The 5 W'S of the public practice of Christian Science

If you've ever taken a journalism course, you'll know that every story should cover the "Five W's": Who, What, When, Where, and Why. I was thinking about that formula a few weeks ago at a dinner with California friends I hadn't seen for a long time. Hearing me mention that I'm a Christian Science practitioner, Marcy brought up the question, "What exactly is a Christian Science practitioner?" Before I could answer, Mary, from across the table, offered that a Christian Science healer is kind of an advisor, or a counselor. Well, not really, I ventured.

Maybe the best introduction to what my profession is would be to answer Marcy's question—and the question posed on the cover of this issue—by falling back to the standard guideline that any beginning journalist would use. Not a bad idea!

So, let's begin with Who. As you'll see from the practitioners featured in this week's issue, a Christian Science practitioner can be anyone. Our backgrounds range from those who have practiced Christian Science all their lives to those of us who discovered Christian Science in adulthood—often through some circuitous route that involved searching—even yearning—for spiritual answers to life's challenges. And for healing.

We come from traditional religions or from no religion or from self-help systems, Eastern philosophies, yoga. Some of us have medical training, some not. And so on! In other words, Christian Science practitioners are regular people who have discovered a spiritual practice that transforms lives through the most extraordinary system of healing the world has ever known. And through this system, they—me—became transformed and now want to dedicate our lives to helping transform the lives of others.

So that's a sketch of Who we are. Now, What do we do? You might think of the public practice of Christian Science as a ministry. There's no hierarchical ladder to climb, no assignments to congregations. Rather, each practitioner creates his or her own ministry—a ministry dedicated to praying for and giving treatment to others. Some Christian Science practitioners decide to advertise in the monthly publication The Christian Science Journal. This advertisement means that this practitioner has given up all other career paths and is available to anyone in the world who wishes to have treatment. The practitioner has made a commitment to be on duty 24/7. The only exception that the Church Manual allows is for practitioners who are "officially engaged in the work of Christian Science" to also advertise in The Christian Science Journal. Practitioners who treat people on a part-time basis may have full-time jobs, or not be available all the time. That is what differentiates a practitioner who advertises in the Journal and one who doesn't.

There is a difference between Christian Science practitioners and ministers of other churches. This lies in the fact that Christian Science treatment is not the same as simply praying for someone. A Christian Science treatment, which is based on the healing system outlined in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, is a healing method recognized by many insurance companies, who now provide insurance coverage for such treatment. When a minister prays for someone—or when a Christian Science practitioner prays for someone—this is not actual treatment and is not covered by insurance companies.

Let me explain the difference: If a patient asks me to give Christian Science treatment, this person has given me permission to pray about his or her state of thought—its condition—and to treat it, just as a physician would treat a physical condition. Because Christian Science teaches that thought is the source of disease and other problems, the practitioner is actively helping the patient spiritualize thought. And this will, in turn, bring healing and improvement to the patient's life in whatever ways are needed. No two treatments will ever be the same, because every case is individual. That's why each treatment brings fresh insights into a case.

Here's how I sometimes give a treatment—others may pray differently, just as sometimes I'm led to pray differently. Let's say someone calls with chest pains. First, I silently and usually aloud will reassure the patient with words of comfort from the Bible or from Science and Health. And I may give the person some Scripture or idea to consider. When I finish speaking with the person, the most important step for me is to realize with all my heart the presence of God. Sometimes it helps me to imagine outer space—galaxies and galaxies going on endlessly. I remember that God is filling every centimeter of that space. Only divine Mind—God—divine Love—is filling the whole universe.

Once I have that fact clearly grounded in my thought, I affirm the unbreakable relationship that the patient has with divine Mind and know that he or she is the image of Love. As I quietly listen for Mind's guidance, sometimes I ask the one Mind to show me what might be overwhelming the thought of the patient. Often just a word will come clearly to me. It could be fear, for example. And that is what I pray to change in the patient's thought. And I reassure him or her of God's love—that fear cannot be a part of God's image; it can't be a reality in this patient because the patient is God's very image.

As I pray in this way, I come to a conviction and understanding of the gentleness, flexibility, forgiveness, and harmony that are the qualities of this patient's being. And when I am totally at peace with this understanding, I know that healing has taken place. I also affirm that the treatment cannot be reversed. It is God's will that all of His-Her children be well, at peace, and free of pain. Sometimes I pray in a very simple way—and keep in thought what Jesus said, "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32 ). Instead of looking for a stumbling block in the patient's thought, I just become totally assured of the truth that the patient is the perfect image of his or her Creator. And that truth brings healing.

