Prayer from across the sea

How do I pray for a bombing that happened thousands of miles away in Kenya? This question instantly popped into my head when we received word of the Kenyan referendum bombing. How can I—one person who has no connection to that part of the world—pray for the people there?

It’s a question that I needed to address before I could hope to have any positive effect on the situation in Kenya. This is something I always struggle with, whether it is a war, a natural disaster, a terrorist attack, or something else that tries to influence the way I’m thinking about the world. I am too small to have any power to change something greater than myself, right? Read the rest of this entry »

Peace the world over

Is the universe, including man , evolved by atomic force? Well, is it? That is the title of this week’s Bible Lesson and it was the first thought that came to mind when our Global Team member in Kenya told me that several grenades were detonated at a political rally in his neighborhood in Nairobi.

Briefly, this attack revolved around the new constitution up for public referendum in Kenya and divisive clauses regarding female reproductive rights there. Sadly, several people were killed, many more injured. The blast occurred only steps from the Christian Science church in Kibera. Read the rest of this entry »

Care for the caregivers

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Recently the former airport in the Angolan capital, Luanda, has been replaced by a modern, sparkling clean airport that seems to run efficiently, and even has a smoking lounge—a touching sign of progress. This is the first airport that I’ve seen in Africa (with the possible exception of the airports in South Africa) where smoking is not allowed everywhere as a matter of course. Read the rest of this entry »

Thinking about class instruction?

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I relied on prayer to get to Lisbon in time for the workshop there, working around flights that were canceled due to the volcanoes in Iceland. These workshops in twelve countries have not been stopped by volcanoes or earthquakes.

In these events Alessandra and I always talk about how taking Christian Science class instruction is an excellent way to prepare to be a Christian Science practitioner or nurse. What is class instruction? It’s a one-time intensive two-week course that prepares people to practice Christian Science to help others (and of course, themselves) through prayer. Read the rest of this entry »

When I needed a best friend

“I was never really your friend. I just pretended to be your friend!”

That’s what a former friend told me a couple of years ago. That experience taught me that when I’ve felt the need to surround myself with lots of friends, I haven’t always found what makes me happy. Read the rest of this entry »

Two lives in step

Question: How do you get even a few moments with Haley Henderson-Smith and her husband, Easton Smith, who are understudies to the leads dancing in the ensemble on the national tour of the stage version of Eleanor Bergstein’s Dirty Dancing?

Answer: You use e-mail, cellphone, and your own legs to catch them after one of their weekly understudy rehearsals, 
after one of their ballet classes, at the stage door after one of their eight performances a week, or at a daytime testimony meeting or a Sunday service in a Christian Science church.

For me, the last option proved best. “For us,” says Haley, “nothing is more important than these services.” Read the rest of this entry »

Silent beauty in the desert

I believe that the desert is a place of healing, a place that makes my heart sing.

I believe in its serenity. In its ancient slick rock and towering sandstone walls that whisper secrets of the past. I believe in the winds that carry the sweet scent of sagebrush, and the silt-filled rivers, their banks covered in willows. In the turkey vultures that ride the air thermals up into the never-ending expanse of blue sky. I believe in the harmony of the desert. Read the rest of this entry »

Why do you love Christian Science?

Can you tell us in ten words or less? During the TMC Youth Open House, Sunday June 6, 2010, our guests took the challenge. They crafted their “elevator speeches” about the one, essential thing that makes Christian Science so special to them, and then wrote it down on paper. It wasn’t always easy, but the results were always simple and inspiring. Our photographers were on-hand to take photos of their signs.  Check out what they wrote on the slideshow.

¿Dónde estaba Dios cuando el terremoto sacudió a Haiti?

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Si Dios es bueno y gobernador sobre todo lo que existe, ¿por qué ocurrió un terremoto en Haití? ¿Dios dejó de actuar y dejó que el terremoto tuviera lugar? ¿Dios permitió las millones de víctimas que están sufriendo hoy en la pequeña isla del Caribe estuvieran a merced de esa fuerza tan destructiva?

Estos son temas difíciles que muchos están tratando de comprender. ¿Qué crees tú a cerca de estas preguntas? Read the rest of this entry »

Es hora de salir del armario

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Pues si. Ha llegado la hora. Es hora de hacerlo público. Dejar de lado el temor. Ser honesto con quienes nos rodean… sobre quienes somos…

Científicos Cristianos. No estoy hablando acerca de tratar de “convertir” a las multitudes, sino de dejar que nuestras vidas sean un ejemplo honesto de quienes somos. Déjame que te explique.

Es fácil pensar en todas las razones por las que no hablar de esto. Es especialmente difícil compartir estas cosas cuando la fe no es algo de lo que se habla muy públicamente. Es más fácil saltearse el tema por completo, ¿no? Pero piensa lo siguiente: Al hacer esto, estamos dejando que la Ciencia Cristiana sea definida por nuestros críticos y no por nosotros. Read the rest of this entry »