Article August 16, 2010 Issue

Worship in the Church of Spirit

BY EVAN MEHLENBACHER

SITTING IN A CHURCH SERVICE ONE Sunday morning, feeling drowsy and unengaged, I was jolted awake when these questions grabbed my attention: "Which church are you attending? Are you attending the church of dull material routine, or are you worshipping in the church of spiritual inspiration?"

It was not the only time my attention had wandered during a church service, but it was the first time I'd glimpsed church attendance purely in terms of where my thinking rested, as opposed to where my body was propped.

I decided that if I was waiting to be entertained through the material senses, then I was essentially worshipping in what I labeled the "church of matter"—a frame of mind that was asleep to the realities of Spirit. I knew that Christian Science church services are not designed to stimulate material sense. They are intended to engage spiritual sense and lift thought to the heights of Spirit, God, through reason, revelation, and divine inspiration.