Article May 17, 1930 Issue

Notices

In their endeavor to comply fully with Article III, Sections 7 and 8, of the Manual of The Mother Church, some Christian Science church members lose sight of the fact that these provisions relating to discipline in branch churches and to the duties of Readers should be construed with certain other By-Laws. While, on the one hand, the By-Laws require a First Reader to "enforce the discipline and by-laws of the church" and a Reader to "maintain the Tenets, Rules, and discipline of the Church," on the other hand they provide that the Reader "shall not be a Leader" and "shall not be a President of a church." The intent of the prohibitions clearly is that the Reader shall not become a dictator; and, indeed, this were impossible in a body governed democratically.

Sections 1 and 10 of Article XXIII constitute two distinct provisions in the Manual governing branch churches and requiring that they shall be democratically self-governed. Both By-Laws received Mrs. Eddy's attention and revision in her later years at a time when she requested the Editor of the Christian Science periodicals to publish her wish that churches adopt a more truly democratic government. This appeared in the Christian Science Sentinel of January 15, 1910, as follows:

"Our Leader is desirous that all branch churches of Christ, Scientist, shall follow the growing tendency to adopt a truly democratic form of church government. She believes that all branch churches that have been more or less controlled by any one teacher, or the students of any one teacher, will find it greatly to their advantage to change to a broader and more liberal form of government. Mrs. Eddy is impressed with the wisdom of this movement, and would like you to call attention to the benefit the Field may derive from such action."

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