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Title: Manual of the Mother Church - The First Church of Christ Scientist in Boston, Massachusetts
Author: Eddy, Mary Baker, 1821-1910
Language: English
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*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Manual of the Mother Church - The First Church of Christ Scientist in Boston, Massachusetts" ***
Eighty-Ninth edition
Manual of The Mother Church
The First Church of Christ
Scientist
In Boston, Massachusetts
BY
MARY BAKER EDDY
Discoverer and founder of Christian Science
And author of Science and Health with
Key to the Scriptures
PUBLISHED BY THE
TRUSTEES UNDER THE WILL OF MARY BAKER G. EDDY
BOSTON, U.S.A.
Authorized literature of
The first Church of Christ, Scientist
In Boston, Massachusetts
COPYRIGHT, 1895
_By_ CHRISTIAN SCIENCE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Copyright renewed, 1923
COPYRIGHT 1895, 1896, 1897, 1898, 1899, 1901
_By_ JAMES A. NEAL _and_ THOMAS W. HATTEN
Copyright renewed, 1923, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1929
COPYRIGHT, 1903, 1904, 1906, 1908
_By_ MARY BAKER G. EDDY
Copyright renewed, 1931, 1932, 1934, 1936
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
EXTRACT FROM A LETTER IN "MISCELLANEOUS WRITINGS"
_By Mary Baker Eddy_
The Rules and By-laws in the Manual of The First Church of Christ,
Scientist, Boston, originated not in solemn conclave as in ancient
Sanhedrim. They were not arbitrary opinions nor dictatorial demands,
such as one person might impose on another. They were impelled by
a power not one's own, were written at different dates, and as
the occasion required. They sprang from necessity, the logic of
events,--from the immediate demand for them as a help that must
be supplied to maintain the dignity and defense of our Cause;
hence their simple, scientific basis, and detail so requisite to
demonstrate genuine Christian Science, and which will do for the
race what absolute doctrines destined for future generations might
not accomplish.
TENETS
_of The Mother Church_
_The First Church of Christ, Scientist_
_To be signed by those uniting with The First Church of Christ,
Scientist, in Boston, Mass._
1. As adherents of Truth, we take the inspired Word of the Bible as
our sufficient guide to eternal Life.
2. We acknowledge and adore one supreme and infinite God. We
acknowledge His Son, one Christ; the Holy Ghost or divine Comforter;
and man in God's image and likeness.
3. We acknowledge God's forgiveness of sin in the destruction of sin
and the spiritual understanding that casts out evil as unreal. But
the belief in sin is punished so long as the belief lasts.
4. We acknowledge Jesus' atonement as the evidence of divine,
efficacious Love, unfolding man's unity with God through Christ Jesus
the Way-shower; and we acknowledge that man is saved through Christ,
through Truth, Life, and Love as demonstrated by the Galilean Prophet
in healing the sick and overcoming sin and death.
5. We acknowledge that the crucifixion of Jesus and his resurrection
served to uplift faith to understand eternal Life, even the allness
of Soul, Spirit, and the nothingness of matter.
6. 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.
MARY BAKER EDDY
HISTORICAL SKETCH
In the spring of 1879, a little band of earnest seekers after Truth
went into deliberations over forming a church without creeds, to
be called the "CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST." They were members
of evangelical churches, and students of Mrs. Mary Baker Eddy in
Christian Science, and were known as "Christian Scientists."
At a meeting of the Christian Scientist Association, April 12, 1879,
on motion of Mrs. Eddy, it was voted,--To organize a church designed
to commemorate the word and works of our Master, which should
reinstate primitive Christianity and its lost element of healing.
Mrs. Eddy was appointed on the committee to draft the Tenets of the
Mother Church--the chief corner stone whereof is, that Christian
Science, as taught and demonstrated by our Master, casts out error,
heals the sick, and restores the lost Israel: for "the stone which
the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner."
The charter for the Church was obtained June, 1879,[1] and the same
month the members, twenty-six in number, extended a call to Mary
Baker Eddy to become their pastor. She accepted the call, and was
ordained A. D. 1881. Although walking through deep waters, the little
Church went steadily on, increasing in numbers, and at every epoch
saying,
"Hitherto hath the Lord helped us."
On the twenty-third day of September, 1892, at the request of Rev.
Mary Baker Eddy, twelve of her students and Church members met and
reorganized, under her jurisdiction, the Christian Science Church
and named it, THE FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST.
At this meeting twenty others of Mrs. Eddy's students and members of
her former Church were elected members of this Church,--those with
others that have since been elected were known as "First Members."
The Church Tenets, Rules, and By-Laws, as prepared by Mrs. Eddy,
were adopted. A By-Law adopted March 17, 1903, changed the title of
"First Members" to "Executive Members." (On July 8, 1908, the By-Laws
pertaining to "Executive Members" were repealed.)
THE FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST, IN BOSTON, MASS., is designed
to be built on the Rock, Christ; even the understanding and
demonstration of divine Truth, Life, and Love, healing and saving the
world from sin and death; thus to reflect in some degree the Church
Universal and Triumphant.
[1] Steps were taken to promote the Church of Christ, Scientist, in
April, May and June; formal organization was accomplished and the
charter obtained in August, 1879.
CHURCH OFFICERS
Rev. MARY BAKER EDDY Pastor Emeritus
GEORGE WENDELL ADAMS Christian Science Board of Directors
CHARLES E. HEITMAN
Mrs. NELVIA E. RITCHIE
FRANCIS LYSTER JANDRON
ALFRED PITTMAN
Mrs. HELEN CHAFFEE ELWELL President
THOMAS E. HURLEY First Reader
Conducts services and reads from
the Christian Science textbook,
"SCIENCE AND HEALTH WITH KEY TO THE
SCRIPTURES" by Mary Baker Eddy
Mrs. GEORGINA TENNANT Second Reader
Reads from the SCRIPTURES
GORDON V. COMER Clerk, 107 Falmouth Street,
Boston, Mass.
ROY GARRETT WATSON Treasurer, 107 Falmouth Street,
Boston, Mass.
