Article April 14, 1934 Issue

The Office of the Congregation

MARGARET MURNEY GLENN

A Christian Scientist is not an office seeker, for he realizes that man is never without the office of reflecting God, and that this office requires constant, consecrated, intelligent activity. Then, too, he knows that he has to prove in his daily life that the Christ holds office in his consciousness. In "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 366) Mrs. Eddy describes this office of the Christ in the following words: "To destroy sin and its sequence, is the office of Christ, Truth,—according to His mode of Christian Science; and this is being done daily."As the Christian Scientist destroys sin and its sequence—discord, disease, and death—in his own thinking, he will find opportunity to help others prove that the Christ, Truth, alone has the office of governing consciousness.

Sometimes the demonstration of the office of the Christ, Truth, leads to its utilization in some church office, and the Christian Scientist who accepts such an office desires to devote intelligent, loving, prayerful thought to the work required by this church office, in order that he may reflect more of the spirit of divine Love which alone reveals the healing, enlightening, spiritualizing activity of the office itself. In order to do this he may very often need to destroy the belief of discouragement, inability, self-condemnation, lack of joy, or lack of spiritual vision. He may even find it necessary to deny the suggestions of envy, hatred, and materiality that may be trying to rob him, as well as others, of the activity and benefits of this office.

There is one office which belongs to most of us, in fact to all Christian Scientists who are not serving as Readers, soloists, or organists, and it is an office we often do not recognize as such, namely, our office as a member of the congregation. By bringing to this office the same consecration, love, and preparedness that we would bring to the office of Reader, soloist, organist, director, we shall find ourselves tremendously enriched, enlightened, refreshed, and our thought spiritualized. Until the congregation fulfills its office as a congregation the complete purpose of the church services will not have been demonstrated.

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