be healed of this; but then I asked myself, why would I want to be healed? Is it just so I can feel better and be comfortable, and for no other reason? I knew it could not be selfishly driven — and I realized the answer would need to be to do better work for God, to radiate His perfection out to the world — and to learn a lesson.

As I thought about the word “cold,” it seemed like such a strange word to assign to this, because I didn’t feel cold at all. I realized that the solution for cold is warmth. So what I needed to do was warm up my affection for the things of God. I took some time to really think about this. Do I have an affection, a warm affection, for the things that are true, a warm affection for the things that are loving, for the things that are principled? I kept working like that for a number of days, and soon I was healed of those symptoms. I don’t know when the healing came, because I wasn’t really focusing on the healing; but I'm so thankful that I can say I know why. It’s because of these truths that we learn in Christian Science and how to live them.

I'm so glad that we can be together every Wednesday evening for our testimony meetings. It is the most wonderful time. I remember our teacher told us it’s the most important thing going on in the world at that time, and it is. People come in and their lives begin to become transformed.

When I discovered Christian Science, it was in an attempt to disprove it while I was in college. I didn’t think it made any sense at all, and I wanted my girlfriend to accept that. She was a Christian Scientist, but I realized that, to give it a fair shake, I'd better read the textbook. So I took up the textbook. When I got to the chapter on Prayer, the child of a professor of mine became ill and was rushed to the emergency room. He and I were very close, so I was concerned. By that time I was thinking there might be some truth to Christian Science, so I asked my professor if he would like me to pray for his child, and he said yes.

In the Bible lesson that week was the story about the centurion’s son, where Jesus told him to go back home and his child would be healed. When he went back, the child was healed. It was the exact hour he was told by Jesus his child would be healed.

I said, well, I will give it my best shot, and I mentally went to God. It turned out that on the second day of prayer, I heard an angel voice saying, it’s OK. I went back the next day to talk to the professor and found out his child was healed the same hour that I heard the angel message.

That changed my life completely, and I realized that Christian Science is the way, and the only way.

When I first arrived in Plainfield a few years ago, I remember that I was easily distracted by just about every thought that came into my consciousness. As a result, while I thought I could multitask very well, I found myself not finishing things that needed to be done on time, and otherwise not really well focused. It was a bit of a problem for me for quite a while. But a practitioner in this church told me one day to take several breaks during the day out of whatever I was doing, and pray — talk to God, talk to Him like a friend. The practitioner said to ask God, “How am I doing? Is there anyone who needs my help? What should I be doing?” Then I needed to listen carefully, and make sure that I follow what He puts into my heart.

Well, I quickly learned what a valuable conversation you can have with God in just a very few minutes. And it has become a wonderful discipline ever since, of regularly praying to God. It has calmed me, it has given me a peace that I didn’t know before, and, in addition, it has made me more productive. I finish things that really do need to be finished, and I don’t get so easily distracted by things that don’t really need to be done. I think what I'm most grateful for is that it was the beginning of a serious and close relationship with God that I had not had. I learned to feel His love for me more closely, and I also lost that feeling of separation from God. Instead, I felt His nearness, and His closeness much better.

This has really given me a new life — a life that I am so very grateful for. I'm grateful for this kind of help that I was able to receive from our practitioner, and I'm also grateful to Mary Baker Eddy for discovering this Science. It really is a Science, because it works, and it unfailingly has the answer to every problem.

With his love and dedication to the Truth of God's Allness, Christ Jesus freed men from every ill, proving man's dominion, as a gift given to all by our Father-Mother, God. This was lost since our Master's time. Now through our Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, who took up the cross and lived the Saviour's example of a giving life, calls every man, woman, and child to follow the same example and live as though we are the children of Him who has all power, in order that all men may learn who they really are.

With even the smallest truth of God’s supremacy that we each understand, we can use these liberating truths, and prove our own freedom from the oppression of sin, sickness, and death. God made all His children free, as Mrs. Eddy proved in her own life, and taught many to do the same.