1947-1948
CHURCH BY-LAWS
CHURCH OFFICERS
Article I--NAMES, ELECTION, AND DUTIES
Names. SECTION 1. The Church officers shall consist of the Pastor
Emeritus, a Board of Directors, a President, a Clerk, a Treasurer,
and two Readers.
President. SECTION 2. The President shall be elected, subject to the
approval of the Pastor Emeritus, by the Board of Directors[2] on
Monday preceding the annual meeting of the Church. The President
shall hold office for one year, and the same person is eligible for
election but once in three years.
[2] See under "Deed of Trust" for incorporation of the "Christian
Science Board of Directors."
Clerk and Treasurer. SECTION 3. The term of office for the Clerk and
the Treasurer of this Church (also for the editors and the manager
of The Christian Science Publishing Society, and the manager of the
general Committee on Publication in Boston) is one year each, dating
from the time of election to office. Incumbents who have served one
year or more, may be re-elected, or new officers elected, at the
annual meeting held for this purpose, by a unanimous vote of the
Christian Science Board of Directors and the consent of the Pastor
Emeritus given in her own handwriting.
Readers. SECTION 4. Every third year Readers shall be elected in The
Mother Church by the Board of Directors, which shall inform the
Pastor Emeritus of the names of its candidates before they are
elected; and if she objects, said candidates shall not be chosen.
The Directors shall fix the salaries of the Readers.
Directors. SECTION 5. The Christian Science Board of Directors shall
consist of five members. They shall fill a vacancy occurring on that
Board after the candidate is approved by the Pastor Emeritus. A
majority vote or the request of Mrs. Eddy shall dismiss a member.
Members shall neither report the discussions of this Board, nor those
with Mrs. Eddy.
Church Business. SECTION 6. The business of The Mother Church shall
be transacted by its Christian Science Board of Directors. The
manager of the general Committee on Publication in the United States
shall order no special action to be taken by said Committee that is
not named in the Manual of this Church without consulting with the
full Board of Directors of The Mother Church and receiving the
written consent of said Board.
Publishing Buildings. SECTION 7. It shall be the duty of the
Christian Science Board of Directors to provide a suitable building
for the publication of _The Christian Science Journal_, _Christian
Science Sentinel_, _Der Herold der Christian Science_, and all other
Christian Science literature published by The Christian Science
Publishing Society. It shall also be the duty of the Christian
Science Board of Directors to provide suitable rooms, conveniently
and pleasantly located in the same building, for the publication and
sale of the books of which Mary Baker Eddy is, or may be, the author,
and of other literature connected therewith.
Trusteeships and Syndicates. SECTION 8. Boards of Trustees and
Syndicates may be formed by The Mother Church, subject to the
approval of the Pastor Emeritus.
Duties of Church Officers. SECTION 9. Law constitutes government,
and disobedience to the laws of The Mother Church must ultimate
in annulling its Tenets and By-Laws. Without a proper system of
government and form of action, nations, individuals, and religion are
unprotected; hence the necessity of this By-Law and the warning of
Holy Writ: "That servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared
not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with
many stripes."
It is the duty of the Christian Science Board of Directors to watch
and make sure that the officers of this Church perform the functions
of their several offices promptly and well. If an officer fails to
fulfil all the obligations of his office, the Board of Directors
shall immediately call a meeting and notify this officer either to
resign his place or to perform his office faithfully; then failing to
do either, said officer shall be dismissed from this Church, and his
dismissal shall be written on the Church records.
It is the duty of any member of this Church, and especially of one
who has been or who is the First Reader of a church, to inform the
Board of Directors of the failure of the Committee on Publication or
of any other officer in this Church to perform his official duties.
A Director shall not make known the name of the complainant.
If the Christian Science Board of Directors fails to fulfil the
requirements of this By-Law, and a member of this Church or the
Pastor Emeritus shall complain thereof to the Clerk and the complaint
be found valid, the Directors shall resign their office or perform
their functions faithfully. Failing to do thus, the Pastor Emeritus
shall appoint five suitable members of this Church to fill the
vacancy. The salary of the members of the Board of Directors shall
be at present two thousand five hundred dollars each annually.
Article II--READERS OF THE MOTHER CHURCH
Election. SECTION 1. The Readers for The Mother Church shall be a man
and a woman, one to read the BIBLE, and one to read SCIENCE AND
HEALTH WITH KEY TO THE SCRIPTURES.
Eligibility. SECTION 2. The Directors shall select intelligible
Readers who are exemplary Christians and good English scholars.
They must be members of The Mother Church.
Removal. SECTION 3. If a Reader in The Mother Church be found at any
time inadequate or unworthy, he or she shall be removed from office
by a majority vote of the Board of Directors and the consent of the
Pastor Emeritus, and the vacancy supplied.
First Reader's Residence. SECTION 4. Unless Mrs. Eddy requests
otherwise, the First Reader of The Mother Church shall occupy, during
his term of Readership, the house of the Pastor Emeritus, No. 385
Commonwealth Avenue, Boston. The Board of Directors shall pay from
the Church funds the taxes and rent on this property; the Board shall
attend to the insurance before it expires, suitably furnish the
house, and keep the property in good repair, so long as Mrs. Eddy
does not occupy the house herself and the occupants are satisfactory
to her.
Article III--DUTIES OF READERS OF THE MOTHER CHURCH AND OF ITS
BRANCH CHURCHES
Moral Obligations. SECTION 1. The Readers of The Mother Church and of
all its branch churches must devote a suitable portion of their time
to preparation for the reading of the Sunday lesson,--a lesson on
which the prosperity of Christian Science largely depends. They
must keep themselves unspotted from the world,--uncontaminated with
evil,--that the mental atmosphere they exhale shall promote health
and holiness, even that spiritual _animus_ so universally needed.
First Readers' Duties. SECTION 2. It shall be the duty of the First
Readers to conduct the principal part of the Sunday services, and
the Wednesday evening meetings.
Suitable Selections. SECTION 3. The First Readers shall read, as
a part of the Wednesday evening services, selections from the
SCRIPTURES, and from SCIENCE AND HEALTH WITH KEY TO THE SCRIPTURES.
