Article January 29, 1938 Issue

Many years have passed since I first taught in a Christian Science...

From an Address at a meeting of the teachers of The Mother Church Sunday School, by William R. Rathvon, C.S.B.,—November 4, 1937

Many years have passed since I first taught in a Christian Science Sunday School in the Far West, where conditions were somewhat primitive. The problems which confront the teachers of today are much the same as they were then. The same forces of mortal mind are endeavoring to obstruct and interfere with the progress of our work, but we have at our command the same invincible power of divine Mind to foil and defeat every attempt of the enemy. Passing years do not change the ways and wiles of error, but every conquest over it makes us better able to meet and master its next attempt. Or, as our Leader, Mrs. Eddy, so forcefully puts it (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 410), "Every trial of our faith in God makes us stronger."

I am not here this evening to moralize or to tell you how to teach, but to point out to you briefly some of the essentials to growth which you as Sunday school teachers can in a large measure supply to the young element of our people. First among these essentials is the need of a greater sense of love for our Leader and appreciation of her lifework.

A natural question here may arise: How can the boys and girls in our Sunday school be shown their true relationship to our Leader—how much they owe to her, and what she has done for each of them? Let them recall the blessings that have come into their lives through Christian Science—their ability to achieve, their health, their happiness, their prosperity, and their general well-being. Then let them see that all the good that has come into their lives through Christian Science is due to Mrs. Eddy's discovery of the message that God had been giving to all mankind since the beginning of time. Tell them of her faithfulness, her courage, and her many sacrifices in founding our beloved religion. When they realize that God is Love and the source of all good, and that it has been through Mrs. Eddy they have learned how to call upon Him in time of trouble, they will acquire a sense of love and gratitude for her that she deserves to have, and which they should gladly give. Our recognition of the source of good opens the way for more of good to come to us.

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