Healing a Church

There has been a change of base and attitude in our congregation this year.  At first it was rocky. Our membership was a time bomb waiting to explode. We had people who visibly were always angry, members who were uncomfortable being around each other, and people who were frustrated. Visitors could feel the tension in our midst and this caused them to hesitate to attend services. We had members quit after being involved for decades. At the same time there were several break-ins to the church and reading room. In general we were a mess. At this point I knew I needed to get serious about my thought and prayer or I was going to find myself wandering down the road of frustration that would lead me to leaving the branch church.  So I started with the basics:

Number one:  God is in control, not mortal personalities.

This thought was the starting point of healing for me personally and for our branch church.   I spent a lot of time reflecting on what the purpose of our church was and I saw our purpose was to provide upliftment, healing, comfort, and spiritual guidance to our members and the community.  I drew inspiration from the stories of the early Christian Science church services which were filled with people expecting to be healed. This helped me to change what I was looking for in the people around me and in the church services. Instead of looking to solve personal conflict between members I spent time looking for ways to bring God into my thought and the service. I prayed to feel and see the Divine Comforter’s nearness.

It was wonderful to have progress acknowledged after Sunday or Wednesday services. People started to show more appreciation for the services, there were more testimonies, and we had more guests visiting us. When I stopped worrying about what I wanted as an outcome for our church I started to see harmony unfold. 

Number two:  Divine Science proves that all is harmonious

As the church service started to take on a more healing focus there were a few other areas that needed attention, specifically the Reading Room that had become my job. Up to this point the Reading Room had been ignored for years. It was barely opened to the public, and it looked tired, forgotten, and uninviting. Part of the neglect stemmed from differing opinions on what should be the purpose of the Reading Room. There was dissention on what should be sold, what should be in the windows, and what should be renovated.

A mental change of base for our members occurred when we started to acknowledge that the community want and need the Reading room open. Suddenly half the congregation volunteered to extend the Reading Room hours allowing the public more access. A 2 page renovation “wish list” was created to refurbish the area.  Healings started to occur everywhere!

Instead of dissension on the content of the Reading Room there was a harmonious focus on what the public needed. This led us to the reworking of our windows, renewing our subscriptions to the CS periodicals, and reorganizing the reference, sales, and lending library areas to be community friendly.

We started to have visitors consistently. On occasion there would be people waiting for the RR to open. We started to have phone messages of people curious to visit. Our sales increased, the use of the lending library increased, the use of the RR computer increased! People were starting to ask questions.  It has been wonderful to see this fruitage knowing that it came from a change of thought within our congregation.

Number three:  Listening for the right idea may mean taking a slightly different path to the same end.

I’ve come to realize that the right path for our church may be slightly different than for other branches but our objective is the same, and this is o.k.. The healings that we have been seeing have come about because we started to listen. If each branch listens then there will be different answers for different needs. This line of thought also relates to my prayerful work in regard to the Mother Church. By reaffirming God’s control of the situation, seeing different paths doesn’t become so frightening. By acknowledging “Thy will be done” we don’t have to be concerned about personality in the advancement of the CS movement.  

I am finding a greater sense of peace within myself.  Knowing that God is control is a reassuring rock.  Seeing this principle demonstrated has confirmed my desire to move forward in understanding more of the absolute truth of Christian Science and applying it in practice, especially in regard to healing.  Being a Christian Scientist doesn’t necessarily mean you have a choice in embracing the practice. It seems more and more people are calling for spiritual support and I feel blessed to be able to give it, and know I need to broaden my understanding to meet my need and theirs more and more effectively .