To pray for someone—as opposed to treating the individual—is to include this person in one's prayers with a more general, less personal, kind of involvement that does not engage the person's actual state of thought.

So, we now are at the When of Christian Science treatment. It is not limited by time zones, schedules, or working hours. And a Christian Science practitioner who advertises in the Journal agrees to be available to anyone at any time. That's a big commitment, and explains one of the reasons that practitioners charge a fee. As any member of the clergy without outside employment expects, it is only reasonable and right to be compensated for her or his work.

Now, along with the When of Christian Science practice, we've arrived at the Where: In a word: anywhere. When Jesus healed a centurion's servant, who was not present (see Matt. 8:5-13), the Master showed that healing does not require physical presence or contact. He showed that healing is entirely spiritual, and as such, requires no place or time other than the quiet sanctuary of thought in one-to-one communication with God.

And finally—Why. What does lead a person to dedicate his or her life to the healing practice?

All I can say is that for me there came a point when my love for others and my gratitude for Christian Science and for all it's done in changing my life for the better, just left me no other option. I wanted to share this life-altering, healing truth and to give back all that I had received from the practitioners who had helped me over the years. And from Mary Baker Eddy, who gave humanity the tremendous gift of Science and Health.

Healing is the proof that God is present. What other profession could force a person to reach for so high a goal, to realize such fulfillment? I am grateful for the profession of Christian Science practitioner, and I am humbled when anyone calls me for my prayerful treatment. Truly, it is a privilege to be part of this healing ministry.

Turn the page for answers to nine frequently asked questions about the public practice of Christian Science. And look for Part two next month as the Sentinel continues to explore in depth more answers to the question "What is a Christian Science practitioner?"

1 What do you think are the requirements for someone to be a Christian Science healer?

Tim Myers:

Christian Science is a system of spiritual healing that can be learned and practiced by anyone. A religious or nonreligious background is not important. How long you have practiced Christian Science is not important. What is important is your growing love for God and His creation. That love is nurtured by the study of the Bible and Science and Health. What makes someone a healer is his or her ability to apply the rules of the healing practice, which are found in Science and Health, coupled with a desire to see each patient as the expression of God.

Jessie Barth:

Divine Love heals. So, anyone who humbly acknowledges the presence and power of divine Love to transform, and who has a fearless, sincere faith that all things are possible to God, can be a healer.

Before I became acquainted with Christian Science, I didn't even think to ask God to heal physical difficulties. So much for my knowledge at that time of the Bible and God's promise to heal! But when I went to a book talk and heard about Mary Baker Eddy's life, I thought, This is a woman who has gone through adversity, as I have. And her life gave me hope that someone like me could help others, too. She said, "Go out and heal!" and she told how to do it.

It is the unselfish, childlike acknowledgement of God's present perfection and power that heals. God, not being a "respecter of persons," recognizes and blesses the humble request for help from anyone, anywhere.

Healing doesn't come about because of what one used to think. Or because of how long one's been thinking something. What brings healing is our state of thought right at the moment. A practitioner heals a patient by recognizing that man's spiritual perfection is the only reality right now.

Jon Benson:

Receptivity to Christ, underpinning all real healing, doesn't seem to be a function of time or of being in or out of church. A more practical question might be: What makes better healers? Hunger to know God; avid seeking; listening; such love for what you find God to be that you want Him to be first in your daily thought and life; love for Christ Jesus; trust in his message and example; meekness; willingness to exchange material concepts and personal agendas for God-revealed spiritual facts and what would please Him; humility; tender compassion; love for others.

2 What can a patient expect, specifically, from Christian Science treatment?

Gary Duke:

Expect many precious gifts: healing, happiness, and an exploration of your spiritual identity and purpose. God continuously communicates directly with each person. The practitioner simply tunes in to God's "broadcast" about you—about how you're made and maintained in His own image (see Gen. 1:27, 31). Prayer, based on scientific healing principles found in the Bible and explained in Science and Health, helps remove fear, ignorance, and sin, which cause disease. Your deeper understanding of God will result in health and greater happiness in all areas of your life.

