METAPHYSICAL MEETING, January 17, 2011
Contents
| - Topic | |
| - Call to the meeting | |
| - Readings | |
| - Member contribution A | |
| - Member contribution B | |
| - Member contribution C | |
| - Member contribution D |
Topic
Handling aminal magnetism in church activities
Call to the meeting
Our branch church’s first metaphysical meeting for 2011 is on Monday evening, January 17th, at 7:30 p.m. in the Reading Room. All members are cordially invited to attend. If unable to attend, you’re welcome to send a contribution to be read at the meeting, or to participate prayerfully on your own.
The subject is “Handling animal magnetism in church activities.” The apparent forms of animal magnetism may be many, but this is an opportunity to affirm the substance of our church, to look at some specific issues and how they can be addressed, and to prayerfully see the perfect completeness of God’s plan, especially at this time of unfoldment in our branch church ventures.
At our meeting, let’s address the topic in these parts, sharing our inspiration about each:
1) Let’s understand and affirm what our church truly is. Identify several qualities of God that apply to our church that, when realized, will negate animal magnetism and its effects upon our branch church. Explain how each of these qualities embraces dominion, purpose, opportunity, fulfilment, permanency, or any other essential goals for our church.
2) Identify at least two (or more) impositions on our branch church that can be attributed to animal magnetism, especially at this current time, and relate a brief metaphysical treatment to address each of these impositions. Include any fruition that you wish tell about.
3) How can this meeting help in addressing animal magnetism’s impacts? How can we know that the metaphysical thinking and treatments represented by this meeting will be effective?
In preparing for the meeting, please use any references you find that are useful. Here are a few citations that may also be helpful:
II Cor 6:16 ye
Luke 10:19
Ps 15:1,2
Ps 1:2 his delight,3
My 364:9-13
S&H 375:21
My 180:12-13,30-12 (to .)
Pul 3:11-15
This metaphysical meeting is an opportunity to work prayerfully towards the special workshop meeting planned for Saturday, January 22, which will explore various options for our church’s progress and future.
“We are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.” (I Cor. 3:9)
Readings
The Bible:
II Cor 6:16 ye
Luke 10:19,20,25-27
Ps 15:1,2
Ps 1:2 his delight,3
The writings of Mary Baker Eddy:
My 364:9-17
375:14-25
My 180:12-13,16-18,30-12 (to .)
Pul 3:11-15
Hymns: 233, 439, 3
Member contribution A
1) Affirm what our church truly is
The word that came to me while I was considering this question is “fulness,” which means “complete in every particular.” So, when we say, “Church or Sunday school wasn’t very full today,” we’re saying, “Church wasn’t ‘complete in every particular.’” We’re denying the truth about church – denying the structure of Truth and Love, denying its efficacy in healing and saving the race.
Animal magnetism would say about our church that there are:
- Not enough members
- Not enough participation by members
- Not enough attendees at our services
- Not enough Sunday school students
- Not enough users of our Christian Science Reading Room
- Not enough people come to our lectures
- Not enough money
- Not enough healing
- Not enough interest in our property.
In short, animal magnetism would say that there’s NOT ENOUGH INTEREST IN CHURCH. This list, as a measure of our church, is pretty unsubstantial. You can’t build on them. In fact, focusing on these “not enoughs” causes break-down, failure, a sense of no hope. That’s where animal magnetism wants us.
Instead, we should be asking, “What is the substance of our church?” It is:
- the “structure of Truth and Love”
- the full representation of the body of Christ
- spiritual
- cohesive
- attractive
- full of Soul
- undying, undecaying
- permanent
- progressive
- concordant
- inclusive
- aware
- active
- innovative
- satisfying
- “complete in every particular”
- full
2) Impositions on our branch church
a. We must conform to a certain societal or historical notion about what a church is. This would include members’ discomfort about a change from our current physical form.
Church as a divine idea is independent of matter and material form. The body of Christ is complete and recognized in our community. It doesn’t need a particular shape building in a certain kind of location governed by human codes with preconceived interior appointments. The structure of “church” is love. That love is and always has been expressed in our community. That love is felt by everybody with whom one of our church members interacts. Church is built on the Rock, Truth, and is firmly grounded, unshakeable and unshaken. Church is a reflection of divine Principle. As such, it is an expression of integrity and order. As a reflection of Mind, it is a reflection of oneness. As Soul, a reflection of beauty and harmony, always and forever expressed in infinite variety, unconfined by material opinions. As Spirit, it is definitely not and never has been material. Our church has no material history. It has always been the full expression of the body of Christ and will forever be so. As a reflection of Life, it is deathless, will exist forever.
b. We can’t change. There are too many conflicting opinions. There are too many options. We can’t narrow them down. The status quo is easier and we’re getting along OK for now. Let’s stop considering a change.
This screams, “Procrastination!” Doesn’t mortal mind love the procrastinator! However, God’s creation continues to appear. Newness, a quality of God, is reflected continually by our church. We are governed by progress, a law of God. We reflect continuity. It is impossible to stop the continuing unfoldment of God’s creation. We are governed by the one Mind, who is giving us all the same message! God, divine Mind, knows what’s best for us, is communicating it, and we hear Him. We can listen. We are attentive. We are obedient. Mortal mind has no voice. God has one option – our reflection of Him.
c. Fear of the unknown.
