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METAPHYSICAL MEETING, May 18, 2009
Contents
| - Topic | |
| - Call to the meeting | |
| - Opening readings | |
| - Member contribution A | |
| - Member contribution B | |
| - Member contribution C | |
| - Member contribution D | |
| - Member contribution E | |
| - Member contribution F |
Topic
To improve our ability, individually and collectively, to bless our communities.
Call to the meeting
It has been a joy to meet each month and to pray together for our church. It’s interesting to note that while we are striving to establish and construct a new church building, we have been rediscovering the nature and Christly function of church in consciousness. We implore every member to engage in this wonderful process of renewal. You are all dearly loved, valued, and needed. We are an enduring community, devoted to each other and to God. We are exchanging worn-out models for the love-impelled and practical means for doing good. In the spirit of Nehemiah, “Let us rise up and build”!
We will be together again on Monday, May the 18th, to share on the topic o
f “revitalizing our congregations.” Here are questions from which you may prepare your response:
1) What role does a congregation play?
2) Are there any distinctions between an ecclesiastical congregation and a Christian Science congregation? Please explain.
3) How are congregations revitalized?
As a final option, you may write a treatment dealing with any aspect of your findings.
Opening readings
Manual 42: 01
Ps. 111: 1, 2
Acts 1: 1-4, 6-14; 2: 1, 2
James 2: 17, 18, 20
I John 3: 11
S&H 31: 12-17
S&H 14: 6
S&H 241: 13
S&H 113: 3
My. 249: 28
My. 189: 9
No. 3: 21
Hea. 3: 3-14, 21
Member contribution A
The vital characteristic of worship is to be engaged prayerfully in support of our own and other Christian Science congregations throughout the world in accordance with the Manual bylaw “Prayer in Church.” (Church Manual, p. 42) Church members work in partnership with Readers and musicians to pray collectively for all those attending. Just as God charged Moses to consecrate holy garments for Aaron and for “all that are wise hearted…to minister unto [God] in the priest’s office,” we have an essential office to perform in the congregation. (Exodus 28)
Jennifer Youngman posed this rhetorical question in an article for the Journal:
“Isn’t it selfish to pray in church exclusively for the congregations?…this prayer strengthens the institution that can do the most good. If those in the congregations are helped through direct prayer, collectively offered, to resist the temptations of the carnal mind, to find divine Science increasingly practiced in their daily lives, and to do better healing work, this in turn blesses the world.” (Journal Feb. 1985, Vol. 103, p. 79)
Michael R. Davis, a researcher at the Mary Baker Eddy Library, did not find much written by Mrs. Eddy on the role of the congregation. He offered this reminiscence from a student in one of her classes:
“Mrs Eddy once said to a student that she longed for the day to come when no one could enter a Christian Science church, no matter how sick or sorrowing that one might be, without being healed, and that this day can come only when every member of the church studies and demonstrates the truth contained in the Lesson-Sermon, and takes with him to the service the consciousness thus prepared.” (1916 Sentinel, Jul. 1, p. 866)
According to Carolyn B. Swan, Mrs. Eddy retained much of the simplicity of the Early Church in her design of our services. Giving audience solely to the Holy Spirit in favor of human preaching, preserving the practices of congregational singing, prayer, and responsive recitation dating from early Judaic times, and including Scriptural readings, were elements of the primitive Christian worship. Furthermore she points out:
“Our Church is a lay society, as was the early apostolic church. The whole congregation, including those who conduct the services, come together to worship and to prophesy – that is, to glorify God and to spiritually discern themselves and all as truly God’s likeness, His immortal man, governed by Him. Although this worshiping and prophesying by the audience remain largely inaudible, these spiritual activities are nonetheless felt when they are cherished in consciousness – and missed when they are not.” (June 1986 Journal, Vol. 104, p. 355)
What if our services seem to lack vitality? Where does the onus for inspiration lie? Can any element but divine communion substitute for this void? Many other denominations have resorted to forms of entertainment to draw and captivate their congregations. But do these activities in and of themselves contribute to healing and spiritual growth? It seems to me that we first have to resolve, gratefully and soberly, to being engaged as a praying community to bring enlightenment and healing to those who attend our services, then the praise and joy we feel from doing so can spill over into various expressions of spontaneous love.