Leide Lessa:

As a Christian Science practitioner, I ask myself constantly what I have to offer to a patient, to my family, friends, congregation, community, and the world. If I know the potential of a Christian Science treatment and trust it in my heart, with all my soul and my understanding, I will be willing to help and heal anyone who comes across my path. And that feeling, that love, that trust, that Christly light that I'm imparting, will touch the heart of those who ask me a Christian Science treatment.

With a Christian Science treatment, you, as a practitioner, expect your thought and approach to life to change for the better. This treatment stirs the human mind in such a way that you find the harmony that God, divine Mind, has in store for you. It's like turning on the light in a dark room—there is no way you and others won't see it and feel the difference. You find the solution you've been looking for: hope, energy, perseverance, guidance, confidence, provision, physical or emotional healing, whatever you need to take you to the next step of progress in your life. Most of all, you'll feel loved and cared for.

David Stevens:

What you can expect when hiring a Christian Science practitioner is a mental and spiritual lawyer, an advocate. I argue mentally for the patient's present right to freedom from fear as well as disease because he/she lives within the jurisdiction of divine Love, of God's law. I challenge the validity of the symptoms, the complexities of the problem, on the basis that they are not of God.

Experience has shown me that this kind of prayer is knowing the truth that Jesus promised "shall make you free" (John 8:32 ). You and I know freedom when we feel it. It may be the quiet release of burdened thought or the joyous emancipation from fear and pain. But it is unmistakable. It's life-affirming. It's the warm certainty of God's love and presence, and that is what I want to share with a patient.

3 What inspired you to dedicate your life to healing others?

Kari Mashos:

I'd been singing professionally, and though I knew the uplifting effect music can have, I wanted to give something more, so I also gave Christian Science treatment for people whenever they asked me. One night, performing at Boston's Symphony Hall, I thought, "I'd really rather be sharing some healing ideas with this audience." Not long after that, I had a healing of a stomach condition, which made a big impression on me. That healing had required me to be more diligent in my prayers and more loving. I was so grateful for the healing and the spiritual growth it brought that I wanted to focus all my energies on learning more of the divine Principle of healing and to share it with everyone I could.

Petra Weber:

I had always had the desire to help people. As a teenager, I spent a lot of time looking into philosophy and psychology. I read the classics. But I didn't find answers to my fundamental questions about life. I also bought myself a Bible, but I didn't understand it.

When I had reached a low in my life, I found Christian Science here in Germany. And I become engaged on a deep level with this Science. I intuitively felt that if I accepted its truths, then it would change my circumstances.

I had been suffering from chronic pain in my back. I gave myself just one Christian Science treatment, acknowledging everything that I had learned about the divine law of good through reading Science and Health. Suddenly the pain vanished, and I felt a tremendous peace. The peace that you experience, the certainty that you feel, when you experience a real Christianly scientific healing is indescribable. For me, this was a divine answer, my answer. From the book Science and Health, I had learned the "how to" of healing. But to put what I learned into practice had really been my job. With this permanent healing of back pain, I immediately had the great desire to apply this Science so I could help others, too. And six years after first becoming acquainted with Christian Science, I was a Christian Science practitioner.

Tim Myers:

Having been raised by Christian Science parents, I'd seen people healed all my life. I felt the greatest admiration and respect for people who were involved in the public healing practice. But I didn't really consider becoming a practitioner myself until I was on leave from the building business and spent about six months studying and praying with the ideas in Science and Health and the Bible. During that time, I began praying for the world and my family and friends using the ideas from these books. Healings happened, and the feeling was terrific. Soon other people started calling me, asking me to pray for them, and my public healing ministry began.

4 Have you ever refused to give someone treatment?

Tim Myers:

Yes, but rarely. If my caseload is too heavy, and I don't feel I'll be able to do a good job for the patient, I will suggest she or he call someone else. I pray each day to know my practice belongs to God. He directs me and also directs those who are calling me.

Jon Benson:

Yes, though rarely. On one occasion, I felt the patient's motives were not sincere. A hidden agenda surfaced, almost unknown to the patient: to prove that Christian Science couldn't heal. In another instance, I realized that Christian Science treatment was being asked for to "hedge their bets," so to speak, while the patient was also relying on medical treatment. Sometimes if I don't observe patients praying for themselves in an honest way, when they are able to do so, I'll reconsider the wisdom of continuing as their practitioner. On a very few occasions, I've sensed God telling me, "No, this is not your patient," and I didn't take the case.