Normally one treats fear first, and everything falls into place. I chose to handle fear last, because each of my other impositions a fraught with fear and I wanted to treat it in one place. One manifestation of fear is wanting to have all the answers and a neat process to follow, like an engineering project. However, for our church (not our church building) to flourish and move forward, we need to get out of the paralysis of material processes and into spiritual understanding. One of the definitions in Science and Health of “unknown” is, “That which spiritual sense alone comprehends, and which is unknown to the material senses” (596:1). How can we be afraid of the comprehension of spiritual sense? How can we be afraid of something that is unknown to material sense, since material sense can’t know anything? “Spiritual sense is a conscious constant capacity to understand God” (209:31-32). The way to overcome this fear of the unknown is to cultivate a spiritual sense of church, to be conscious about every thought about church, correcting the erroneous ones even if they are pleasant to think about and affirming the truth, even if we aren’t sure about the form of the demonstrated outcome. Our love for the unfolding spiritual expression of church will banish all fear of the unknown.
3) How do we know this meeting is effective?
First, we’ve exposed animal magnetism and its claims about our forward progress. In her article, “The Way,” Mary Baker Eddy writes, “Error found out is two-thirds destroyed, and the last third pierces itself, for the remainder only stimulates and gives scope to higher demonstration” (Mis. 355:13-16). Second, we need to defend our progress tonight by knowing that all right prayer is effective, knowing that God is revealing His plan and we can see it. Third, by knowing that now we have a unified sense of direction, marching forth “with the banner of Christ unfurled” (Hymn 82).
Member contribution B
Church with a capital “c” is the essence of church with a small “c.” The Church Triumphant is not encumbered by matter. No bricks and mortar, no forms of worship, no strife over means and ways. Jesus and his disciples formed an itinerant brotherhood, bound by a sacred trust to fulfill prophecy. Paul and the apostles of the Early Church were united by the Holy Ghost in spreading the gospel. Their relationships, tributary to God and His Christ, are the salient feature of church. We do not think so much about the structure of where they congregated or their means of worship. We dwell on how they related to each other and what affect this had on their mission. So it is today.
These relationships are our “first love.” The collective praise of Revelation, bearing witness to the Christ opening the seven seals in that multifaceted triumph of good, is our consecration for all time. Seen in this light, why should we be so concerned about real estate or our form of worship? We can be like the snowbird singing and soaring amid the blasts, oblivious to the cares of institution and human life. Praise we the Lord.
Member contribution C
Here are some qualities expressed during the meeting that apply to God: eternal; indestructible; spiritual; integrity; honesty; compassion; useful; ongoing; alive; active; productive; good; expectant; abundance; loving; protected; complete; substantial; enough; sufficient; hope; cohesive; attractive; permanent; harmonious; unified; caring; grace; kindness order; tangible; progressive; concrete; listening; knowing; continuity; unfoldment; obedient; affirmative; effective; defended; uplifting; leavening.
Member contribution D
1) Understand and affirm what our church truly is
I do find myself beginning my work about church with the Glossary definition of church as “the structure of Truth and Love.” That statement shines in many ways. Just a couple of those ways are that the statement indicates that the activity of church is God’s business, grounded in Principle, active in unbounded Soul and Spirit, and especially nurtured in the certainty of Truth and the care of Love. Also, this fundamental structure of Truth and Love applies to all activity reflecting God.
Our church organization is a manifestation of that spiritual structure and spiritual activity. We have the privilege of working and residing within it. It represents the unfoldment of Truth, of divine law, throughout this community. It provides a stability of goodness and an inspiration of Soul that motivates and guides everyone in this community.
This atmosphere of Spirit is for ever in place.
2) Treatments for at least two impositions on our branch church
One of the major impositions upon church, in fact upon all churches in this age, is the scholastic theology of atheism that pervades modern educated thought. It is encouraged by the brilliance of modern scientific discoveries and technical accomplishments. However, even the wonders of modern techniques are all material externalizations of spiritual laws and practices. Those spiritual laws are the scientific reality that can never be eroded or belittled. The realization of Truth and Love remains freely available for all to discover; indeed that’s the natural realization of all of God’s offspring, the compound idea, man. We can know that divine Love does not abandon it’s nurturing of it’s own idea, that Principle endows each individual with moral soundness, that the laws of Spirit and Truth can never be erased from the consciousness of Soul, that divine Mine truly is the controlling intelligence of the universe.
Another imposition is that there are too few people to support a branch Church of Christ, Scientist, in our community that will endure into the indefinite future. We can counteract this as we understand that divine Life leaves none of its resources under-utilized, that the inheritance of divine Love resides with everyone in our community.
Related to this is another imposition that younger people are not interested in organized religion, that those who have been through our Sunday School are not interested in church membership. This especially divisive and destructive imposition relates perhaps to modern material well-being and affluence, and the ability that each human individual now has to live independently of others. However, this does not alter the basic laws of being, that man is the expression of God, is entirely spiritual, that all being is in and of Spirit. Understanding this brings an even greater level of satisfaction, ability, and accomplishment. Furthermore, it is the inherent, spiritual nature of each individual to recognize and demonstrate this. We all have it, they all have it, it’s what God gives to each of us.
3) How can this meeting be effective?
We know that our treatments regarding animal magnetism in our church affairs are based on divine law, upon the most basic groundwork of spiritual substance and divine activity. We are all necessary to the expression of God Himself, and that includes our branch church. The spiritual ideas that it represents are established now and always.
When we understand that the divine laws of Truth and Love are motivating and enabling our actions, we know that our treatments will be effective. It would be folly to outline the nature of the extent of the outcome of our prayer, but we know that the work within the closet of Truth and Love cannot fail to be expressed outwardly. True living is God expressing His nature everywhere, in every era, for all times.