Hope. Courage. Resilience. Forgiveness. These words mean more, not less, against a backdrop of war, suffering and violence. The June 6 annual meeting of my church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, highlighted this message.
Church members from around the world gathered in person and online, including congregations from Carlisle, Windermere and Kendal for the meeting.
Our local Christian Science Churches have faced the same surging secular currents as other Christian and religious institutions in recent years. Yet in spite of these challenges, members recognise how difficult circumstances during the pandemic sparked a deeper love for others, and brought revitalisation to their memberships along with fresh opportunities to experience God’s healing power. Christian healing is central to the church’s founding purpose.
Reflecting on this love and the hopefulness it brings, a central theme of the meeting, Marian Hossell, a Carlisle church member shared: “This is the love that is at the core of the Golden Rule and a theme throughout the Bible and Christ Jesus’ ministry. People are searching for and responding to this hope. It speaks to the heart of the Carlisle community. There’s a thirst for it that we’re seeing at our church services and in our community outreach.”
The clerk welcomed new members from 30 countries, including the UK and the other parts of Europe. The new Readers of The Mother Church, who will conduct in-person and online church services in Boston for the next three years, are Mimi Oka of New York City, and Don Wallingford of Atlanta, Georgia. The church’s new president, Doris Ulich from Bamberg, Germany, was also announced at the meeting.
