By Juli Vice
From the June 2011 issue of The Christian Science Journal
When I joined my first branch church, I started challenging my thought about the concept of Church. This process included seeing beyond the material building and church services to what Church really represented in the community. The more I witnessed healings with my family, the more I knew that I could share Christian Science with the world as part of my church work. I started doing this and found that those with whom I shared Christian Science appreciated the concepts about God and that healing was possible through prayer.
Several years ago, I had the opportunity to expand my conceptions about church work even further. I felt led to work in the local public high school with special education students. As part of my duties, I was required to transfer students from an elevated mat to a wheelchair. We had been trained how to do this properly; however, one of the times that I was transferring a student, her movement pulled me in a way that seemed to cause injury to my back. I was able to finish transferring the student to the chair and then asked the supervising teacher if I could have a moment of quiet time in one of the work rooms nearby. She permitted me to do this and I took my Christian Science Bible Lesson with me to read. I prayed to see that there were no accidents in God’s law since His government is all good and is constant, never sporadic.
After praying for a while I decided to go home. The administrator told me that I needed to go to a doctor to get a diagnosis in case there would be a workman’s compensation claim. I saw this as an opportunity for me to share with the individual that I was a Christian Scientist and that I would be asking for help from a Christian Science practitioner. I realized that by making this statement I was already declaring that Christian Science works and I could be confident that a healing would be witnessed by my co-workers.
Once I was home, I called a practitioner who told me to read the definition of Church in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy: “The structure of Truth and Love; whatever rests upon and proceeds from divine Principle.
“The Church is that institution, which 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, thereby casting out devils, or error, and healing the sick” (p. 583). This definition really sparked my thought. I thought about my work with the students as part of my church work. I stopped thinking about the event that caused the injury and started to see that this was a wonderful opportunity to prove that Christian Science works.
As I read the passage, I thought about “the structure of Truth and Love” and let it strengthen me and fill me with love for my job and my practice of Christian Science. I understood that God was my strength and not a material structure. I saw that I also needed to let go of resentment about the extreme physical requirements on employees without their being provided proper equipment due to lack of funding for the program. This sense of unfairness was being expressed by co-workers, and I saw that in going along with this line of thinking, I was admitting the possibility of injury into my thought. I realized that neither I, nor my co-workers, could be victimized. God’s love for each of us could be seen and felt in this work. I could express love in my work without restriction, pain, or weakness—and I could do it with joy. My thought was being roused to apprehend my spiritual nature.
I also was reminded of what Mrs. Eddy wrote in Science and Health: “Whatever it is your duty to do, you can do without harm to yourself” (p. 385). It was important for me to know that I couldn’t be harmed performing my job duties, because my motives for doing the work were pure. I kept my thought turned toward God through the evening and fell asleep resting in His love. When I awoke the following morning, I found that the pain had diminished significantly, but I knew that I still needed to continue praying. I went to school with expectations of good, and decided that it would be fine to accompany some of the students to the state Special Olympics Games and fulfill my duties as one of the coaches. During the bus ride to the location, the students were talking about the games, and I was so struck by their sense of joy that it filled me with love for each one of them.
When we arrived, we all got off the bus and walked upstairs to our rooms. As I was walking up the stairs, I realized that I was walking upright, without pain, and had no trouble carrying my bag. I gave gratitude right then for the healing and continued to have a joyous weekend with the students.
When I returned to school Monday, I cherished the ideas that I gained from studying the definition of Church.Having the opportunity to expand my thought about Church showed me that the work of Church goes beyond church walls and into our community, to benefit those around us as we are practicing Christian Science in our daily lives. This expansive idea of “the structure of Truth and Love” has helped me see that Church is a living, vital idea. I saw the activity of Church taking place in that classroom, and it helped me express strength and freedom from the false belief of an injury right where it seemed to be an accepted part of the job. I have continued to feel Love’s support in all of my work and have cherished the opportunity to express God in my community.