Order of Reading. SECTION 4. The First Readers in the Christian
Science churches shall read the correlative texts in SCIENCE AND
HEALTH WITH KEY TO THE SCRIPTURES; and the Second Readers shall read
the BIBLE texts. The readings from the SCRIPTURES shall precede the
readings from SCIENCE AND HEALTH. The Readers shall not read from
copies or manuscripts, but from the books.
Naming Book and Author. SECTION 5. The Readers of SCIENCE AND HEALTH
WITH KEY TO THE SCRIPTURES, before commencing to read from this book,
shall distinctly announce the full title of the book and give the
author's name. Such announcement shall be made but once during the
lesson.
Readers in Branch Churches. SECTION 6. These Readers shall be members
of The Mother Church. They shall read understandingly and be well
educated. They shall make no remarks explanatory of the LESSON-SERMON
at any time, but they shall read all notices and remarks that may be
printed in the CHRISTIAN SCIENCE QUARTERLY. This By-Law applies to
Readers in all the branch churches.
Enforcement of By-Laws. SECTION 7. It shall be the duty of every
member of The Mother Church, who is a First Reader in a Church of
Christ, Scientist, to enforce the discipline and by-laws of the
church in which he is Reader.
A Reader not a Leader. SECTION 8. The Church Reader shall not be a
Leader, but he shall maintain the Tenets, Rules, and discipline of
the Church. A Reader shall not be a President of a church.
CHURCH MEMBERSHIP
Article IV--QUALIFICATIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP
Believe in Christian Science. SECTION 1. To become a member of The
Mother Church, the First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston,
Mass., the applicant must be a believer in the doctrines of Christian
Science, according to the platform and teaching contained in the
Christian Science textbook, SCIENCE AND HEALTH WITH KEY TO THE
SCRIPTURES, by Rev. Mary Baker Eddy. The BIBLE, together with SCIENCE
AND HEALTH and other works by Mrs. Eddy, shall be his only textbooks
for self-instruction in Christian Science, and for teaching and
practising metaphysical healing.
Free from Other Denominations. SECTION 2. This Church will receive
a member of another Church of Christ, Scientist, but not a church
member from a different denomination until that membership is
dissolved.
Children when Twelve Years Old. SECTION 3. Children who have arrived
at the age of twelve years, who are approved, and whose applications
are countersigned by one of Mrs. Eddy's loyal students, by a
Director, or by a student of the Board of Education, may be admitted
to membership with The Mother Church.
Article V--APPLICATIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP
Students of the College. SECTION 1. Applications for membership with
The Mother Church from students of the Massachusetts Metaphysical
College who studied with Rev. Mary Baker Eddy, shall be signed by the
Christian Science Board of Directors as evidence of the loyalty of
the applicants.
Other Students. SECTION 2. Applicants for membership who have not
studied Christian Science with Rev. Mary Baker Eddy, can unite with
this Church only by approval from students of Mrs. Eddy, loyal to the
teachings of the textbook, SCIENCE AND HEALTH WITH KEY TO THE
SCRIPTURES, or from members of The Mother Church, as provided in
Article VI, Sect. 2, of these By-Laws.
Students' Pupils. SECTION 3. Applications for membership with The
Mother Church, coming from pupils of loyal students who have taken
the Primary or Normal Course at the Massachusetts Metaphysical
College or in the Board of Education, or from pupils of those who
have passed an examination by the Board of Education, shall have the
approval and signature of their teachers, except in such cases as are
provided for in Sect. 4 of this Article.
Exceptional Cases. SECTION 4. Loyal Christian Scientists whose
teachers are deceased, absent, or disloyal, or those whose teachers,
for insufficient cause, refuse to endorse their applications for
membership with The Mother Church,--can apply to the Clerk of this
Church, and present to him a recommendation signed by three members
thereof in good standing, after which, the unanimous vote of the
Board of Directors may admit said applicant to membership.
Addressed to Clerk. SECTION 5. All applications for membership must
be addressed to the Clerk of the Church.
Endorsing Applications. SECTION 6. A member of The Mother Church
shall not endorse nor countersign an application for membership
therewith until after the blank has been properly filled out by an
applicant. A member who violates this By-Law shall be disciplined.
Notice of Rejection. SECTION 7. If an application for membership with
The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Mass., is rejected,
the Clerk of the Church shall send to the applicant a notice of such
rejection; but neither the Clerk nor the Church shall be obliged to
report the cause for rejection.
Article VI--RECOMMENDATION AND ELECTION
Pupils of Normal Students. SECTION 1. One Normal student cannot
recommend the pupil of another Normal student, so long as both are
loyal to their Leader and to the Christian Science textbook, except
as provided for in Article V, Sect. 4.
Members of The Mother Church. SECTION 2. Only members of The Mother
Church are qualified to approve for membership individuals who are
known to them to be Christians, and faithful, loyal students of the
textbook, SCIENCE AND HEALTH WITH KEY TO THE SCRIPTURES. If the
approver is not a loyal student of Mrs. Eddy, a Director of this
Church, or a student of the Board of Education who holds a degree,
the application must be countersigned by one of these.
Election. SECTION 3. Applicants for membership in this Church, whose
applications are correctly prepared, may be elected by majority vote
of the Christian Science Board of Directors at the semi-annual
meetings held for this purpose.
Article VII--PROBATIONARY MEMBERSHIP
Members who once Withdrew. SECTION 1. Individuals who have heretofore
been members of this Church, or were members of the Church of Christ,
Scientist, organized in 1879 by Mary Baker Eddy, but who have
voluntarily withdrawn, may be received into this Church on one year's
probation, provided they are willing and anxious to live according to
its requirements and make application for membership according to
its By-Laws. If, at the expiration of said one year, they are found
worthy, they shall be received into full membership, but if not found
worthy their applications shall be void.
Members once Dismissed. SECTION 2. A full member or a probationary
member, who has been excommunicated once, and who afterward, when
sufficient time has elapsed thoroughly to test his sincerity, gives
due evidence of having genuinely repented and of being radically
reformed, shall be eligible to probationary membership upon a
unanimous vote of the Christian Science Board of Directors.