Leide Lessa:

Yes, I have. In the past I never did, and I felt guilty if my intuition was telling me not to take the case. I thought that if I was asked for healing, it was my duty to give it, no matter what. But last year, I came across this passage from a letter Mary Baker Eddy wrote to her student Emma L. Lane, where Mary Baker Eddy wrote: "Waldo Emerson was a man fitting a niche in history, well, and we all in Mass. [Massachusetts] love him. But he was as far from accepting Christian Science as a man can be who is a strict moralist. ...I saw Emerson some months before his demise—went for the purpose of healing him. ... As soon as I got into the deep recesses of his thoughts, I saw his case was hopeless." This letter was an eye-opener for me. It taught me that I should trust my intuition about whether a patient is truly accepting the laws of God governing his or her life. Nowadays, when I'm treating someone and feel I shouldn't continue, I tell him or her that I will stop the treatment.

Gary Duke:

I'm always willing to accept any case, including those involving babies and little children, as well as cases labeled "serious," "chronic," or "contagious" by the medical field. But occasionally, after talking with a caller, my spiritual intuition has told me not to treat someone, although I often don't know why. Once I told a caller, "It has come to me that I am not the right practitioner for the case." Later I discovered that the patient habitually fabricated false charges against practitioners.

*L04171, The Mary Baker Eddy Collection, The Mary Baker Library for the Betterment of Humanity.

5 Why do you charge for your services? Do you think you should be paid the same rates as a medical professional?

Jeanette Smith:

For me, spiritual healing is valued beyond measure. As a professional spiritual healer, I do charge for my services. The charges of other healing methods are a baseline, but not always the last word for me. And like other healing professionals, I could not turn down someone in need, even if he or she cannot pay at that moment.

David Stevens:

I think practitioners should be paid a professional rate because they are providing a professional service. It is important for me, or any practitioner, to be able to make a living in this work. Christian Science treatment is not simply a "feel good" add-on to other measures. It is the effective practice of the medicine of divine Mind.

Tim Myers:

At the time Mary Baker Eddy established the office of Christian Science practitioner, she indicated that practitioners should be paid what doctors were paid. It's little different today because of HMOs and other medical insurance. The patients who use medical facilities rarely, if ever, pay the full rate. I have tried to keep my charges in line with what people are required to co-pay on their insurance.

Petra Weber:

I charge for telephone conversations, actual Christian Science treatment, and when people ask me to support them through things like exams or travel plans. I believe that Christian Science practitioners should adjust their rates to what the medical profession charges, because this spiritual work is so effective and deeply liberating.

Kari Mashos:

I take into account that I do not have the office and staffing expenses that a medical doctor has. It's important to support practitioners who are devoting all their time to prayer, study, and healing, if only for the reason that when you need to call a practitioner for healing, you will know they are available and not out having to earn a living in another way. If I were working at another job, I'd be pretty hard to reach.

Gary Duke:

Through Christian Science treatment, patients are being healed of diseases considered incurable by the medical profession, while receiving the added benefit of moral regeneration. Many more qualified people would become practitioners—and sooner in their careers—if they realized they could support their families financially, on a par with other professionals.

6 Do you ever pray for a patient who is also receiving the services of a Christian Science nurse?

Kari Mashos:

Yes. I love working with Christian Science nurses! What a wonderfully supportive help they can be. The nurse's work is firmly based on a spiritual foundation while meeting the patient's physical needs so that both, the nurse and patient, "Look away from the body into Truth and Love, the Principle of all happiness, harmony, and immortality" (Science and Health, p. 261 ). Nurses' comforting care on the scene is a great help while the patient and I are humbly praying for a clearer understanding of God's natural laws of health.

Jon Benson:

Yes. I find it's important to protect the mental environment surrounding patients, and Christian Science nurses are invaluable in maintaining—practically and prayerfully—an environment that's conducive to healing. When a patient is unable to communicate with me, I have been very grateful for the nurse who discerns and conveys the patient's need so I can be more specific in my treatment.

