Article January 2, 1932 ISSUE

Extracts from Reports of Christian Science Committess on Publication

Great Britain and Ireland.

The work of the year has shown a markedly progressive trend, and is developing more on constructive than on merely defensive lines. There is to-day a greater wish to know the facts about Christian Science and its Discover and Founder, Mary Baker Eddy, rather than simply to criticize them from preconceived ideas of prejudice and ignorance, as has so often been the case in the past. One instance of this is to be found in the number of groups and bodies of people who have, entirely unsolicited, asked for a speaker on Christian Science to address one of their meetings. With the permission of The Christian Science Board of Directors on each occasion, I have addressed four such meetings during the year, these meetings comprising a men's adult school in the provinces, a group of Anglican clergymen, a branch of "Toc. H," and a training college for women teachers. In each instance the invitation was inspired by a genuine desire to know something about Christian Science, and in very few cases was any captious criticism met with. Addresses of this nature have, with the consent of The Christian Science Board of Directors, also been given by Committees on Publication in other parts of the country. The value of such meetings lies in the fact that they are small, the attendance ranging from twelve to seventy persons. This enables them to be quite informal; and as questions are allowed, it provides opportunity for many points to be cleared up in a way which could not be done in a large gathering. Thus, many misconceptions have been removed.

A good illustration of what has taken place in the Church of England within recent years is afforded by the contrast between the report on spiritual healing made to the Lambeth Conference in 1920 and the passing, in January last, by two hundred votes to three, in the Lower House of Convocation of Canterbury, of a resolution petitioning the Archbishop of Canterbury "To appoint a joint Committee to draw up a provisional service for Unction and Imposition of Hands for temporary use until a permanent and fully authorized form could be issued under Synodical sanction."

A few years ago the number of my Assistant Committees on Publication was very small. To-day there are sixtysix such Assistants, and their duties are extensive and important. The excellent work done by these Assistants has been responsible for the republication in a number of papers of, for instance, extracts from the report of the Annual Meeting of The Mother Church; notices, with photographs, of the new Publishing House to be erected in Boston; and reprints of articles from the Christian Science Sentinel. Another important feature of this work is that of securing the publication each week of excerpts from our Lesson-Sermons in the Christian Science Quarterly. In one instance an editor of a local paper, who had previously declined to publish them, agreed to do so when an Assistant drew his attention to the fact that an excerpt from his paper had been republished in the "Signs of the Times" column of the Christian Science Sentinel.

Some of the encouraging results of the work are shown in the following incidents. A lady who was prejudiced against Christian Science entirely changed her attitude through reading in the local paper the reprint of an article from the Christian Science Sentinel; a postmaster, after reading a reply from this office to a criticism, wrote requesting information about Christian Science.

Send a comment to the editors
NEXT IN THIS ISSUE
Editorial
Man's Spiritual Origin
January 2, 1932
Contents

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit