Mary Baker Eddy, community builder
Originally appeared on spirituality.com
March is Women’s History Month. This year’s theme in the United States, “Women: Builders of Communities and Dreams,” according to the National Women’s History Project, “honors the spirit of possibility and hope set in motion by generations of women in their creation of communities and their encouragement of dreams.”
A woman who has inspired me to help my community and follow my dreams is Mary Baker Eddy, a well-loved member of her community in Concord, New Hampshire. Her generosity included gifts of hundreds of thousands of dollars to organizations like the Salvation Army, local hospitals, and those involved with disaster relief. She also provided shoes to impoverished children and both initiated and paid for paving the city’s streets.
But what made her loved not just by people in Concord, but also by people around the world, was her discovery of Christian Science.
Her work as a spiritual healer is well-known and well-documented, and through her book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, she was able to show people how to heal themselves. That book is still healing thousands of people today. She also founded The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts, which has branch churches all over the world.
Mrs. Eddy dedicated her life to helping humanity know God as good and all-powerful, and each of us as the truly loved child of God. Christian Science enables us to understand that we are each the offspring of Spirit, and not material beings.
Knowing ourselves as spiritual ideas of one divine Mind changes the way we think about our fellow citizens and our community. We aren’t a collection of warring minds, each with it own agenda. Through our individual prayers for guidance from the one divine Mind, we find solutions to problems that bless everyone.
Also, as we yield to the one Mind, political infighting and willfulness become less and less important. We’re thinking about our fellow citizens with more love and less suspicion. That’s because we’re beginning to feel the unifying power of divine Love and to yield to the divine purpose, which blesses everyone.
There’s a definition of Church in Science and Health that I find helpful when I pray about community. To me, the first part of the definition establishes the foundation for community. The second is the daily activity that elevates all people to the better understanding of God that heals.
"CHURCH. The structure of Truth and Love; whatever rests upon and proceeds from divine Principle. The Church is that institution, which affords proof of its utility and is found elevating the race, rousing the dormant understanding from material beliefs to the apprehension of spiritual ideas and the demonstration of divine Science, thereby casting out devils, or error, and healing the sick."
News reports these days show how important Truth and Love are in bringing peace and healing to our communities and the world. Ethics scandals reinforce the importance of having higher standards that are honest and trustworthy. Divine Principle is the foundation of those standards in my life.
Mary Baker Eddy was a notable healer, and commitment to healing is important to the practice of Christian Science. My family has experienced many healings that prove the validity of Mrs. Eddy’s discovery.
At age 18, my grandmother contracted diphtheria. The doctor told her parents that she might live another hour at best. My grandmother's aunt suggested they try Christian Science. Her parents called a Christian Science practitioner early in the afternoon, and by dinner time my grandmother was healed. She lived well into her 80’s.
These teachings are an active part of my life as well—they provide protection and healing. And I extend my personal community to the world through reading The Christian Science Monitor newspaper, founded by Mrs. Eddy. As she stated in the Monitor’s first editorial, “The object of the Monitor is to injure no man, but to bless all mankind.” This newspaper is not a “religious” newspaper, but its coverage is designed to elevate and heal.
People from all walks of life and many cultures appreciate that Mrs. Eddy shared her discovery with the world. As she stated in Science and Health "Christian Science despoils the kingdom of evil, and pre-eminently promotes affection and virtue in families and therefore in the community."
Through a lifetime spent healing the sick and writing books that would enable others to heal, she expected that promise to come true—not just for her own community, but for the whole world.
Love of community:
Science and Health
King James Bible
Matt. 22:39Visit The Mary Baker Eddy Library for the Betterment of Humanity Web site