Ineligible for Probation. SECTION 3. If a member has been twice
notified of his excommunication, he shall not again be received into
this Church.
DISCIPLINE
Article VIII--GUIDANCE OF MEMBERS
A Rule for Motives and Acts. SECTION 1. Neither animosity nor mere
personal attachment should impel the motives or acts of the members
of The Mother Church. In Science, divine Love alone governs man;
and a Christian Scientist reflects the sweet amenities of Love, in
rebuking sin, in true brotherliness, charitableness, and forgiveness.
The members of this Church should daily watch and pray to be
delivered from all evil, from prophesying, judging, condemning,
counseling, influencing or being influenced erroneously.
To be Read in Church. SECTION 2. The above Church Rule shall be read
in The Mother Church and in the branch churches by the First Reader
on the first Sunday of each month. On Communion day the Church Tenets
are to be read.
Christ Jesus the Ensample. SECTION 3. He who dated the Christian era
is the Ensample in Christian Science. Careless comparison or
irreverent reference to Christ Jesus is abnormal in a Christian
Scientist, and is prohibited. When it is necessary to show the
great gulf between Christian Science and theosophy, hypnotism, or
spiritualism, do it, but without hard words. The wise man saith,
"A soft answer turneth away wrath." However despitefully used and
misrepresented by the churches or the press, in return employ no
violent invective, and do good unto your enemies when the opportunity
occurs. A departure from this rule disqualifies a member for office
in the Church or on the Board of Lectureship, and renders this member
liable to discipline and, possibly, dismissal from The Mother Church.
Daily Prayer. SECTION 4. It shall be the duty of every member of this
Church to pray each day: "Thy kingdom come;" let the reign of divine
Truth, Life, and Love be established in me, and rule out of me all
sin; and may Thy Word enrich the affections of all mankind, and
govern them!
Prayer in Church. SECTION 5. The prayers in Christian Science
churches shall be offered for the congregations collectively and
exclusively.
Alertness to Duty. SECTION 6. It shall be the duty of every member
of this Church to defend himself daily against aggressive mental
suggestion, and not be made to forget nor to neglect his duty to God,
to his Leader, and to mankind. By his works he shall be judged,--and
justified or condemned.
One Christ. SECTION 7. In accordance with the Christian Science
textbooks,--the BIBLE, and SCIENCE AND HEALTH WITH KEY TO THE
SCRIPTURES,--and in accord with all of Mrs. Eddy's teachings, members
of this Church shall neither entertain a belief nor signify a belief
in more than one Christ, even that Christ whereof the Scripture
beareth testimony.
No Malpractice. SECTION 8. Members will not intentionally or
knowingly mentally malpractise, inasmuch as Christian Science can
only be practised according to the Golden Rule: "All things
whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to
them." (Matt. 7:12.)
A member of The Mother Church who mentally malpractises upon or
treats our Leader or her staff without her or their consent shall be
disciplined, and a second offense as aforesaid shall cause the name
of said member to be dropped forever from The Mother Church.
Formulas Forbidden. SECTION 9. No member shall use written formulas,
nor permit his patients or pupils to use them, as auxiliaries to
teaching Christian Science or for healing the sick. Whatever is
requisite for either is contained in the books of the Discoverer and
Founder of Christian Science. Sometimes she may strengthen the faith
by a written text as no one else can.
No Adulterating Christian Science. SECTION 10. A member of this
Church shall not publish profuse quotations from Mary Baker Eddy's
copyrighted works without her permission, and shall not plagiarize
her writings. This By-Law not only calls more serious attention to
the commandment of the Decalogue, but tends to prevent Christian
Science from being _adulterated_.
No Incorrect Literature. SECTION 11. A member of this Church shall
neither buy, sell, nor circulate Christian Science literature which
is not correct in its statement of the divine Principle and rules and
the demonstration of Christian Science. Also the spirit in which the
writer has written his literature shall be definitely considered.
His writings must show strict adherence to the Golden Rule, or his
literature shall not be adjudged Christian Science. A departure from
the spirit or letter of this By-Law involves schisms in our Church
and the possible loss, for a time, of Christian Science.
Obnoxious Books. SECTION 12. A member of this Church shall not
patronize a publishing house or bookstore that has for sale obnoxious
books.
Per Capita Tax. SECTION 13. Every member of The Mother Church shall
pay annually a per capita tax of not less than one dollar, which
shall be forwarded each year to the Church Treasurer.
Church Periodicals. SECTION 14. It shall be the privilege and duty of
every member, who can afford it, to subscribe for the periodicals
which are the organs of this Church; and it shall be the duty of the
Directors to see that these periodicals are ably edited and kept
abreast of the times.
Church Organizations Ample. SECTION 15. Members of this Church shall
not unite with organizations which impede their progress in Christian
Science. God requires our whole heart, and he supplies within the
wide channels of The Mother Church dutiful and sufficient occupation
for all its members.
Joining Another Society. SECTION 16. It shall be the duty of the
members of The Mother Church and of its branches to promote peace on
earth and good will toward men; but members of The Mother Church
shall not hereafter become members of other societies except those
specified in the Mother Church Manual, and they shall strive to
promote the welfare of all mankind by demonstrating the rules of
divine Love.
Forbidden Membership. SECTION 17. A member of The First Church of
Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Mass., shall not be a member of any
church whose Readers are not Christian Scientists and members of
The Mother Church.
Officious Members. SECTION 18. A member of The Mother Church is not
entitled to hold office or read in branch churches of this
denomination except by invitation.
Legal Titles. SECTION 19. Students of Christian Science must drop the
titles of Reverend and Doctor, except those who have received these
titles under the _laws_ of the _State_.
Illegal Adoption. SECTION 20. No person shall be a member of this
Church who claims a spiritually adopted child or a spiritually
adopted husband or wife. There must be legal adoption and legal
marriage, which can be verified according to the laws of our land.
Use of Initials "C.S." SECTION 21. A member of The Mother Church
shall not place the initials "C.S." after his name on circulars,
cards, or leaflets, which advertise his business or profession,
except as a Christian Science practitioner.