Mrs. Eddy wrote in Miscellany (pg. 165:16-22), “As an active portion of one stupendous whole, goodness identifies man with universal good. Thus may each member of this church rise above the oft-repeated inquiry, What am I? to the scientific response: I am able to impart truth, health, and happiness, and this is my rock of salvation and my reason for existing.”

May we also live this giving life, which loves and blesses one another, so that we too can answer when asked, “what am I?” with what Mrs. Eddy says above. That must be our greatest duty to mankind, and it is blessed!

(I Samuel 7:12)

Hitherto hath the Lord helped us,”

 and henceforth too He will.

He who ordains the way for us,

 His purpose will fulfill.

And who will keep us from the good

 He has in love prepared,

Or overrule the harmony

 that should by men be shared?

Therefore will not we doubt the care

 that guards our pathway still.

“Hitherto hath the Lord helped us,”

 and henceforth too He will.

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Letters of Gratitude

Much gratitude for true Christian Science that can be found here in the Plainfield Christian Science Church, Independent.

It is almost 30 years now since I took class instruction in Baltimore, from a very sweet motherly teacher. I was surprised to learn that in Baltimore, the Scientists were divided into two groups — one who agreed with the Board, and the other group who felt there was much wrong with the organization. Before I took class I had a healing of skin cancer by a practitioner, so I thought that Christian Science must be the real Christian teaching. As the Bible states, following Jesus is not by words alone.

For many years I found it difficult to understand my relation with matter, or my body. I read statements from the textbook like: “The corporeal senses are the only source of evil or error” (page 489), and “Consciousness constructs a better body when faith in matter has been conquered” (page 425).

All the teaching I had received, and all the reading of the Christian Science literature and periodicals did not explain to my satisfaction the nothingness of matter, in which we seem to live, and move, and have our being.

When I came to this Plainfield Church, I found much literature kept hidden by the organization in Boston; teachings from Martha Wilcox, Herbert Eustace, Bicknell Young, and several more, all disciples of Mrs. Eddy. The Plainfield websites are full of the great teachings directly from these practitioners taught by Mrs. Eddy, articles and books that are almost nowhere else to be found. I found that the teachings on Body that are available on our websites did start to clarify for me the issues with the material senses, and body. All is consciousness, as made clear in the Scientific Statement of Being.

We must be so very grateful for this Church, and it is the only Christian Science Church I know of which publishes the works of the great teachers and healers of the early period. Gratitude is the only right prayer, anyhow. I want to share something to warm your heart; it is from the 1875 edition of Science and Health by Mary Baker Eddy, “When the sharp experiences of supposed Life in matter ... Turn us from it as tired children to a home in the bosom of Love, then are we fit to understand Life apart from vanities and lies ... In the bosom of Love where all reality gathers.”

Dear Plainfield Christian Science Church, Independent,

I am very grateful for all that you put on the website — all the information, prayers, and work you do. Thank you! Blessings to you all.

Thank you so much for another really helpful Roundtable last Sunday. I've been thinking about the little boy who fell off a roof and cried, “God, get underneath me” and received the reply, “I'm already here.” This reminded me of Mrs. Eddy saying something to her class, to the effect that if she stepped out of the upstairs window of her classroom, she would be entirely safe, were it not for the mortal mind influences around her. (Sorry, I couldn’t find the exact quote or source for that.)

Also, I recalled reading a testimony years ago about a man whose parachute failed to open when he jumped out of a plane. He prayed as he fell, and when he hit the ground, he actually bounced, and so landed without any dire effects.

In addition, I recall reading an experience (not Christian Science but still remarkable), at Milton Abbey in Dorset, England, in the 17th century. John Tregonwell, who was five at the time, climbed the tower of the big church with his nurse (presumably to admire the view). It was a summer’s day, and he reached too far out over the parapet to pick a wild rose, lost his footing, and fell 100 feet to the ground. His shocked nurse rushed down the stairs and found him happily playing in the grass.

His starched petticoats (as small children wore at that time in the 17th century) had acted as a parachute, and floated him gently down to the ground. He lived a long life, and became High Sheriff of Dorset, and as an adult, gave a costly gift of a library of books to the Abbey as thanksgiving for his deliverance on that occasion.

