Anna Farkas - Christian Science Sentinel | March 24, 2008

Sunday School has become one of my favorite places to be during the week. I always come away from my class with answers to problems or just a higher perspective that makes me feel more energized and joyful.

I love singing hymns with my classmates because it makes me feel connected to everything and everyone. I also really like finding deeper meaning in the stories from the Bible. Our class talks together about the words and what they mean to us. I always find ideas that relate to what is going on in my life. All my past and present teachers have been helpful whenever I’m having trouble with friends, illness, or when one of my pets is hurt. The teachers make Sunday School a kind of reality check for me.

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Roger Gordon - Christian Science Sentinel, Aug. 6, 2007

Recently, I’ve been looking at the tenets of Christian Science in a fresh way. More than just a set of rules, I’ve found, the tenets grant opportunities to really get in tune with God. As I’ve thought about them, it seems to me that the central message of the tenets is to know, feel, and love God supremely. These important points simply prepare my thought to reflect God’s thoughts. And they are all about gaining a higher and holier state of consciousness, which heals instantaneously. The last tenet in particular is a promise that can bring great rewards: “And we solemnly promise to watch, and pray for that Mind to be in us which was also in Christ Jesus; to do unto others as we would have them do unto us; and to be merciful, just, and pure”(Science and Health, p. 497). This helps us feel God in our lives and provides guidance in making good decisions. Consciously living this tenet helped me know God in such a comforting way—one that eventually led me to make a good decision in my life.

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Brian Simpson - The Christian Science Journal, March, 2008

About a month ago I had a friend over. As we were going for a walk down my street, we began talking about parties and how nowadays, for it to be a good party you have to have alcohol. I told her that I really wanted to have a party at my house, but the one thing I was worried about was that I’d have to have alcohol for anyone to come. That’s when Christian Science came up. She asked me, “So, have you ever had a drink?” I said, “No, actually, I haven’t.” I told her that it wasn’t something I get into because of my religion, Christian Science. I’m always making jokes, and at first she thought I was trying to make something up, but I told her, “No, really, I’m a Christian Scientist.”

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Sarah Andrews - The Christian Science Journal, Dec. 2007

I love the idea that God created us to fulfill a divine purpose, that God has appointed each of us to serve Him in a unique way, and that He needs us to do His work. But sometimes it can seem easy to fall into the trap of believing that we’re just not that special.

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Matthew Cocks - The Christian Science Journal, March 2008

I have always believed there is a God, or I suppose at least sensed that there’s something more than ourselves. But as I grew up, I developed the belief of a punishing God. I was quite scared of God actually. On one hand, I had the feeling that God was on my side, but on the other hand, that bad stuff would happen if I did anything wrong. It has been only in this past year (four years after learning about Christian Science) that I have gotten over this idea of a punishing God. It’s still something I work at really’understanding that God loves unconditionally, like a mother or a father. I kind of always knew that in theory, but in practice, I’d be fearful and worry about being punished. I’m still progressing in my understanding of the depth of God’s unconditional love.

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Christian Science Sentinel, Nov. 12, 2007

Recently, Sentinel staff editor JENNY ROEMER spoke with ELLEN HAMMOND, MATT LAWRENCE, and LAURA FORBES’ three employees (all in their 20s) who work at The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston. They talked about handling stress in their lives.

Jenny Roemer: We’re here today discussing how to handle pressure and stress through prayer. Let’s start off by talking about where we’re seeing stress and pressure crop up.

Laura Forbes: Especially being in our 20s, there are pressures out there about where we’re supposed to be in our lives, and what success means. I think there’s a lot of pressure on us these days to really have it all together. Society tells you that you should have a great place to live, a great career’and maybe be looking for a wife or husband, thinking about kids, and getting your finances in order. And that can sometimes seem overwhelming when you look at your life and think, Do I really have any of those things in the way the world says I should?

Matt Lawrence: That’s really interesting, Laura, because I feel that same stress. But as someone who is young and married, I also feel a different kind of pressure from my peers’the pressure not to grow up, not to have kids, but to be young and go out every night and keep up with that lifestyle. It seems that people our age are caught in this middle zone’like, “Well, are we going to act 20 years old, or do we need to act 30?”

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Ariana Dale - Christian Science Sentinel, July 16, 2007

I was lying in bed, hours after “flashlights out.” My family, my dog, Carmel, and my best friend all flashed through my mind. I was also thinking about my older brother, who had just started football camp back at home, and I worried about his safety. My face felt hot and wet as I quietly cried into my pillow. But why was I sad? Wasn’t I supposed to be happy at summer camp?

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Erik Gates - Christian Science Sentinel, Oct. 8, 2007

Swimming is a big part of my life. I swim for two hours a day, four days a week, on a competitive aquatics team. Just like with swimming, I’ve realized that it’s equally important to practice the spiritual ideas I’m learning in Christian Science.

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Emma Grewal - The Christian Science Journal, Feb. 2008

I had never heard of Qatar, a place I now consider home, until three years ago when my dad got a job working for a company there. My mum, dad, and younger sister, Abigail, and I moved to Doha, the capital city of Qatar, from Dubai. Being born and brought up in Australia, and having also lived in India, I found moving to a country like Qatar a big change. When you’re used to seeing people in jeans and shirts, coming to an Islamic country like Qatar hits you most visually. Here a lot of the women wear a black abaya, a traditional form of Islamic dress worn over your clothes, and a lot of my girlfriends also wear a black headscarf, even to school, although wearing the scarf is a personal decision.

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Nate Talbot - the Christian Science Sentinel, Oct. 15, 2007

SUPPOSE TWO PEOPLE, John and Linda, are walking down the street. Linda sees a window sign with an invitation to come in and be hypnotized. She’s game for anything. So John follows along as she marches into the office. After a discussion, the hypnotist places Linda in a trance. During this experiment, he plants a posthypnotic suggestion in her mind—when she hears the word blue, she will feel the impulse to react negatively. Then the hypnotist wakes her up from the spell. Later, as Linda and John continue their walk, John makes some offhanded comment about so little smog in the air and the brightness of the blue sky. Linda reacts with an unkind comment—maybe even a strong insult. How would John feel? Probably a smile. Oh yeah, she’s just delivering some words that haven’t originated with her. She doesn’t even understand the impulse that brought about those words.

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