Practitioners and Patients. SECTION 22. Members of this Church shall
hold in sacred confidence all private communications made to them by
their patients; also such information as may come to them by reason
of their relation of practitioner to patient. A failure to do this
shall subject the offender to Church discipline.
A member of The Mother Church shall not, under pardonable
circumstances, sue his patient for recovery of payment for said
member's practice, on penalty of discipline and liability to have
his name removed from membership. Also he shall reasonably reduce
his price in chronic cases of recovery, and in cases where he has
not effected a cure. A Christian Scientist is a humanitarian; he
is benevolent, forgiving, long-suffering, and seeks to overcome
evil with good.
Duty to Patients. SECTION 23. If a member of this Church has a
patient whom he does not heal, and whose case he cannot fully
diagnose, he may consult with an M. D. on the anatomy involved. And
it shall be the privilege of a Christian Scientist to confer with
an M. D. on Ontology, or the Science of being.
Testimonials. SECTION 24. "Glorify God in your body, and in your
spirit, which are God's" (St. Paul). Testimony in regard to the
healing of the sick is highly important. More than a mere rehearsal
of blessings, it scales the pinnacle of praise and illustrates the
demonstration of Christ, "who healeth all thy diseases" (Psalm
103:3). This testimony, however, shall not include a description of
symptoms or of suffering, though the generic name of the disease may
be indicated. This By-Law applies to testimonials which appear in the
periodicals and to those which are given at the Wednesday evening
meeting.
Charity to All. SECTION 25. While members of this Church do not
believe in the doctrines of theosophy, hypnotism, or spiritualism,
they cherish no enmity toward those who do believe in such doctrines,
and will not harm them. But whenever God calls a member to bear
testimony to Truth and to defend the Cause of Christ, he shall do
it with love and without fear.
Uncharitable Publications. SECTION 26. A member of this Church
shall not publish, nor cause to be published, an article that is
uncharitable or impertinent towards religion, medicine, the courts,
or the laws of our land.
The Golden Rule. SECTION 27. A member of The Mother Church shall not
haunt Mrs. Eddy's drive when she goes out, continually stroll by her
house, or make a summer resort near her for such a purpose.
Numbering the People. SECTION 28. Christian Scientists shall not
report for publication the number of the members of The Mother
Church, nor that of the branch churches. According to the Scripture
they shall turn away from personality and numbering the people.
Our Church Edifices. SECTION 29. The periodicals of our denomination
do not publish descriptions of our church edifices, but they may
quote from other periodicals or give incidental narratives.
No Monopoly. SECTION 30. A Scientist shall not endeavor to monopolize
the healing work in any church or locality, to the exclusion of
others, but all who understand the teachings of Christian Science
are privileged to enter into this holy work, and "by their fruits ye
shall know them."
Christian Science Nurse. SECTION 31. A member of The Mother Church
who represents himself or herself as a Christian Science nurse
shall be one who has a demonstrable knowledge of Christian Science
practice, who thoroughly understands the practical wisdom necessary
in a sick room, and who can take proper care of the sick.
The cards of such persons may be inserted in _The Christian Science
Journal_ under rules established by the publishers.
Article IX--MARRIAGE AND DECEASE
A Legal Ceremony. SECTION 1. If a Christian Scientist is to be
married, the ceremony shall be performed by a clergyman who is
legally authorized.
Sudden Decease. SECTION 2. If a member of The Mother Church shall
decease suddenly, without previous injury or illness, and the
cause thereof be unknown, an autopsy shall be made by qualified
experts. When it is possible the body of a female shall be prepared
for burial by _one of her own sex_.
Article X--DEBATING IN PUBLIC
No Unauthorized Debating. SECTION 1. A member of this Church shall
not debate on Christian Science in public debating assemblies,
without the consent of the Board of Directors.
Article XI--COMPLAINTS
Departure from Tenets. SECTION 1. If a member of this Church shall
depart from the Tenets and be found having the name without the life
of a Christian Scientist, and another member in good standing shall
from Christian motives make this evident, a meeting of the Board of
Directors shall be called, and the offender's case shall be tried and
said member exonerated, put on probation, or excommunicated.
Violation of By-Laws. SECTION 2. A member who is found violating any
of the By-Laws or Rules herein set forth, shall be admonished in
consonance with the Scriptural demand in Matthew 18:15-17; and if he
neglect to accept such admonition, he shall be placed on probation,
or if he repeat the offense, his name shall be dropped from the roll
of Church membership.
Violation of Christian Fellowship. SECTION 3. Any member who shall
unjustly aggrieve or vilify the Pastor Emeritus or another member, or
who does not live in Christian fellowship with members who are in
good and regular standing with this Church, shall either withdraw
from the Church or be excommunicated.
Preliminary Requirement. SECTION 4. No church discipline shall ensue
until the requirements according to the Scriptures, in Matthew
18:15-17, have been strictly obeyed, unless a By-Law governing the
case provides for immediate action.
Authority. SECTION 5. The Christian Science Board of Directors has
power to discipline, place on probation, remove from membership, or
to excommunicate members of The Mother Church. Only the members of
this Board shall be present at meetings for the examination of
complaints against church members; and they alone shall vote on cases
involving The Mother Church discipline.
Members in Mother Church Only. SECTION 6. A complaint against a
member of The Mother Church, _if said member belongs to no branch
church_ and if this complaint is not for _mental malpractice_, shall
be laid before this Board, and within ten days thereafter, the Clerk
of the Church shall address a letter of inquiry to the member
complained of as to the validity of the charge. If a member is found
guilty of that whereof he is accused and his previous character has
been good, his confession of his error and evidence of his compliance
with our Church Rules shall be deemed sufficient by the Board for
forgiveness for once, and the Clerk of the Church shall immediately
so inform him. But a second offense shall dismiss a member from the
Church.
Working Against the Cause. SECTION 7. If a member of this Church
shall, mentally or otherwise, persist in working against the
interests of another member, or the interests of our Pastor Emeritus
and the accomplishment of what she understands is advantageous to
this Church and to the Cause of Christian Science, or shall influence
others thus to act, upon her complaint or the complaint of a member
for her or for himself, it shall be the duty of the Board of
Directors immediately to call a meeting, and drop forever the name of
the member guilty of this offense from the roll of Church membership.