I am very grateful for the Plainfield Roundtables, and to be learning that we can always have an expectation of good. I am very grateful for Mrs. Eddy’s discovery of Christian Science, and her work to give this to the world, and to the early workers who left accounts of how she and they applied this Science in their lives. I am grateful to my very kind Plainfield practitioner for her continued support, and to everyone at the Plainfield Church, Independent for all their dedication and outreach to the world.

I have been so blessed to find Plainfield Christian Science Church, Independent and greatly value the services, Roundtables, and various articles read on YouTube. I am especially grateful for Bicknell Young’s article recently uploaded: “Three Rules for Treatment.”

This last Sunday, I was able to listen to the service as it happened while I was on my way to play for a Catholic Mass, which is one of my jobs. I was struck by the level of understanding of the two Plainfield Church readers who read the Bible and Science and Health by Mary Baker Eddy.

During the week, I experienced instantaneous healing through the ministrations of my practitioner: I emailed her to ask for prayerful help because my teeth were hurting, and to ask for guidance on what I should pray for. I did that just before teaching a piano student; and while teaching the student, the pain left completely.

Her guidance was the following: “Indestructible substance of Soul — your very life! Rooted and grounded in Love, pure holiness, harmony, and immortality, thriving boundlessly, eternally in Love.”

With much gratitude!

Thanks for all you do! So glad to you for reflecting divine Love. I love the 24-hour Reading Room and the services. God bless,

Dear Fellow Members,

My gratitude is unbounded for all the truths that are shared in this independent church through Lessons, articles, Bible teachings, etc. On Sunday, September 1, 2024, Roundtable, among other things shared was the book, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, by Phillip Keller. Another book, Lessons From a Sheepdog, tells us of the dog's devotion to its master — responding immediately to his voice, and finding great joy in his presence.

We were asked, “Is my devotion to God equal to that of that faithful dog?” It was said: “Follow the Christ, feel his presence and power. God will give you everything you need to tend His sheep in whatever you do.” The book on Psalm 23 counsels, “At all times we would be wise to walk a little closer to Christ.” And in this church, we are encouraged to “stay in the Father’s house.”

God is speaking to all of us; when we listen, we can be assured of His presence and direction in all our ways. With much gratitude for the continual guidance given in this church and sent out to the world, I gladly enclose my monthly contribution!

Dear Plainfield Church, Independent,

I'm so grateful for finding the Plainfield Christian Science Church on YouTube. So many things have changed in my life for the better because of it.

I am studying a lot more. I get the Plainfield weekly lessons. I like that you read the Bible first and then Science and Health instead of jumping back and forth.

I have moved to a better place, have very nice neighbors, and made wonderful Christian friends. I have more peace and harmony in my life.

I wake up every morning so grateful to God for Mary Baker Eddy and her discovery of Christian Science, which taught us the healing power that Jesus Christ brought to this world. For all the work Plainfield has done for us, giving us back the true Manual and the works and books of her students, like Wilcox, Eustace, Young, and others. Also, all the work you put into your web page is so wonderful.

I am so blessed and truly grateful, and I pray daily for all the workers at Plainfield and our world. God bless all of you.

I would like to express my gratitude for the latest Liberator, September 2024, with the section on working for the election. It is so helpful in doing this very necessary work! Thanks to all who put together this lovely magazine. I've been working daily on this subject, and this section really helps me to focus on the truth.

Dear Plainfield C. S. Church,

I want to send a special thank you to the writers of this week’s extraordinary Bible Lesson on Mind. It is truly spiritually inspired.

I think every statement could take one straight to heaven. Being part of this church is an incredible blessing.

Dear Fellow Members,

It was mentioned in the Roundtable on Sunday, July 28, 2024, that Jesus said, "Follow me." I am very grateful for all the pieces of information — historic and current, the explanations, the insight, and inspiration that is shared in this Independent church!

From the Bible Studies, the Lesson Sermons and Roundtable, the readings and testimonies at Wednesday evening meetings, our "Love is the Liberator" magazine, the many articles and books on the website, we are able to glean much to aid us in understanding the truths shared, and encouragement to take each step in our journey to follow Jesus in The Way.

