Church Alive October 15, 2012 Issue

The following was written in support of Church Alive, a focus of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, that explores the meaning and possibilities of awakening to the spiritual basis and impact of Church.

Look up!

Tony Lobl

It was ten minutes before the start of a Christian Science church’s Wednesday evening testimony meeting; a member and a long-standing visitor turned up to find the doors locked and no usher in sight.

When I arrived there a few minutes later, someone opened the doors and unlocked the gate to the car park. With three minutes to go, the First Reader walked to the platform and not one seat in the auditorium was filled. The organist who was playing was out of sight and not even one of the regulars. The individual who was clerk, and also served as an usher and board chairman, was away that week, as were another handful of stalwarts. It didn’t look promising.

But a young art student from the nearby university unexpectedly came in. She was touring churches in the area. She wanted to sit at the back of the congregation during the meeting and paint what she saw. With one minute to go before the start of the service, the First Reader gave the young art student permission to paint. Then a recent regular attendee—a newcomer to Christian Science—arrived to bolster the congregation numbers to five, shortly followed by the delayed usher and her husband.