The First Church of Christ, Scientist
January 2025
Dear Members of The Mother Church,
When I entered the Original Mother Church auditorium in June last year, I was struck by the simplicity of the inscription high on the wall above the Readers’ platform: “God is Love,” from First John.
On the platform itself is a complementary exclamation from Psalms: “Who is so great a God as our God” (77:13).
These few words from the Bible, so profoundly at the heart of Christian Science, express to me Mary Baker Eddy’s deepest conviction about the nature of God and His love for every one of His children and, in turn, our love for Him.
Love reflected in love for humanity was remarkably evident in Mrs. Eddy’s putting on record the Science of the Christ through her writings and her establishing The Church of Christ, Scientist. When the corner-stone for the Original Mother Church building was laid in 1894, she said:
Today I pray that divine Love, the life-giving Principle of Christianity, shall speedily wake the long night of materialism, and the universal dawn shall break upon the spire of this temple. (Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896, p. 144)
So much more than a building, The Mother Church stands as a manifestation of divine Love meeting the human need for the spiritual understanding of Truth that frees from materialism and brings healing whenever and wherever it is needed. To me, it represents infinite Love embracing every member with the truth that man is God’s own spiritual expression reflecting the eternal perfection of God.
For as long as I can remember I have treasured Mother Church membership as an anchor in my life. A traditional ship’s anchor has two prongs to secure it to the seabed to prevent the ship from drifting. I sometimes think of these prongs as the Church Manual and our ever-available pastor: the Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.
Our Leader said of this pastor that its “pure Word contains only the living, health-giving Truth” (Robert Peel, The Years of Authority, p. 72). In a world in which so much seems uncertain, I am grateful for the total assurance it gives us that God is Love and that “to infinite, ever-present Love, all is Love, and there is no error, no sin, sickness, nor death” (Science and Health, p. 567). What a blessing it is to know this and to let this inform our prayers for each other and for the world. I am also grateful to know that the spiritual truths presented in our pastor undergird each of the By-Laws in the Church Manual, which support us in practicing Christian Science effectively.
Our pastor, the Church Manual, and the activities the Manual establishes are truly divine Love’s provisions. All that we give to support the Cause of Christian Science joyfully expresses our gratitude for every provision of Love encompassed by our Mother Church.
With love and appreciation for you all,
Lindsey J. Taylor
President of The Mother Church
Français
Deutsch
Português
Español