No Unchristian Conduct. SECTION 8. If a member of this Church were
to treat the author of our textbook disrespectfully and cruelly, upon
her complaint that member should be excommunicated. If a member,
without her having requested the information, shall trouble her on
subjects unnecessarily and without her consent, it shall be
considered an offense.
Not to Learn Hypnotism. SECTION 9. Members of this Church shall not
learn hypnotism on penalty of being excommunicated from this Church.
No member shall enter a complaint of mental malpractice for a
sinister purpose. If the author of SCIENCE AND HEALTH shall bear
witness to the offense of mental malpractice, it shall be considered
a sufficient evidence thereof.
Publications Unjust. SECTION 10. If a member of The Mother Church
publishes, or causes to be published, an article that is false or
unjust, hence injurious, to Christian Science or to its Leader, and
if, upon complaint by another member, the Board of Directors finds
that the offense has been committed, the offender shall be suspended
for not less than three years from his or her office in this Church
and from Church membership.
The Mother Church of Christ, Scientist, Tenets. SECTION 11. If a
member of The Mother Church of Christ, Scientist, or a member of a
branch of this Church break the rules of its Tenets as to unjust
and unmerciful conduct--on complaint of Mrs. Eddy our Pastor
Emeritus--and this complaint being found valid, his or her name
shall be erased from The Mother Church and the branch church's list
of membership and the offender shall not be received into The Mother
Church or a branch church for twelve years.
Special Offense. SECTION 12. If a member of this Church, either by
word or work, represents falsely to or of the Leader and Pastor
Emeritus, said member shall immediately be disciplined, and a second
similar offense shall remove his or her name from membership in The
Mother Church.
Members of Branch Churches. SECTION 13. A member of both The Mother
Church and a branch Church of Christ, Scientist, or a Reader, shall
not report nor send notices to The Mother Church, or to the Pastor
Emeritus, of errors of the members of their local church; but they
shall strive to overcome these errors. Each church shall separately
and independently discipline its own members,--if this sad necessity
occurs.
Article XII--TEACHERS
Probation. SECTION 1. For sufficient reasons it may be decided that a
teacher has so strayed as not to be fit for the work of a Reader in
church or a teacher of Christian Science. Although repentant and
forgiven by the Church and retaining his membership, this weak member
shall not be counted loyal till after three years of exemplary
character. Then the Board of Directors may decide if his loyalty has
been proved by uniform maintenance of the life of a consistent,
consecrated Christian Scientist.
Misteaching. SECTION 2. If a member of this Church is found trying to
practise or to teach Christian Science contrary to the statement
thereof in its textbook, SCIENCE AND HEALTH WITH KEY TO THE
SCRIPTURES, it shall be the duty of the Board of Directors to
admonish that member according to Article XI, Sect. 4. Then, if said
member persists in this offense, his or her name shall be dropped
from the roll of this Church.
MEETINGS
Article XIII--REGULAR AND SPECIAL MEETINGS
Annual Meetings. SECTION 1. The regular meetings of The Mother Church
shall be held annually, on Monday following the first Sunday in June.
No other than its of officers are required to be present. These
assemblies shall be for listening to the reports of Treasurer, Clerk,
and Committees, and general reports from the Field.
Meetings of Board of Directors. SECTION 2. The annual meeting of the
Christian Science Board of Directors, for electing officers and other
business, shall be held on Monday preceding the annual meeting of the
Church. Regular meetings for electing candidates to membership with
The Mother Church, and for the transaction of such other business as
may properly come before these meetings, shall be held on the Friday
preceding the first Sunday in June, and on the first Friday in
November of each year. Special meetings may be held at any time upon
the call of the Clerk.
Called only by the Clerk. SECTION 3. Before calling a meeting of the
members of this Church (excepting its regular sessions) it shall be
the duty of the Clerk to inform the Board of Directors and the Pastor
Emeritus of his intention, and to state definitely the purpose for
which the members are to convene. The Clerk must have the consent of
this Board and the Pastor Emeritus, before he can call said meeting.
CHURCH SERVICES
Article XIV--THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE PASTOR
Ordination. SECTION 1. I, Mary Baker Eddy, ordain the BIBLE, and
SCIENCE AND HEALTH WITH KEY TO THE SCRIPTURES, Pastor over The
Mother Church,--The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston,
Mass.,--and they will continue to preach for this Church and the
world.
The Lesson-Sermon. SECTION 2. The subject of the Lesson-Sermon in the
morning service of The Mother Church, and of the branch Churches of
Christ, Scientist, shall be repeated at the other services on Sunday.
The correlative Biblical texts in the Lesson-Sermon shall extend from
Genesis to Revelation.
Article XV--READING IN PUBLIC
Announcing Author's Name. SECTION 1. To pour into the ears
of listeners the sacred revelations of Christian Science
indiscriminately, or without characterizing their origin and thus
distinguishing them from the writings of authors who think at random
on this subject, is to lose some weight in the scale of right
thinking. Therefore it is the duty of every member of this Church,
when publicly reading or quoting from the books or poems of our
Pastor Emeritus, first to announce the name of the author. Members
shall also instruct their pupils to adopt the aforenamed method for
the benefit of our Cause.
Article XVI--WELCOMING STRANGERS
The Leader's Welcome. SECTION 1. Mrs. Eddy welcomes to her seats in
the church, persons of all sects and denominations who come to listen
to the Sunday sermon and are not otherwise provided with seats.
The Local Members' Welcome. SECTION 2. It shall be the duty and
privilege of the local members of The Mother Church to give their
seats, if necessary, to strangers who may come to attend the morning
services.
Article XVII--SERVICES UNINTERRUPTED
Continued Throughout the Year. SECTION 1. The services of The Mother
Church shall be continued twelve months each year. One meeting on
Sunday during the months of July and August is sufficient. A
Christian Scientist is not fatigued by prayer, by reading the
Scriptures or the Christian Science textbook. Amusement or idleness
is weariness. Truth and Love rest the weary and heavy laden.