Treatment: Jesus’ example illustrates for us that his healing work and our healing work is the expression of man’s nature on the human scene, “divinity embracing humanity.” God has a direct relationship with man who imbibes His sweet intuitions and reflects them in living prayers for justice and mercy. Man is complete; he does not require an intermediary to explain, to counsel, or to reconcile. Man is not a captive receptacle in a pew, hearing material knowledge about God; man is the immediate object of understanding which God gives only to be reflected, to be lived and applied to the situation at hand. Old theological beliefs cannot interpose themselves between us and our Creator, because they lack the pure Christ which upholds man’s unbroken link to divine Mind, Soul. The Comforter is accessible and clear now, it has divine authority, and there is no basis for misunderstanding, confusion, doubt, or alienation to prevent us from experiencing our conscious oneness with God, the manifestation of the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit as on the Day of Pentecost, which enables us to heal.
Member contribution B
To prepare for this meeting, I needed to determine what a “congregation” is and more specifically, based on the call letter, an “ecclesiastical congregation”. Webster’s Unabridged defines “congregation” in a couple of ways: “an assembly of persons met for the worship of God and for religious instruction;” and “the whole body of Christians or an organized body of believers in a particular locality”. To me, it seems like we need to expand our sense of “congregation” from those who attend our services. So, the second definition, “the whole body of Christians...in a particular locality” really resonated.
Many of you have heard me tell about visiting a church in Pasadena where the minister opened with a prayer for those who weren’t there for whatever reason. I really liked that, because it seemed to me that from a Christian Science perspective we could use this to treat a whole variety of issues. Here are some very brief examples that would benefit from expansion:
- Apathy: Man is zealous, as Mrs. Eddy defines “Zeal” in Science and Health as “the reflected animation of Life, Truth, and Love.) (599:4-5, to 1st .) God’s true creation is animated and cannot be pulled into inaction.
- Secular activities at the same hour: God is the only attraction and man is in his right place.
- Not enough rest, as in “I have to get up early in the morning,” or “I stayed up too late last night”: God’s activity is effortless. Obedience to God is invigorating.
- Weather conditions - too dark, too sunny, too rainy, too hot, too cold: Divine Love meets all our needs and trusting God with our desires will open a way. Provide a Good Samaritan an opportunity to help!
- Boring, old fashioned services, with lessons I can read online: Inspiration is from God and is spontaneous. It is the intercommunication that “is always from God to His idea, man.” (284:31-32) Creativity, flexibility, and animation are qualities of God and are expressed in our services. Principle and order are inspired, not dogmatic.
These ideas can be used when including the entire community in thought. We don’t know who will be inspired by our sign out front, our web site, or Graham’s articles in the Valley Sun. It could be somebody on the other side of the world, and to my sense, they are part of our congregation. We need to support them.
The question in the call letter about an ecclesiastical congregation really stopped me at first. I didn’t even know what one is. After some quick research and a little thinking, it seems to me that an ecclesiastical congregation is one that is headed by a pastor or priest and abides by church law. Is this any different for the Church of Christ, Scientist? Our pastor is the Bible and Science and Health. Our church laws are Jesus’ two great commandments and the Church Manual. If the Church of Christ, Scientist, is the earthly representation of the Church Universal and Triumphant, then our congregation is, in the most enlightened sense, an ecclesiastical congregation. Not only that, but our Lesson Sermon, which comes from our pastor, is “a lesson on which the prosperity of Christian Science largely depends.” (Man. 31:8-9) What are my responsibilities as a member of this ecclesiastical congregation? To obey the two great commandments, study and live the weekly Bible Lesson, and obey the Church Manual.
