why unite with CHURCH? December 8, 2003 Issue

Energized by feeling part of 'something'

Mike Garcia

God truly works in powerful ways. A few years ago, I was dissatisfied with the direction in which my religious life was heading. I had been raised in a traditional, mainline religion, and even though I attended its services off and on, I just didn't feel connected. I was looking for something more.

In a Spanish class I was taking, another classmate and I were paired to do some simple language exercises together. One of our assignments was to give directions to a location. She gave me directions, in Spanish, to her church, which happened to be a Church of Christ, Scientist. I was fortunate enough to understand the directions, and asked her if it would be Ok for me to come to her church sometime. I surprised her by showing up the very next Sunday. We continued attending together for several months.

We have since been accepted into membership in an informal group of Christian Scientists, which is focused on efforts to share the Bible and the works of Mary Baker Eddy, including Science and Health. Our group has been involved in a number of efforts to distribute Science and Health to the community.