Article January 1, 2003 ISSUE

Thinking out of the box about spirituality on campus

by Jenny Sawyer

If you listen closely, you'll hear it:; There's a rumble coming from campuses across the United States. What's all the noise about? It's the sound of Christian Science organizations (CSOs) getting revved up for a year of action and service.

Participants in the 2003 CSO Leadership Invitational, a conference held in Boston over a weekend in August, represented 71 colleges and universities — not to mention a wealth of interests and backgrounds. There were engineers and thespians, journalists and economists. There were attendees whose CSOs were just getting started, and others who've been up and running for a long time. The diversity created an environment in which people grew and learned as much from each other's ideas and experiences as they did from the varied, interactive talks and workshops they attended throughout the weekend.

THE GOOD SAMARITAN

The concept of giving was central to the conference, and Friday began with video highlights of the comments of The Christian Science Board of Directors given by Chairman Virginia Harris at 2003 Annual Meeting of The Mother Church & Conference. As the participants watched and contemplated, they were encouraged to think of their CSOs in the context of Jesus' parable of the good Samaritan, specifically as “the man who didn't pass by on the other side, who didn't ignore people in great need.”

It was certainly a concept that resonated with Dan Enemark, a senior at the University of California, Berkeley. “To me, being an effective CSO starts with a line from Science and Health (p. 57 ): ‘Happiness is spiritual.... It is unselfish; therefore it cannot exist alone, but requires all mankind to share it, ’ ” he said. “This makes giving seem absolutely natural. If an idea from Science and Health has helped us or healed us, wouldn't we feel impelled to share it? Wouldn't the desire to spread the word about these powerful, life-changing ideas be absolutely irresistible? The fact that we have something amazing to offer — and that we're not afraid to offer it — should be what defines us as an organization at our particular college or university.”

SPEAKING FROM EXPERIENCE

In workshops covering such topics as the book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures; its author, Mary Baker Eddy; and spirituality on campus, participants engaged in frank and open discussions about what might inhibit their creative response to students' needs.

Some students voiced concerns about the kinds of questions other students on campus ask, wondering how to respond when people pepper them with “what if” scenarios about how they'd handle various accidents or illnesses through prayer. Other attendees wanted to think through a way of sharing the ideas in Science and Health that would keep them from coming across as proselytizers.

In response, participants were asked to consider Mary Baker Eddy's approach. “... I speak from experience,” she wrote (Science and Health, p. 1 ). Rather than shouldering the burden of trying to explain an entire system of ideas, attendees were encouraged to respond to questions by choosing a concept that meant something to them — one they'd proved, and that they knew they understood. Recognizing the difference between “Christian Science” and “The Church of Christ, Scientist,” helped, too, allowing participants to think of themselves as thinkers, healers, and explorers, rather than simply as representatives of a particular religion or church.

Beth Lincoln of Bowling Green State University in Ohio said: “I'm going back to school as a CSO of one. Before coming to this conference, I wondered what I could do as a single person among thousands. But now, after hearing other people's stories and experiences, and learning about the resources that are available, I see that it really is possible to make a positive difference, to let people know that God is there, and that He's helping and supporting them.”

So how would she sum up what she learned from the two-and-a-half day conference? “I can do this!”

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