Article June 8, 2009 Issue

ONE LONG CONVERSATION

BY KAREN DOW

When I was growing up, my concept of worship was a once-a-week thing—with someone talking to God for you. But Christian Science revealed a loving God, my divine Parent by my side wherever I may be.

It began eight years ago. I was on my own at the time, looking for just the right place to live. Little did I know that my decision to leave most of my belongings in storage and rent a small furnished house would radically change my life. The owner was a Christian Scientist, and in her library I found the book A Century of Christian Science Healing. I stayed up all night reading it, so hungry for its promise that I couldn't put it down. After that, I started visiting Christian Science churches.

It wasn't until this past winter, though, that as a result of my study I really began thinking of worship as a daily "conversation" with God. These conversations all began after I confessed to a Christian Science practitioner my lack of comfort or skill in prayer. When I prayed, I had no idea what to say or even whom I was talking to. My prayers felt hollow, as if echoing in an empty hall. I admitted that even with all the healing (physical and emotional) that I'd experienced in Christian Science, my image of God was still of a stern, old man in the sky.