Editorial May 28, 2018 Issue

Christian Science nursing: spiritual discipline and practical care we can all participate in

Alistair Budd

All nursing is about caring, but Christian Science nursing is unique; at the core of this form of caring is the recognition of God’s goodness, supremacy, and power. The first chapter of Genesis—with its compelling affirmation that God creates, sustains, and maintains His creation—provides an inspired foundation for the ministry of Christian Science nursing.

When I contemplated taking an introductory class in an accredited training program for Christian Science nurses, I read through all four Gospels in the New Testament. I found many parables and teachings of Christ Jesus that I felt related to the ministry of Christian Science nursing. This impelled me to take the class and, following three years of comprehensive training and experience, I began advertising in The Christian Science Journal as a Christian Science nurse.

What attracted me to this ministry was its spiritual dimension, based on an understanding of God as infinite Spirit, the source of all wholeness and soundness. The role and mission of a “Christian Science Nurse” is described in the Manual of The Mother Church by Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science. It states, “A member of The Mother Church who represents himself or herself as a Christian Science nurse shall be one who has a demonstrable knowledge of Christian Science practice, who thoroughly understands the practical wisdom necessary in a sick room, and who can take proper care of the sick” (p. 49).

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Bible Lens—May 28–June 3, 2018