Easter Observances. SECTION 2. In the United States there shall be no
special observances, festivities, nor gifts at the Easter season by
members of The Mother Church. Gratitude and love should abide in
every heart each day of all the years. Those sacred words of our
beloved Master, "Let the dead bury their dead," and "Follow thou me,"
appeal to daily Christian endeavors for the living whereby to
exemplify our risen Lord.
Laying a Corner Stone. SECTION 3. No large gathering of people nor
display shall be allowed when laying the Corner Stone of a Church of
Christ, Scientist. Let the ceremony be devout. No special trowel
should be used. (See SCIENCE AND HEALTH, page 140.)
Overflow Meetings. SECTION 4. A Church of Christ, Scientist, shall
not hold two or more Sunday services at the same hour.
Article XVIII--COMMUNION
No more Communion. SECTION 1. The Mother Church of Christ, Scientist,
shall observe no more Communion seasons.
Communion of Branch Churches. SECTION 2. The Communion shall be
observed in the branch churches on the second Sunday in January and
July of each year, and at this service the Tenets of The Mother
Church are to be read.
Article XIX--MUSIC IN THE CHURCH
Soloist and Organist. SECTION 1. The music in The Mother Church shall
not be operatic, but of an appropriate religious character and of a
recognized standard of musical excellence; it shall be played in a
dignified and suitable manner. Music from the organ alone should
continue about eight or nine minutes for the voluntary and six or
seven minutes for the postlude, the offertory conforming to the time
required to take the collection. The solo singer shall not neglect
to sing any special hymn selected by the Board of Directors.
Article XX--SUNDAY SCHOOL
The Sunday School. SECTION 1. Pupils may be received in the Sunday
School classes of any Church of Christ, Scientist, up to the age of
twenty years, and by transfer from another Church of Christ,
Scientist, up to that age, but no pupil shall remain in the Sunday
School of any Church of Christ, Scientist, after reaching the age of
twenty. None except the officers, teachers, and pupils should attend
the Sunday School exercises.
Teaching the Children. SECTION 2. The Sabbath School children shall
be taught the Scriptures, and they shall be instructed according to
their understanding or ability to grasp the simpler meanings of the
divine Principle that they are taught.
Subject for Lessons. SECTION 3. The first lessons of the children
should be the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20: 3-17), the Lord's Prayer
(Matt. 6: 9-13), and its Spiritual Interpretation by Mary Baker Eddy,
Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5: 3-12). The next lessons consist of such
questions and answers as are adapted to a juvenile class, and may be
found in the Christian Science Quarterly Lessons, read in Church
services. The instruction given by the children's teachers must not
deviate from the absolute Christian Science contained in their
textbook.
READING ROOMS
Article XXI
Establishment. SECTION 1. Each church of the Christian Science
denomination shall have a Reading Room, though two or more churches
may unite in having Reading Rooms, provided these rooms are well
located.
Librarian. SECTION 2. The individuals who take charge of the Reading
Rooms of The Mother Church shall be elected by the Christian Science
Board of Directors, subject to the approval of Mary Baker Eddy. He or
she shall have no bad habits, shall have had experience in the Field,
shall be well educated, and a devout Christian Scientist.[3]
Literature in Reading Rooms. SECTION 3. The literature sold or
exhibited in the reading rooms of Christian Science Churches shall
consist only of _Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures_,
by Mary Baker Eddy, and other writings by this author; also the
literature published or sold by The Christian Science Publishing
Society.
[3] See also Article XXV, Sect. 7.
RELATION AND DUTIES OF MEMBERS TO PASTOR EMERITUS
Article XXII
The Title of Mother Changed. SECTION 1. In the year eighteen hundred
and ninety-five, loyal Christian Scientists had given to the author
of their textbook, the Founder of Christian Science, the individual,
endearing term of Mother. At first Mrs. Eddy objected to being called
thus, but afterward consented on the ground that this appellative in
the Church meant nothing more than a tender term such as sister or
brother. In the year nineteen hundred and three and after, owing to
the public misunderstanding of this name, it is the duty of Christian
Scientists to drop the word _mother_ and to substitute Leader,
already used in our periodicals.
A Member not a Leader. SECTION 2. A member of The First Church of
Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Mass., shall not be called Leader by
members of this Church, when this term is used in connection with
Christian Science.
Obedience Required. SECTION 3. It shall be the duty of the officers
of this Church, of the editors of the _Christian Science Journal_,
_Sentinel_, and _Der Herold_, of the members of the Committees on
Publication, of the Trustees of The Christian Science Publishing
Society, and of the Board of Education promptly to comply with any
written order, signed by Mary Baker Eddy, which applies to their
official functions. Disobedience to this By-Law shall be sufficient
cause for the removal of the offending member from office.
The vacancy shall be supplied by a majority vote of the Christian
Science Board of Directors, and the candidate shall be subject to
the approval of Mary Baker Eddy.
Understanding Communications. SECTION 4. If the Clerk of this Church
shall receive a communication from the Pastor Emeritus which he does
not fully understand, he shall inform her of this fact before
presenting it to the Church and obtain a clear understanding of the
matter,--then act in accordance therewith.
Interpreting Communications. SECTION 5. If at a meeting of this
Church a doubt or disagreement shall arise among the members as to
the signification of the communications of the Pastor Emeritus to
them, before action is taken it shall be the duty of the Clerk to
report to her the vexed question and to await her explanation thereof.
Reading and Attesting Letters. SECTION 6. When a letter or a message
from the Pastor Emeritus is brought before a meeting of this Church,
or she is referred to as authority for business, it shall be the duty
of the Church to inquire if all of the letter has been read, and to
require all of it to be read; also to have any authority supposed to
come from her satisfactorily attested.
Unauthorized Reports. SECTION 7. Members of this Church shall not
report on authority an order from Mrs. Eddy that she has not sent,
either to the Boards or to the executive bodies of this Church. The
Pastor Emeritus is not to be consulted on cases of discipline, on the
cases of candidates for admission to this Church, or on the cases of
those on trial for dismissal from the Church.
Private Communications. SECTION 8. A strictly private communication
from the Pastor Emeritus to a member of her Church shall not be made
public without her written consent.
