Hi Ben,

I really enjoyed reading your post this morning. What came through to me in your post was its honesty and sincerity. In a very direct way you expressed what, I feel sure, many young Christian Scientists are also feeling today.

Thanks to the Church Alive movement started last year by the Mother Church, people in the movement are now able to express openly what has probably been on their minds for many years.

In the latter part of the 19th century, and in the early years of the 20th century, the CS church was in the vanguard of religious thought. However, over the last 100 years or so, there has been a gradual withering of creative and fresh thinking in the CS churches, so that today, the CS movement, instead of being on the cutting edge of what is happening in the religious community, is usually somewhere back in the “cobwebs” of late Victorian tradition.

There have been some small steps taken by the various branch churches in the last few years to make their services more informal: the announcements read from the desk are frequently reviewed so that they are fresh, instruments other than the organ are now often used in the service, some churches even follow the Sunday service with a fellowship hour (with refreshments), etc.

One has only to visit a few CS branch churches to see how decades of stultifying tradition has affected the attendance. Most churches have rows upon rows of empty pews. In fact, the number of branch churches is about half of what it was back in the 1950′s (3,200 compared to less than 1,700 today.)

It is true that other Christian denominations have also suffered significant losses over the last few decades, but at least they have embraced dynamic changes to the way they do things, and I do think that this may have helped them to reverse their lossses.

I can readily understand how you feel about sitting at home doing your lesson rather than going to Sunday service to hear the same thing read (which you have read all week!) Many years ago, my own grandmother used to say the same thing about going to Sunday service to hear the same thing read which she had spent all week reading.

Anyway, Ben, these are just a few of my thoughts. I would be very interested in hearing some more from you!

Okay, so I didn’t mean for that whole long chunk to be in italics – only the word, demonstrate :(.

This is such a good question. Frankly, I think it’s one that those of us who are already engaged in a branch church community have to deal with as well– how do we stay above the various distractions and blah moments that would make church nothing more than a rote thing. A big part of that for me has been really expanding my sense of Church. Is it a building, people, pews and music that are making my church? Or is it the sense of Church– my desire, as @benchernif, to really share Christianity and live it with a community? Sometimes we just have to be willing to really push back on that thought, and deny it any place as part of our consciousness.

That said, I don’t know that going to church out of a sense of duty or repeatedly suffering through church services is the answer either. There are times when it is important to be that active force for good and progress in a branch church– many branch churches are praying for that, and you just might be the answer to their prayers! But sometimes there’s a different church situation that is better for us at that moment. Just recently I heard about an individual who was in an area where there weren’t any Christian Science churches, but he felt so strongly about how important it was to be a part of a church community. He started listening to The Mother Church services on line, and eventually found out that there were a few other Christian Scientists in his community that he didn’t know about and I think they’ve since started a community. I’ve heard stories of other churches or societies where the church wasn’t meeting the need of some of its members, and those members felt inspired to start their own church/society.

I guess my point is, similar to the initial point I made, that we can get sort of trapped in this limited view of church: I have x branch churches near me and they are old stuffy and don’t really fit for me, so therefore I don’t have a good church option. But maybe there’s something stirring in one of those branch churches. Maybe there’s an online service you can participate in in a meantime. Maybe there’s something entirely different that is just right for you. The fact of the matter is, the desire to share Christianity with a community, to support others who are searching and practicing Christian healing, and to take your individual practice outward is a right and pure desire. That yearning wouldn’t be in your heart if there wasn’t an opportunity for it to come to fruition and be a blessing for you and others. So cherish it. Don’t let the limitations of mortal thought constrain your sense of church, and let that Christ-impulse lead you to the right answer for you.

For me, branch church membership/participation hasn’t always been easy. But with each of the churches that I’ve regularly attended, the memories of how much those fellow members loved me, supported me when things were utterly chaotic, and grew with me so far supercede any moment in a service that felt dull, difficult business meetings, etc. And you know, the more I felt that love, the more those moments diminished.

@inge – Sometimes I feel like things would be easier if there we’re a ton of eager CS’sts in my area without the convenience of local churches. Does that sound bad? It’s not meant to be. Again, I appreciate that those churches are there for the people who do make something out of that experience. Thanks @moving-forward, @bradcarling, @mainframe, @peterj for your responses.

I’ve thought long and hard about the idea of church, both material and spiritual. I really believe I live the idea of church each day, and I always run into situations that keep expressing that “structure” of Truth and Love. But I’m just getting to a point where it’s all too self-contained. I’m eager to share it.

I’ve actually decided to go to a CS church near my community this Sunday. I felt a great pull to go there yesterday. I think good things will come of it. At least it’s the first step to doing something with all this energy.

I do really appreciate the Church Alive! movement by the Mother Church. I’m very proud of my mother church membership. I believe in what that church is doing. I went to the Midwest Summit and could see how much it enabled new ideas in local churches. I learned about a few local churches who are really taking active steps towards embracing new members. I saw local church members in tears with how beautiful it was to see their mother church embrace these new ideas. But here’s a question: why did it take our mother church this much energy to move this kind of inspiration into so many dormant minds?

I’ve heard stories about local church members having accelerated spiritual growth because of the challenges they face in church: really?! Inge, or anybody who has grown through these kind of experiences, I’m NOT discrediting your growth. I understand that kind of challenge – the kind of challenge that is actually nearest us, like facing a challenge with family members.

