SENTINEL WATCH February 20, 2006 Issue

WATCHING THE HORIZON

MARK SWINNEY

HISTORICALLY, a sentinel was someone who watched the horizon to determine if friends or enemies were approaching a fortress. Either way, it was essential that the sentinel remain alert and watchful.

Since those days, our world has expanded to the point that the horizon to watch today isn't just wide-open land out in the distance, but a worldwide mental landscape. Trends, issues, and predictions come across this horizon of thought constantly and often need our watchful attention. The Christian Science Sentinel was founded to help people keep that mental watch from a prayerful standpoint. This magazine helps me stay alert to positive developments—to observe instances of brotherly love, freedom gained from limitations, healing, spiritual growth. Other times, the Sentinel helps me watch for and pray about trends appearing over the worldwide mental horizon that aren't so positive, such as war, disease, crime. The founder of the Sentinel, Mary Baker Eddy, wrote, "Prayer, watching, and working, combined with self-immolation, are God's gracious means for accomplishing whatever has been successfully done for the Christianization and health of mankind" (Science and Health, p. 1).

One issue that I've been watching lately involves predictions about a worldwide influenza pandemic—the sort that the world saw in 1918, 1957, and 1968. Health experts say that there is a cycle to this disease and that the world is overdue for another bout—this time with bird flu.