Continuing The Conversation October 26, 2020 Issue

Keeping abreast of the times

Susan Stark

Dear Reader:

When something we love changes—a favorite podcast, a restaurant, or even the name of a sports team—it sometimes takes a moment for us to see that all is well and that the change could be for the better.

The upcoming changes to the Sentinel in 2021 deserve a thoughtful moment from us because there is an important reason for the changes. Mary Baker Eddy, who founded the Church of Christ, Scientist, and the Christian Science periodicals, included the following By-Law in her Church Manual: “. . . it shall be the duty of the Directors to see that these periodicals are ably edited and kept abreast of the times” (p. 44). Keeping the periodicals “abreast of the times” is a serious responsibility, as serious as making sure that the periodicals are “ably edited.”