Years ago, before the telephone and the internal-combustion engine brought cities closer together, the parish church was traditionally the center of most Christian communities. Even the smallest village clustered round its church. More than a building in which to teach parishioners and their children the nature and law of God, and to worship Him on Sundays, the church was the focal point for family rejoicing and for neighborly support. Villagers met there to pray for help and healing, as well as to give thanks together to God for their safety in time of danger and for a good harvest. The church embraced those who were willing to be included and raised a standard of Christian virtue and well-being for everyone. It was a good influence in the whole neighborhood.

In modern times the power of the church to bless the community has not diminished, though perhaps its vast potential is not entirely appreciated. Despite the decline in traditional religious affiliation and sabbath day observance, the church has still a vitally important role. Whatever its size and the extent of its immediate parish, it is able to help raise the thought, and therefore the moral standards and daily experience, of more than those who actually live within sound of its bells. Through the spiritual understanding it awakens, and the healing impact of the prayer of its congregation on general thought, it can affect and help the world.

An important function of Christianity is to preach the good news of the ever-presence of God's kingdom as it is outlined in the Bible. Christ Jesus said, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand," ^{Matt. 10:7;} and he taught his followers not only to admit this fact with their lips but to know it in their hearts—to be deeply convinced that God's kingdom is indeed ever present and His law is established everywhere. This truth is a foundation stone of the Christian Church— one that is relaid at every service as the congregation repeats aloud: "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." ^{6: 10;}

Mary Baker Eddy explains this portion of the Lord's Prayer as indicating in its deep spiritual meaning, "Thy kingdom is come; Thou art ever-present." ^{Science and Health, p. 16;} And she makes clear throughout the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, that God's kingdom is the spiritual realm—the only true, God-created universe—in which the divine law of harmony is invariably operative.

There is immense power for good in prayerfully bearing witness to this eternal fact of divine Science—that harmony is the law of all true being, and that it is established and ever present. Even though a group of worshipers is not praying specifically for the world as a whole—and it is a rule of the Church of Christ, Scientist, that prayers in its churches shall be exclusively for the congregations (see Manual of The Mother Church by Mrs. Eddy, Art. VIII, Sect. 5)—its prayer cannot fail to benefit humanity. Mrs. Eddy says, "The silent prayers of our churches, resounding through the dim corridors of time, go forth in waves of sound, a diapason of heart-beats, vibrating from one pulpit to another and from one heart to another, till truth and love, commingling in one righteous prayer, shall encircle and cement the human race." ^{The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 189;}

The impact on collective human thought of the deep, prayerful acknowledgment of God's power and presence is irresistible. When a church congregation unites in heartfelt praise of the perfect activity of divine Spirit, in joy for the eternal freshness and beauty of Soul, and in gratitude for the amplitude of infinite Love's provision for every idea in the universe of Mind, a mighty outburst of harmony echoes through human consciousness. This utterance of Truth is heard wherever there is a receptive thought. With compelling authority it drowns the petty arguments of material sense, restores the consciousness of the grandeur of true being, and thereby helps to heal whatever in humanity's experience needs healing.

There are no limits to the extent of the good that can be accomplished through prayer in the churches. Members of the congregation may be healed; friends and neighbors in the immediate community may be comforted, their fears and tears wiped away and joy restored. And just as effectively, the victims of famine and calamity in other countries and hemispheres can likewise be awakened to a higher realization of God's bountiful care, and so supplied with whatever they need.

No better way exists to help mankind—to reach out and embrace the community and the world with intent to heal—than to strengthen the healing thrust of our churches by joining in prayer with other members of the congregation. Far from being a mere token of our reverence for God, or a cursory statement of faith, scientific prayer in our churches, after the manner Christ Jesus outlined to his disciples, can have dynamic and far-reaching power to heal.

Mrs. Eddy says, "The spiritual power of a scientific, right thought, without a direct effort, an audible or even a mental argument, has oftentimes healed inveterate diseases." ^{Rudimental Divine Science, p. 9.} When followers of Christ Jesus—few or many—are gathered together in prayer in the name of the Christ, the true idea of God, the effect of their united prayer on the community and the world must be dynamic.

Naomi Price