This brings up another point about our community. I’ve learned that there are many people who study the Bible Lesson daily but don’t consider themselves Christian Scientists and don’t come to church. What about them? Well, I would consider these people part of our congregation. These are people we can embrace as we pray for our church, even though we don’t know who they are. We can know, as it says in the Explanatory Note, that our Bible Lesson is “a sermon undivorced from truth, uncontaminated and unfettered by human hypotheses, and divinely authorized” and it is blessing everybody.
Mrs. Eddy gives us counsel about the needs of our church: “What our churches need is that devout, unselfed quality of thought which spiritualizes the congregation.” (My. 249:28) That gives us plenty of scope for revitalizing our own thinking, which will, in turn, revitalize our congregation.
Member contribution C
I found myself taking a fresh look at the definition of Church in the Glossary of Science and Health. In the second paragraph, it refers to Church as an “institution”, which means that there is some level of ecclesiasticism, or formality. That’s appropriate in terms of the human world we find ourselves in. After all, in the trial allegory in Science and Health, the defendant is Mortal Man, a human concept of self, which needs to be overhauled and to grow out of itself. The allegory does not say simply that Mortal Man is an metaphysical impossibility, and therefore there is no problem to solve. Thus Church is in absolute terms a spiritual idea, which will be realized increasingly as the human concept of it is overhauled in spiritually.
Chapter XVI, The Apocalypse, of Science and Health states that “The four sides of our city are the Word, Christ, Christianity, and divine Science,” Here I see the word Christianity as referring to the practicality of the Christ in overhauling and reforming human consciousness. In its purest sense, Christianity is mankind’s response to the Christ idea. In the platform on Christian Science, on page 334 of Science and Health, we see the impersonal Christ, as manifest by Jesus, described as “The Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” That is, corporeal, mortal sense works against it, but it is “undying in the divine Mind.” Also,, on page 336, “The divine Ego, or individuality, is reflected in all spiritual individuality from the infinitesimal to the infinite.”
Thus our church is profoundly Christian, and our congregation and our members are profoundly Christian in what they strive for and what they do. The mere fact that they congregate together in a routine manner is an ecclesiastical arrangement that serves to foster the progress of Christian Science in this world.
Taking this back to the Glossary definition of Church, we see the words “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.” That is, it is the organization that responds to the Christ message. It is Mortal Man growing out of himself to realize his own true, spiritual nature, and the inevitable demonstration by our congregants. It is Christ “casting out devils, or error, and healing the sick.” That is the divine nature of our congregation, which is natural and normal, which can only go forward and prosper because it represents divine Love, Soul, Life, spiritual action.
Congregations are revitalized by individual knowing that the Christ is active in providing the ideas needed to promote the healing ministry within our community. After all, like everything else we do, our church activity is God’s activity. We don’t do it ourselves. But we should be attuned to the Christ message to provide all the ideas we need. That is man defined as the image and likeness of God, and that is what revitalizes every movement we undertake.
Now here is a thought that I’d like to share that is not related to the subject of revitalization:
a) Reading Room expresses infinite good, omnipresence — because it deals with where we are and reaching out to outside places.
b) Sunday School reflects the eternity of Truth — because it deals with the transition of ages and facts.
Member contribution D
See the article in the April 2009 Journal titled A Journey of Love by Alessandra Colombini, in particular page 24. We all come together to hear and feel the warmth of the spiritual message at each church service. Just think how lively our services are when every church member prays for the congregation in the spirit of our Master. It will extend the Christly love we feel to visitors and newcomers.
Member contribution E
A congregation consists of individuals, but as they become one, they become greater in power.
Member contribution F
A great reference: Serving in the Congregation, by Dorcas Strong, in The Christian Science Journal, Vol. 101, August 1983, page 462.
