When The Christian Science Board of Directors announced their plan to start building the new Christian Science Publishing House, they presented to individual Christian Scientists everywhere an opportunity to nullify the claims of loss, lack, and limitation which had been alarming people all over the world for many months.

Almost simultaneously with the response to an invitation given in a letter from the Directors, dated October 14, 1931, to "each branch church and society to call a special meeting of its respective membership for the purpose of determining the total amount it would be able to contribute over a period of eighteen months," the fruits of obedience began to appear. In the case of one branch church, the meeting of the membership, called in answer to this announcement, was later spoken of by many members as the best meeting they had attended in many months.

At that meeting it was unanimously voted to devote one collection every month for eighteen months to the new Publishing House Building Fund and to guarantee for that fund, each of those months, a minimum amount which substantially exceeded the average collection which that church had been receiving for special fund purposes. In addition, it was also unanimously voted not to discontinue other charitable funds for which collections had for many years been taken regularly. It was therefore decided that the collection taken on the last Sunday in every month containing five Sundays would be donated alternately to the Building Fund of other Christian Science churches and to one or another of The Mother Church activities.

The statement of Mary Baker Eddy (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 79) that "giving does not impoverish us in the service of our Maker, neither does withholding enrich us," has been proved true by the collections taken for the new Publishing House Building Fund in accordance with the above-mentioned plan. The collections taken up to the time of this writing and sent to the Treasurer of The Mother Church have averaged more than the amount guaranteed. And though the pledge to the new fund was made at a time when the regular collections seemed insufficient to meet the ordinary expenses of the church, the year was ended without any deficit; and for this the membership is truly grateful.

Christian Scientists are grateful for every experience in church, business, or home which proves the wisdom of Paul's words: "He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver."

Generous giving to the new Publishing House Building Fund or to any of the funds of The Mother Church must be cheerful giving. It is never compulsory, and the invariable law which rewards individuals who give cheerfully also rewards churches which give in like manner. This has been demonstrated most convincingly in the experience of a branch Church of Christ, Scientist, which had been confronted with a deficit in its annual financial statement for a number of years. Then at the beginning of one new year the finance committee recommended that the church pledge a certain proportion of its entire collections that year to charitable purposes. While it had been the practice of that church to give funds to various activities of The Mother Church, and also to the building funds of other branch churches in the same city, the total contributions to such purposes had been considerably less than the amount which had now been proposed.

The plan was adopted, and that year the collections for the special charitable funds amounted to more than the amount pledged, and instead of a deficit in the expense fund of that church at the end of the year there was a balance of a considerable sum. Continued provision for generous systematic donations to worthy charitable purposes has been made by that branch church each of the six years since the aforementioned plan was adopted. And for seven consecutive years that church has had a comfortable balance in its expense fund to carry over to the new year, instead of the customary deficit of earlier years.

Mrs. Eddy found in her own experience that liberal giving is at-one with bountiful receiving; and with courage and wisdom she authorized the building of the original Mother Church edifice, and, later, the Extension to The Mother Church, during times of financial stringency. The opportunities that were thus offered Christian Scientists throughout the world to put into practice Jesus' admonition, "Give, and it shall be given unto you," not only blessed the individual givers in various ways, many of which were testified to at the time, but also provided much needed employment for many workmen, and gave heartening impetus to business in the many lines affiliated with the building industry.

Just as the impressive results which followed those earlier calls for building funds quickened world-wide interest in and respect for the religion of Love taught by Mrs. Eddy, so should the cheerful and generous response to this recent call further help to heal any present-day opinion that Christian Science is impractical idealism. As we go on from month to month adding our mental, moral, and financial support to the building of the new Christian Science Publishing House, we may well remind ourselves often of the advice with which our Leader closes her wonderful message "Pond and Purpose" in "Miscellaneous Writings," where she says (pp. 206, 207): "As you journey, and betimes sigh for rest 'beside the still waters,' ponder this lesson of love. Learn its purpose; and in hope and faith, where heart meets heart reciprocally blest, drink with me the living waters of the spirit of my life-purpose,—to impress humanity with the genuine recognition of practical, operative Christian Science."