Article November 11, 2019 Issue

The Christian Science Monitor and our prayers for the world

Jana Rowland

When I was in primary school in Wales, I was designated a junior monitor. I wore a little blue-and-yellow badge, and it was my job to encourage and watch over my school friends. This included helping hand out the milk bottles at break time and making sure we all got along. My job also meant being alert to discern any inappropriate behavior among my schoolmates. It was a very early introduction to the word monitor.

At that time, this church’s newspaper, The Christian Science Monitor, which had come all the way from America, would land daily on the doormat of my family’s home. It gave us global news. As a child, I loved the cartoons (political as well as children’s) and the wonderful photographs of world events. I saved and still treasure the issue that included photos of the 1969 moon landing. I also remember the one daily article about Christian Science (today called “A Christian Science Perspective”), which my mum would read out loud to our family. This taught me to listen and think, and to care for the world and pray for everyone in the world.

These days, the Monitor arrives in my email in-box. I read it in the evening, “hot off the press,” instead of watching the sometimes-harrowing pictures and dramatic alarm of TV journalists as they struggle to understand world events. Today’s Monitor Daily offers a calm assurance that empowers my thinking with courage and compassion, qualities always evident in the style of journalism the Monitor stands for and maintains. And because this newspaper’s coverage helps identify situations and areas of the world requiring spiritual support, as a reader I can prayerfully apply the truths of Christian Science specifically to each story. Just as during my school monitor days I was able to encourage friends on the playground, I can now support spiritually the global events of the day.