A CENTRAL FOCUS

GINNY NILSEN—Eugene, Oregon

MY FIRST CHRISTIAN SCIENCE practitioner's office was my kitchen. That was 27 years ago. The Bible, Science and Health, and other writings of Mary Baker Eddy were kept in a cupboard above the telephone. I set this office up the same day I came home from taking Christian Science class instruction, a 12-day course on how to heal through prayer. From that point on, I considered myself to be in the public practice of Christian Science.

Two years earlier, I had first heard about Christian Science practitioners at a potluck dinner given by the owner of the health-food store where I worked. At the time, I was also a health educator and counselor for a large HMO, and had looked into many spiritual teachings in an effort to improve my health. Simultaneously, I taught yoga, led meditation groups, and gave holistic health seminars.

So when one of the guests at that dinner told me his wife was a Christian Science practitioner, I was intrigued and asked him what practitioners did. He answered, "They heal through prayer." Throughout the next few months, I would occasionally wonder, How does praying for someone heal a physical body? I had been struggling with many physical and emotional problems, one of which was considered incurable.

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