Dear Massachusetts Church Members,
In Mary Baker Eddy’s address for the laying of the cornerstone of The Mother Church (May 21, 1894), she wrote:
“To-day, be this hope in each of our hearts, — precious in God’s sight as shall be the assembling of His people in this temple, sweet as the rest that remaineth for the righteous, and fresh as a summer morn, — that, from earth’s pillows of stone, our visible lives are rising to God.” (Mis. 144:21-26)
The true spirit of church reaches beyond the bricks and mortar of our church walls to the individual lives that “are rising to God.” I am grateful for the “assembling of His people in this temple” — for each one of you and your prayerful support of our church. I have so appreciated the opportunity to meet with many of you in your own branch churches to understand more deeply what the work of the Committee on Publication involves and how you are a vital part of that work. In these workshops, we have discussed various impositions that come to thought, such as:
What if I don’t feel ready to share Christian Science freely with others?
How can I help people of other Christian faiths understand that our church is truly Christian?
How does handling impositions enable our church to open its doors even wider to the public?
How can we make a clear distinction between Christian Science and New Age philosophies?
How can we more clearly see the relevance and vitality of Christian Science to this age?
Here is a sampling of some of the kind comments I’ve received from church members following these gatherings:
“I was delighted to attend your workshop this morning. I found it thought-provoking and very enlightening—a real eye-opener.”
“How grateful I am for your presentation to [our] church community. Thank you, thank you. Even though I'm a third generation Christian Scientist (our three children ages 15, 13, 10 being the fourth,) I learned a great deal. More importantly, I felt empowered and prepared to share Science a little more freely.”
“I appreciated how the specific impositions on thought both from within and outside of our movement were specifically identified and correctly and spiritually addressed.”
I’ve made a point of sharing with members that we do this work together and that any imposition that would attempt to oppose the forward progress of our church is an opportunity for specific prayer. As noted by Kevin Ness, Manager of the worldwide Committees on Publication, “A church-sized demonstration requires a whole church of workers, and we as Committees on Publication are deeply grateful for all who join us on the watchtower in support of the “greatest and holiest of all causes,” Christian Science.”
I’ve had many opportunities this past quarter to see the effectiveness of the Committee on Publication work through meetings I’ve had with the public, including interviews with reporters and students writing research papers or stories for their school publications, as well as through interactions with those in the scientific, theological, and medical community.
Some of you have asked why you haven’t received regular notifications for the columns I wrote on Huffington Post and masshealthblog.com. The Committee on Publication continues to focus on the vital work of corrective writing and addressing specific impositions in public thought. We have paused on the regular weekly blog posts to focus more on responding to specific mentions published in the media or elsewhere.
I’m grateful to share that this year’s Annual Meeting report was just published in The Boston Sun p. 14 of the June 28 issue. This couldn’t have been done without the support of members who specifically offered their prayers for this activity.
It’s very important for us to stay connected in this work and one way to do that is through scheduling a church workshop. Please contact me at ma@compub.org.
With loving gratitude,
Ingrid Peschke, Christian Science Committee on Publication for Massachusetts
A Message from the Manager:
Committees on Publication often speak of their work as the collective work, the collective demonstration, of church, but what does this mean for you, our precious church members?
When one feels there are many roles and obligations to fill at church, it’s probably normal to ask or think, why should I as a church member spend time thinking about the Committee on Publication and its work? After all, there is an appointed, well-trained Committee in my area who is taking care of this for me, isn’t there?
I know I thought this way before becoming part of the Committee office. But it didn’t take long to see that the Committee work requires the prayer of all church members collectively, and to appreciate the immense uplift this support brings. Because the role of the Committee is primarily to lift erroneous impositions — false claims in public thought that would try to hinder individuals from visiting our churches or having a clear understanding of Christian Science or Mary Baker Eddy — this work is naturally done first and foremost as the healing of thought through prayer. Therefore each member is not only capable of doing it, but essential!
As the work of prayer, support of the Committee work is directly related to one’s consecrated prayer for church. Through the help of Committees on Publication, we can all be alert to the specific impositions on public thought, which must be addressed through Christly watchfulness and love. And if we find we’re inadvertently going along with an imposition — such as the claim that Christian Science isn’t relevant anymore, isn’t vital, or doesn’t heal as it once did — we can turn to our Pastor, and let divine Mind show us something new of the “living, palpitating presence of Christ, Truth,” here today for the practical salvation of the whole world.
Our daily Christian Science study and prayer can include not only treatment for ourselves, but for our church. Church, like man, is the embodiment of Spirit, the complete manifestation of infinite Mind. It is immovable, unshakeable, everlasting — “Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone.” (Eph 2:20; Ret 15:3)
A church-sized demonstration requires a whole church of workers, and we as Committees on Publication are deeply grateful for all who join us on the watchtower in support of the “greatest and holiest of all causes,” Christian Science. As a recent editorial in The Christian Science Journal noted, it is a cause “that enables and empowers every one who responds to it.” And this united work brings sure blessing to all who respond to it, as well as to all humanity.
With gratitude,
Kevin E. Ness
Manager, Committees on Publication