With a heart full of gratitude, I enclose my monthly contribution to this church. With love,

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Testimonies of Healing

Switzerland

This testimony is from a friend we have who lives in Switzerland. He asked if I would give his testimony for him, which he told me about today.

He was taking a trip into the countryside and was crossing the border from Switzerland into France to visit a very old town there. It sounded absolutely beautiful, located on a river, and was originally founded by Julius Caesar. He went there on a Sunday along with a friend, but the town area where they were to walk around had been cordoned off. You couldn’t go by car, so he had to park and walk a distance. He said he hadn’t walked very much in several years, and he found it difficult, so he felt a little challenged at first. But he decided that nothing would interrupt the harmony of that day. So as he walked about, one of his feet began to ache, but he was knowing the truth about it, that nothing could interrupt the harmony of that time, and the pain and discomfort left.

Then he and his friend stopped at a little café to have coffee. As they were sitting there, a young family was nearby with a baby, and a little toddler. The toddler was crying off and on, then all of a sudden the toddler began to really cry hard, very loudly, and very disruptively. Our friend said he was not going to react, but just pray, knowing that God’s angels surrounded this little fellow, and all was well.

As he was praying that way, this little boy suddenly locked eyes with him, and was looking at him in the most intent manner. The man felt that the child wanted something from him. So, he said to this little boy, “Now, that’s not a very intelligent way to behave.” All of a sudden, that little boy just stopped crying. He went from practically screaming to not crying at all. The parents looked at him in amazement because they had been trying all kinds of things to get him to stop crying, bouncing him, doing various things parents often do. They asked the man if he could go home with them. The man said, “Well, no, but I will tell you that this little fellow is an intelligent idea. If you speak intelligently to him, you might have good success.”

When he was telling me this, it reminded me of what Mrs. Eddy says in Science and Health, page 305, “Because man is the reflection of his Maker, he is not subject to birth, growth, maturity, decay. These mortal dreams are of human origin, not divine.” He was proving this. That little child was at a state of maturity and could listen, be peaceful, and be still – and he was. That man stated how wonderful it is that we can take our Science with us wherever we go. We bless ourselves, and then we bless everyone else we come in contact with. That is certainly very true. I was grateful for that testimony.

New Hampshire

I am grateful to share tonight the experience that brought me to wholeheartedly turn to Christian Science.

I was raised in Christian Science; but during my early adulthood I was a very free spirit, always on the hunt to do fun things with my friends and I never felt a need to understand Science more. Reflecting on those years, I am very grateful for God’s ceaseless protection and guidance.

After living this way into my mid-twenties, I met my soon-to-be husband. We were driving home during an ice storm one night, and our car flipped over. I remember waking up, upside down, and looking over at him. I had recently been to a Christian Science lecture given by my grandmother, and the lessons came right back to me. I was flooded with peace and calmness. I told him, “do not be impressed!”

I felt no pain and we were rescued and brought to a hospital. They said my spine had been severely impacted and that it would never fully mend. I went through weeks of discomfort, but turned to Science and Health by Mary Baker Eddy and other Christian Science books.

As I look back to that time, I can see that my circumstances were being healed because I was turning my thoughts upward, learning more about God, His Love, His qualities, and the Truth that encompasses us all. My back is perfect, and I have not had any discomfort for many years.

I know my back is a perfect idea of God and that no thought of accident could touch that idea. I am so grateful to be free of the material claims that were put upon me.

Thank you, God.

from J. P. in New Jersey

When I came here to Plainfield and this church, I came with my own portion of baggage, a lot of which, from my vantage back then, was caused by people from my past. I had a hard time getting past those events, and an even more difficult time forgiving those people. My thought walking in the door here wasn’t to get healing from all that, mostly because I didn’t even know to hope for that. Really, all I wanted was some sort of framework which would help me to carry that load into the future.

