Wednesday, January 17, 2018

An assignment for 2018 with your input

Every year we get assignments from our Christian Science teachers or speakers with suggestions for thing to be working on to further our spiritual journey. We should never stop striving for a deeper and clearer understanding of God, Christian Science, and our Leader, Mary Baker Eddy.
Many years ago, when I first started studying Christian Science, I found the textbook a bit of a challenge. Working with our daily Bible Lesson was opening up the Scriptures in new and exciting ways. But when I began visiting the reading room on a regular basis, I peppered the patient librarians with questions about Mrs. Eddy. It seemed important to understand who she was and what she accomplished in an age where women's rights were struggling to be acknowledged. What had brought her to her discovery? How did she overcome her many challenges? I asked them to recommend a biography that would get me started on appreciating her life. I found it fascinating that a woman could found a  movement like Christian Science. I was coming from a different religious background, one I had turned from because I could not agree with their view of God. Most of my childhood I struggled with health problems and the idea of finding not only relief but complete healing appealed to  me. She had chronic health problems and tried all the remedies available in her time. Her family did not think she could raise her rambunctious son and sent him away without her permission, she had been widowed and then her second husband was unfaithful to her and abandoned her. When she wanted to share her discoveries women were frowned upon as public speakers. She wrote the textbook and struggled with many editors to get it published, revising it many times as her own understanding increased. She healed the cases the physicians of her day considered incurable. She founded a church, established its Manual and fulfilled her vision of an international newspaper with the Christian Science Monitor. She faced lawsuits and came away victorious. What an amazing achievement for someone who grew up homeschooled in New England in the 1800's. She was one of the most famous women of her times, greatly respected, with many influencial people and publications soliciting her opinion on world events.
I read my way through the reading room's lending library, starting with the biography aimed at very young readers and ending with what was a recent publication made with deep scholarship.
Others in the church were interested in learning about Mrs. Eddy and I wrote to Principia College and got permission to use a syllabus about her life and works for leading a study group. It was centered around the three biographies written by Robert Peel. Each book had 10 chapters so we read one chapter each month and then met to discuss it, working with the questions in the syllabus. We completed it in three years, taking the summers off. Then I lead another group through it but stopped after the third time. Nine years seemed like enough focus!
That was some time ago and several biographies have come out since then. So, this year I am going to pick one to study. Right now I am deciding between Come and See, The Life of Mary Baker Eddy by Isabel Ferguson or the We Knew Mary Baker Eddy extended version.
Have you read a biography about her lately? Or do you have a favorite from years past? Being in the full time practice of Christian Science, I want to feel prepared to recommend a biography to those sincere seekers who would like to know more about her life and discovery. I would love to hear your thoughts.

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