Gary Duke:

We're tag-team fear busters! The Christian Science nurse attends to the physical needs of the patient while being "cheerful, orderly, punctual, patient, full of faith,—receptive to Truth and Love" (Science and Health, p. 395 ). Their care strongly supports an atmosphere conducive to healing. Their care helps alleviate the patient's fears and allows them to focus on the comforting, healing ideas being shared by the Christian Science practitioner. The roles of nurse and practitioner are vital and distinct.

James Shepherd:

I enjoy working with patients who are also receiving the services of a Christian Science nurse. The nurse takes care of the physical needs of the patient, yet at the same time maintains the understanding of the patient's perfect, spiritual nature. There's often less fear and an atmosphere of expectancy of healing that is conducive to quicker healing.

Tim Myers:

I've often worked hand-in-hand with a Christian Science nurse, and it has always been a terrific experience. While I'm praying for the patient's healing, it's wonderful to have someone who can assist with what Mary Baker Eddy calls "the practical wisdom necessary in a sick room" (Church Manual, p. 49 ). Nurses are trained in such things as bandaging, feeding, and bathing patients. At the same time, Christian Science nurses contribute to a positive, uplifting, mental atmosphere that aids in the healing process.

7 Are there any particular challenges you face in your practice, such as feeling overburdened, or patients asking for advice or counseling?

Gary Duke:

Challenges which I occasionally feel are truly self-imposed. I find the practice nourishes me spiritually and physically instead of being draining. One time, I was very tired and went to lie down to sleep, at which time a patient called. After the call and additional prayer, I found myself fully refreshed and productive for many more hours. I found it to be true that "the highest and sweetest rest, even from a human standpoint, is in holy work" (Science and Health, pp. 519-520 ).

Jeanette Smith:

Sometimes the day can seem very full. It is important to make time to refresh your own thought. If you were to leave the practice at the level of human advice or opinion or psychology, then it would deplete you. However, when you and the patient are leaning on the power of Spirit, the treatment lifts you both.

David Stevens:

The biggest challenge in my work is always to see that God is doing the actual healing. There are also times when it feels as if I get too many calls in the night or when other demands conflict with work demands, and it feels overwhelming. I've been thinking lately about God as the Great Orchestrator. The example I think of is a symphony where all those notes have just the right value, place, relation to each other to bring out the beautiful and complete purpose of the orchestrator. I find myself more trusting these days that divine Intelligence is doing this for me and for my patients. The result has been more peace and natural adjustments when needed. Keeping the fact that God is in charge of the practice is the ultimate stress-buster.

Jessie Barth:

My constant prayer and challenge is to be mentally alert. I must regularly remind myself that God does the healing and that I am not personally responsible. This enables me to stand in awe of God's loving and graceful control of His/Her creation.

I also strive to be aware that any resistance to Christian Science from the world cannot cause me to feel discouraged, ineffective, ill at ease, or overburdened. I constantly declare my innocence and purity, and my right to be a Christian Science practitioner.

8 What is a typical day like for you as you go about your activities as a practitioner?

Gary Duke:

I'm up early. On a typical day, I pray for several hours using the ideas in the Christian Science Weekly Bible Lesson as a foundation. Throughout the day and evening I respond to patients via e-mail and phone, and I spend time with my family. In between, I continue with my daily reading program (each year I read through the Bible, Science and Health, and many of Mary Baker Eddy's other writings). I also do volunteer work at church, at a local prison, and at Christian Science camps and organizations on college campuses. And before I go to bed, I make a mental list of five people/events/things for which I'm grateful.

Sandra Justad:

I like to start and end the day with quiet time for myself, to get a fresh sense of Love's power, goodness, and presence. I give treatments almost continuously on the phone, between phone calls, by e-mail, and maybe while driving, or in the grocery store. Sometimes it's important to take a break, and I find joy in going for a walk, riding a bike, rollerblading. These activities are wonderful ways to feel and see God's delight in His creation.

Kari Mashos:

A typical day means lots of prayer, studying the Bible and Science and Health, answering phone and e-mail requests for help. Treating patients. Keeping up with what's going on in the world, and setting aside time to pray for national, community, and world issues. Checking in with patients. Seeing patients in my office. Listening for God's guidance, to be wherever I need to be to be of help.

Leide Lessa:

I don't like to think about my life in the words, "As I go about my work as a practitioner," because it sounds like sometimes I'm a practitioner, sometimes I'm not. And I like to think: I am a practitioner. Period. No matter what I'm doing or whom I'm with, my practice comes first, because that is my life—it's part of who I am.