These past eleven-plus years of taking part in all that this church offers, and working regularly with my practitioner, has brought me so much relief, comfort, and healing, that I truly feel like a totally different person. One thing I have noticed in working to apply the truths I am learning here, is that, while I am able to use this Science to reframe past events to see how God was working the whole time, what really brought the most healing, of all that so-called trauma, was learning to truly forgive the people involved, and sometimes to even forgive myself.

When I worked with how the Lord’s Prayer says “forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” and what Christ Jesus and Mary Baker Eddy say about loving our enemies, I realized that there was only so much freedom I could find if I held others to their past actions, or if I held myself to my past actions. After all, neither they nor I knew any better at that time. When I learned to truly forgive, the events themselves became as though I was vaguely remembering an old television program I saw as a kid. They no longer held any pain or anger.

I am so grateful for everything that went into these healings, which includes the Bible, Christ Jesus, Mary Baker Eddy and all her works, this church, and practitioner support. I am very grateful for the inner freedom and lightness I feel now. I am also grateful for the place and purpose God has given me. I am grateful to know that all these things are available to all people through Christian Science.

from K. D. in California

I would like to express gratitude for a healing I received on Monday morning. The day was very hot as I set about putting up a 9-foot patio umbrella in my yard, to provide some shade for my flowers and house. I had no shoes on, and while running between the yard and my garage, l rammed one of my toes into a brick planter. An immediate thought came berating me for not wearing shoes and that the toe was going to be either broken or very sore and bruised.

I had just come out from reading my Bible Lesson on Substance, with all of its uplifting angel messages, so I knew that I was “not made of things which do appear.” I needed to reverse the thoughts of pain and suffering, which I knew didn’t come from God. As soon as I did this, all kinds of healing truths followed — that God is always present with me, that I couldn’t “dash thy foot against a stone” (91st Psalm) because I was under God’s constant care and could never be separated for a moment from His watchful eye.

Ignoring the temptation to check on my toe, after entertaining all of these spiritual truths, my heart filled with joy, as I thought about how much I love God and how much He loves me. My activities continued as usual, although I did go inside to put on my shoes. In the evening, after taking the dogs for their three-mile walk, my toe came to thought, but there was nothing to think about. It was fine.

I am so grateful for this Plainfield Christian Science Church, Independent, for its teachings on Christian Science, and for awakening my thought.

from Maryland

This testimony expresses gratitude for a demonstration of God’s glorious goodness. Last week the lie suggesting itself before dawn, and continuing after I was up, was that something uncomfortable was going on in part of my body. In prayer to treat this unexpected claim of discord, the thought revealed was that this false belief came from nowhere because it was nothing, and also that something doesn’t need to happen to improve something that never happened.

Because part of the claim was that the discomfort was especially noticeable when I needed to bend,

I worked with the first verse of Mary Baker Eddy’s poem, “Love,” which reads:

Brood o'er us with Thy shelt’ring wing,

‘Neath which our spirits blend

Like brother birds, that soar and sing,

And on the same branch bend.

The arrow that doth wound the dove

Darts not from those who watch and love.

I declared that I was under Love’s wing and, rather than bending, I was blending with spiritual sense, with the truths of spiritual being, and that I could not feel the darts of aggressive mental suggestion as I persistently watched thought and expressed love.

I mentioned this false claim in conversation with my Plainfield practitioner, who reminded me that if the thoughts that come to mind are not of God, they have nothing to do with me and that my faith needs to remain in God, the only One, the All-in-all.

I am grateful for this healing that corrected a false belief which, after our phone conversation, stopped trying to grab my attention. My normal freedom of movement has continued during the ensuing days.

Additionally, I often express mentally my immense gratitude for the rich resources provided by this independent Christian Science church to promote the spiritual education of those who our dear Leader terms in our textbook “sincere seekers for Truth.” Earlier this year two individuals with whom I had slight acquaintance mentioned their health challenges. Although neither of them had been aware of Christian Science, each one was receptive to my offer to give them a copy of Science and Health.

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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.

Our Website

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

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

YouTube Channel

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

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

YouTube.com/PlainfieldCS

Our Church Publications

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

Newsletter

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

Books by Early Workers in Christian Science

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

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

Church Membership

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

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

Websites in Other Languages

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Tenets of Christian Science

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”