Article December 7, 1899 Issue

Among the Churches

The corner-stone of the First Church of Christ, Scientist, was laid, Thursday, November 30, by Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, First Reader of the church, in the presence of a thousand people who believe in Christian Science. The splendid temple, which will be reared at the northeast corner of Central Park West and Ninety-sixth Street, will cost, with the land, five hundred thousand dollars. It will be in the Grecian style of architecture, and will seat twenty-five hundred people.

The assemblage at the ceremony seemed to be rich and intellectual. Among those most prominent were Mrs. Laura Lathrop, Mrs. Emilie B. Hulin of Brooklyn; Mrs. Carrie M.Snider, Mrs. Effle Andrews, and Messrs, Baldwin, Van Nostrand, and Hatfield. But Mrs. Stetson was the central figure. She came here from Boston in 1886 and lives at No. 24 West Seventy-second Street. No one assisted her at the services on this occasion, and it was remarkable that almost every word she uttered was taken from the writings of Rev. Mary Baker Eddy, Founder of the sect.

Mrs. Stetson first read Mrs. Eddy's hymn, "Shepherd, show me how to go." The audience repeated the words. This was followed by selections from the Bible and from "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," one of Mrs. Eddy's works, the text-book of the sect.

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