David Stevens:

I begin each day by acknowledging the presence, activity, jurisdiction, and power of God. I pray and study the Bible and Science and Health until I feel confident that nothing can separate me, my family, or my patients from divine Love.

Inspiration is the key for me, not only for my work but for my own spiritual growth. I love the fact that divine Love is pouring out more vitality, health, wisdom, courage, strength, and tenderness than I am accepting. I try to end my day with gratitude to God and an affirmation that divine Truth and Love is at work all night long, holding me and everyone with whom I've had contact that day safe and well.

9 What should the patient's role be when you are praying for him or her?

Jeanette Smith:

The work between a practitioner and patient is like a duet. Each has a part. So I trust those who call to God. It is helpful for both the patient and me to be in sync, to both trust in our reliance on prayer.

Leide Lessa:

My first expectation is that he or she feels safe, cared for, and loved by God and me. That's half way to the complete healing. Then I expect him or her to rely on God for healing. Every patient is different; there is no rule. I would say that I follow my inspiration with each one. To some patients I give passages from the Bible or Science and Health to reflect on; to others I don't. Some people need time to talk and need the practitioner's inspiration and intuition to shape their thinking; others get it so quickly that there's no need for much talking. A patient needs to be sincere. And I feel it clearly when this is not the case.

James Shepherd:

If patients can feel even just a bit of how precious they are to the all-knowing, all-powerful, all-loving Parent, we're off to a good start. Often I just ask of them to keep their thought open. To hold to the good thoughts that are coming to them. To try to keep out fearful thoughts and visions of the body. To feel the presence of Love more than any sensation from the body.

If the difficulty is one that the person has been praying about for some time, I often ask the patient to stop praying specifically about the problem. This helps take their thought away from the problem—away from seeing himself or herself as a material being. It also allows the thought to yield more readily to the treatment.

Gary Duke:

Jesus required little of his patients except a willingness to be healed. His example has proved a valuable reminder if I'm ever tempted to place responsibility on the patient for healing.

When I'm treating myself, or requesting treatment through prayer from another practitioner, I make a conscious attempt to think as a fearless, healthy, sinless child of God as opposed to someone who may become all of the above at some future time—when they've assimilated certain prayers.

David Stevens:

I encourage patients to accept the fact that they are the beloved of divine Love and to lean on Love as best they can. I also encourage them to argue mentally in their own defense for their God-given right to freedom, health, peace of mind. If they have a copy of the Bible and/or Science and Health, I suggest passages for study. It's all about turning thought to God and holding it there.

Jessie Barth
After spending 25 years in public-school music education, Jessie became a practitioner three years after joining a Church of Christ, Scientist, in State College, Pennsylvania.

Jon Benson
Before becoming a Christian Science practitioner, Jon was a student, soldier, theater actor/director, planner/manager, facilitator, managing director of a nonprofit firm, prison chaplain, and seeker.

Gary Duke
Professionally, Gary was a licensed architect and a real estate investor. Until age 14, when an aunt introduced him to Christian Science, he had no church affiliation.

Sandra Justad
Before devoting her life to the healing practice of Christian Science, Sandra had been a Christian Science nurse, wife, mom, and secretary.

Leide Lessa
As a student in Brazil and Austria, Leide studied music and languages in college, and did graduate work in language translation. She worked as a language teacher, and a few years later opened a language institute.

Kari Mashos
As a child, Kari was baptized in the Greek Orthodox Church and had ordinary medical care. She spent many years studying music, and had a career as a professional opera singer.

Tim Myers
Prior to becoming a Christian Science practitioner, Tim was in the construction industry. He's always been interested in spiritual healing, and is a lifelong Christian Scientist.

James Shepherd
Through his college years, James worked on the family farm. He graduated with a degree in agronomy and continued farming for a few years before becoming a Christian Science practitioner.

Jeanette Smith
Jeanette spent 18 years in business, both in the private and public sectors. Her last position before becoming a professional Christian Science practitioner was in senior management for a public utility.

David Stevens
Raised in a Christian Science family, David was in education for 15 years—first teaching and coaching at the high-school level, then counseling and administration at the college level.

Petra Weber
After college, where she studied social affairs, Petra became a social education worker, working with children, teens, and families. She was introduced to Christian Science during her college years.