But isn’t that a clear indication of selfishness? Shouldn’t our spiritual growth – those painful challenges that force us to rely on God’s allness – be from the challenges we’re facing outside of our churches. Could you imagine if we were collectively understanding Spirit to a point that we no longer need to serve or moderate or manage ourselves as Christian Scientists, but begin to reach out to the greater community that needs the healing: our world?

Not to discredit the interior healing between Christian Scientists. Of course we have to take care of ourselves before we reach out.

I think part of the this angst is coming from a recent trip I took with a bunch of Christians. We went to Haiti to help fund a marathon out there. I was paid to create a promotional video for the group. They were all Christians from different churches. One of their churches fronted the funds for the entire trip – over $40,000. This is what blows my mind: seeing that money being given to people in Haiti. It was the most simple gesture of serving – literally handing money to people so they could purchase things.

At night we would talk about serving our world as Christians. We talked about trusting the spirit of generosity, and not controlling it. I felt like a band of mini disciples. We all just knew we were there to serve, to love, and to have fun.

Then I thought: where is this in the CS movement? Where’s the practical giving to the outside community? Where’s there a local church ready to hand out $40k to a group of people to reach out into the world. Yes, I feel like prayer is the most beneficial thing we can do. But I’m not convinced that everyone is doing it in an effective, selfless manner quite yet. The act of giving – in this experience, for me – was more powerful than most kind gestures I’ve seen in many churches I’ve gone to.

I’m doing a lot of assuming here. I really do need to get out and check out what the churches are doing in my area first. I need to find people who are eager like me and figure out what we can do to make something of this. But thanks for listening everybody.

I’ll be in touch about what I learn about my greater Chicago community. I’d like to see what churches are doing, and how effective their prayers/desires are on their community. Thanks for the local ideas @bradcarling.

Ben

• This reply was modified 100 days ago by  Benjamin.

By the way, @benchernif, there’s some field videos up on the Church Alive website about two churches in the Chicago area who joined together to hold a lecture dealing with the issue of youth violence. They felt really strongly that they wanted it to be for the community, and to bring the Chicago community together to talk about prayerful solutions to the issue– they held it in a downtown venue rather than one of their church edifices, and really reached a wide range of people in the community. There’s also a video about a healing that occurred shortly after the lecture, related to the topic. It’s a great example of two Christian Science churches who really devoted their prayers to an important topic, but that didn’t mean that they stayed in their own edifices, silently praying and being isolated. The link to the videos is: http://members.christianscience.com/church-alive/on-the-ground-experiences/field-videos/seventeenth-church-chicago-il/

@Inge – absolutely didn’t take any of your message the wrong way. No worries on that account! It sure is an incredible time to be a CS’st, and I’m glad to be one. It’s good to hear your experiences with other churches and how they’re giving to their greater community. As I said, I need to get back into the mix of things and learn more about how the churches are reaching out.

@bradcarling – yeah, Lombard! My wife grew up there actually (after moving from South Dakota with her family when she was 9 years). It’s a nice little town. I actually really liked the small crowd at the Glen Ellyn church – I might return sometime soon.

I don’t think there’s much rocket science to why the movement has downsized so much. Churches are all about community. If the churches are dwindling, then it’s a reflection of community. Why are we complicating this? Why are we being fearful about this? For a practical start – a lot of the youth these days are ALL OVER THE PLACE. Going away to college is the norm, study abroad programs, moving to different cities for a few months at a time. Of course they won’t be around church too often.

Secondly, I do think we need to let go of big social issues (sexual preference, immorality, social drug use), and begin to embrace the “invincible truth” of spiritual reality! We should have zero arguments over the personal preferences somebody makes in their own life – and understand that error only destroys itself. Let go of other’s struggles and embrace them into the community!

Anyway, @bradcarling, I’ll let you know where things bring me tomorrow after church.

Thanks everybody. I know SOMETHING is happening from all of this. If anything, I know this post has pushed me to go to a church I’ve been thinking about for far too long. I’m excited!

Ben

Hi Emma,

I found your post very interesting since it in some ways reminded me of my own experience back in the early 1990′s when I was living in Chicago.

I had been attending a CS church in my neighborhood. The building was a very large “Greek temple” type structure opened in 1900. Over the years, the once large membership had declined to a point where there were about 50 people in a sanctuary which sat about 800. (Before the church was remodled in the 1960′s, it had sat about 1200. The balcony was removed as part of the remodling.) In any case, there was a feeling of stagnation in this church which to me was very apparent. Following an Easter Sunday service, I commented that it was odd that there had been no flowers on the platform for the occasion. A woman sitting behind me heard my comment and remarked, “As long as you attend this church, the only flowers you will see will have to be in your thinking!!!” Needless to say, I was speechless when I heard her comment. This was sort of a climax to my growing sense of dissatisfaction with my experience at this church. Over the years, I had tried a few other branches in Chicago, but had had the same kind of feeling of general stagnation and a holding on to neo-Victorian attitudes.

That Easter Sunday was really quite a wake up call. Several months later, I began attending the local Episcopal church, where I found a very active and friendly congregation, great music, great preaching, an excellent Bible study, and a wide array of social activities. The contrast with the CS branch church was really striking. That was over 20 years ago and I am still attending the Episcopal church (this time in New Jersey, where I now reside.)

By the way, I also am a graduate of Principia.