Article April 20, 1907 Issue

PEACE MEETING IN THE MOTHER CHURCH

Sunday evening, April 14, there was held in The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, a public meeting for the purpose of giving recognition and support to the great international peace movement now prominently before the world. and which is heartily endorsed by Mrs. Eddy and her followers. The Executive Committee of the National Arbitration and Peace Congress, held in New York, April 14 to 17, had issued a request to all the churches in that city to hold Sunday meetings auxiliary to the Congress, in order that the public might become better informed upon the whole general question of arbitration and peace, together with the work of The Hague Peace Conference. Mrs. Eddy, on being informed that such a request had been made, directed that a meeting should be held in The Mother Church in Boston, in order that the movement might receive the formal approval and sympathy of her Church.

The meeting, which was presided over by Rev. William P. McKenzie, was a success in every way. The large auditorium, with a seating capacity of five thousand, was completely filled before the meeting opened at half past seven, and fully a thousand persons stood throughout the exercises. The order of services included an organ voluntary, the singing of Hymn 153 from the Christian Science Hymnal, the reading of an appropriate selection from the Scriptures (Psalm 37:1—11 and Isaiah, 55:11, 12), silent prayer followed by the repetition of the Lord's Prayer, the reading of appropriate selections from Mrs. Eddy's book Science and Health, and addresses by Hon. John D. Long, ex-Governor of Massachusetts and ex-Secretary of the Navy, Hon. John L. Bates, ex-Governor of Massachusetts, and William Lloyd Garrison. After the addresses the immense audience sang the Doxology with impressive effect, and the meeting was then closed with the reading of 2 Thessalonians, 3:16, 18, as a benediction. The speakers were introduced by Mr. McKenzie, who said,—

An ancient proverb declares that "to the counselors of peace is joy," and a New Testament writer elaborates the thought by saying that "the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace." Furthermore we have the word of the Master, who declared the beatitude of those who seek peace and pursue it when he said, "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God." The teaching of Christian Science on this subject is found in the text-book, Science and Health, where Mrs. Eddy writes: "When the divine precepts are understood, they unfold the foundation of fellowship, in which one mind is not at war with another, but all have one Spirit, God, one intelligent source, in accordance with the Scriptural command: 'Let this Mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus'" (p. 276). "It should be thoroughly understood that all men have one Mind, one God and Father, one Life, Truth, and Love. Mankind will become perfect in proportion as this fact becomes apparent, and thus the true brotherhood of man will be established" (p. 467). "The divine Principle of the First Commandment bases the Science of being, by which man demonstrates health, holiness, and life eternal. One infinite God, good, unifies men and nations; constitutes the brotherhood of man; ends wars; fulfils the Scripture, 'Love thy neighbor as thyself;' annihilates pagan and Christian idolatry,—whatever is wrong in social, civil, criminal, political, and religious codes; equalizes the sexes; annuls the curse on man, and leaves nothing that can sin, suffer, be punished or destroyed" (p. 340).

Send a comment to the editors

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit

PEACE MEETING IN THE MOTHER CHURCH

We'd love to hear from you!

Sign up for unlimited access