The 5 W'S of the public practice of Christian Science

By Marilyn Jones

If you've ever taken a journalism course, you'll know that every story should cover the "Five W's": Who, What, When, Where, and Why. I was thinking about that formula a few weeks ago at a dinner with California friends I hadn't seen for a long time. Hearing me mention that I'm a Christian Science practitioner, Marcy brought up the question, "What exactly is a Christian Science practitioner?" Before I could answer, Mary, from across the table, offered that a Christian Science healer is kind of an advisor, or a counselor. Well, not really, I ventured.

Maybe the best introduction to what my profession is would be to answer Marcy's question—and the question posed on the cover of this issue—by falling back to the standard guideline that any beginning journalist would use. Not a bad idea!

So, let's begin with Who. As you'll see from the practitioners featured in this week's issue, a Christian Science practitioner can be anyone. Our backgrounds range from those who have practiced Christian Science all their lives to those of us who discovered Christian Science in adulthood—often through some circuitous route that involved searching—even yearning—for spiritual answers to life's challenges. And for healing.