Speaking highly of the Monitor

The Christian Science Monitor came into my life when I was a teenager and my dad subscribed to the then daily print edition. I have been forever grateful that a Christian Science practitioner pointed out to my dad the importance of this paper and he immediately subscribed, even though financial circumstances at that point would have said he could not afford it.

This set the tone for me and so the Monitor became a daily companion in my adulthood. My husband was in the military, and for a number of years we lived in many different places. Regardless of our location, to have the Monitor coming in the mail was like a special ingredient that made each new place feel like home.

I had an experience that showed me firsthand the value of the Monitor. When President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, we were living in England. It was a terrible shock, and it seemed doubly so since we were out of our own country. I thought it would have been easier to bear if we had been home in the United States. Of course, there was great sympathy from the local people, but it didn’t feel the same to me. The news was just filled with this tragic event, and I felt all caught up in grief and dismay. Then after a few days, the Monitor arrived, and the moment I picked up that paper and began to read, I felt my peace returning. The Monitor did not sugarcoat what had happened but reported it without sensationalism. It was clear to me then how important the Monitor is and that “the object of the Monitor is to injure no man, but to bless all mankind” (Mary Baker Eddy, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 353 ). And I could feel that underlying basis from which the news was reported.

In the 1970s, a representative from The Mother Church visited Christian Science branch churches to promote a special subscription drive for the Monitor. Members were asked to be circulation representatives and call on individuals who might be interested in subscribing to the Monitor. These individuals were to be offered a free three-month trial subscription. Well, this seemed most intimidating to me. I couldn’t imagine that I would be able to do that—I couldn’t think of anyone I could offer the paper to—but it came to me that I was willing to support the idea.

A few days later, as I was walking to church one morning, the next door neighbor was outside raking his lawn. And I knew this was my opportunity to offer the trial subscription. He immediately told me that he was familiar with the Monitor—he had used it as a resource while in college (and had appreciated it) but he already took several papers and was not about to take another. As we continued to chat, I said something to the effect that one good thing about the Monitor is that it simply reports the news—it gives background, etc., but does not try to tell you what to think. It gives you the facts and lets you come to your own conclusions. At that he immediately said: “I like that! You know, I will take that offer.” I spoke to him at various times later on, and he always spoke highly of the paper.

At one time, I had the privilege of serving the Monitor for a brief period as a local advertising representative. This was way out of my comfort zone, something that I felt I had no natural ability for. I shuddered at the prospect of asking someone to advertise. Sales was absolutely the last thing I would ever want to do! However, because of my love for the Monitor and its mission, I took on this activity.

I soon saw that selling advertising for the Monitor was not like selling for any other publication. Whatever was undertaken had to be from the basis of a complete spiritual idea, and I was beginning to learn that since an idea comes from God, it carries within itself all that is required for its fruition. So this advertising experience became a time of learning to listen for the idea and then to follow it through. And I must say there was always a special joy to see the ads I’d helped along to publication. I sort of felt like a mother admiring her children!

The Christian Science Monitor is certainly one of the greatest gifts that Mary Baker Eddy gave to mankind, and in today’s world of “information overload” (and so much of it suspect) the Monitor is more important than ever. I cannot imagine ever being without it, regardless of the different forms it may take.