Unauthorized Legal Action. SECTION 9. A member of this Church shall
not employ an attorney, nor take legal action on a case not provided
for in its By-Laws--if said case relates to the person or to the
property of Mary Baker Eddy--without having personally conferred with
her on said subject.
Duty to God. SECTION 10. Members of this Church who turn their
attention from the divine Principle of being to personality, sending
gifts, congratulatory despatches or letters to the Pastor Emeritus on
Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year, or Easter, break a rule of this
Church and are amenable therefor.
Opportunity for Serving the Leader. SECTION 11. At the written
request of the Pastor Emeritus, Mrs. Eddy, the Board of Directors
shall immediately notify a person who has been a member of this
Church at least three years to go in ten days to her, and it shall be
the duty of the member thus notified to remain with Mrs. Eddy three
years consecutively. A member who leaves her in less time without the
Directors' consent or who declines to obey this call to duty, upon
Mrs. Eddy's complaint thereof shall be excommunicated from The Mother
Church. Members thus serving the Leader shall be paid semi-annually
at the rate of one thousand dollars yearly in addition to rent and
board. Those members whom she teaches the course in Divinity, and who
remain with her three consecutive years, receive the degree of the
Massachusetts Metaphysical College.
Location. SECTION 12. Rev. Mary Baker Eddy calls to her home or
allows to visit or to locate therein only those individuals whom
she engages through the Christian Science Board of Directors of
the Mother Church. This By-Law takes effect on Dec. 15, 1908.
Agreement Required. SECTION 13. When the Christian Science Board of
Directors calls a student in accordance with Article XXII, Sect. 11,
of our Church Manual to the home of their Leader, Mrs. Eddy, said
student shall come under a signed agreement to remain with Mrs. Eddy
if she so desires, during the time specified in the Church Manual.
Incomplete Term of Service. SECTION 14. If a student who has been
called to serve our Leader in accordance with Article XXII, Sect. 11,
of the Church Manual leaves her before the expiration of the time
therein mentioned such student shall pay to Mrs. Eddy whatsoever she
may charge for what she has taught him or her during the time of such
service.
Help. SECTION 15. If the author of the Christian Science textbook
call on this Board for household help or a handmaid, the Board shall
immediately appoint a proper member of this Church therefor, and the
appointee shall go immediately in obedience to the call. "He that
loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me." (Matt.
10:37.)
Students with Mrs. Eddy. SECTION 16. Students employed by Mrs. Eddy
at her home shall not take care of their churches or attend to other
affairs outside of her house.
Mrs. Eddy's Room. SECTION 17. The room in The Mother Church formerly
known as "Mother's Room" shall hereafter be closed to visitors.
Pastor Emeritus to be Consulted. SECTION 18. The Mother Church shall
not make a church By-Law, nor enter into a business transaction with
a Christian Scientist in the employ of Rev. Mary Baker Eddy, without
first consulting her on said subject and adhering strictly to her
advice thereon.
THE MOTHER CHURCH AND BRANCH CHURCHES
Article XXIII
Local Self-government. SECTION 1. The Mother Church of Christ,
Scientist, shall assume no general official control of other
churches, and it shall be controlled by none other. Each Church
of Christ, Scientist, shall have its own form of government. No
conference of churches shall be held, unless it be when our churches,
located in the same State, convene to confer on a statute of said
State, or to confer harmoniously on individual unity and action of
the churches in said State.
Titles. SECTION 2. "The First Church of Christ, Scientist," is the
legal title of The Mother Church. Branch churches of The Mother
Church may take the title of First Church of Christ, Scientist;
Second Church of Christ, Scientist; and so on, where more than one
church is established in the same place; but the article "The"
must not be used before titles of branch churches, nor written on
applications for membership in naming such churches.
Mother Church Unique. SECTION 3. In its relation to other Christian
Science churches, in its By-Laws and self-government, The Mother
Church stands alone; it occupies a position that no other church
can fill. Then for a branch church to assume such position would be
disastrous to Christian Science. Therefore, no Church of Christ,
Scientist, shall be considered loyal that has branch churches or
adopts The Mother Church's form of government, except in such cases
as are specially allowed and named in this Manual.
Tenets Copyrighted. SECTION 4. Branch churches shall not write the
Tenets of The Mother Church in their church books, except they give
the name of their author and her permission to publish them as Tenets
of The Mother Church, copyrighted in SCIENCE AND HEALTH WITH KEY TO
THE SCRIPTURES.
Manual. SECTION 5. Branch churches shall not adopt, print, nor
publish the Manual of The Mother Church. See Article XXXV, Sect. 1.
Organizing Churches. SECTION 6. A member of this Church who obeys its
By-Laws and is a loyal exemplary Christian Scientist working in the
Field, is eligible to form a church in conformity with Sect. 7 of
this Article, and to have church services conducted by reading the
SCRIPTURES and the Christian Science textbook. This church shall be
acknowledged publicly as a Church of Christ, Scientist. Upon proper
application, made in accordance with the rules of The Christian
Science Publishing Society, the services of such a church may be
advertised in _The Christian Science Journal_. The branch churches
shall be individual, and not more than two small churches shall
consolidate under one church government. If the Pastor Emeritus, Mrs.
Eddy, should relinquish her place as the head or Leader of The Mother
Church of Christ, Scientist, each branch church shall continue its
present form of government in consonance with The Mother Church
Manual.
Requirements for Organizing Branch Churches. SECTION 7. A branch
church of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, Boston, Mass., shall
not be organized with less than sixteen loyal Christian Scientists,
four of whom are members of The Mother Church. This membership shall
include at least one active practitioner whose card is published in
the list of practitioners in _The Christian Science Journal_.
Privilege of Members. SECTION 8. Members in good standing with
The Mother Church, who are members of the faculty, instructors,
or students organization.
No Close Communion. SECTION 9. The Mother Church and the branch
churches shall not confine their membership to the pupils of one
teacher.
No Interference. SECTION 10. A member of The Mother Church may be a
member of one branch Church of Christ, Scientist, or of one Christian
Science society holding public services, but he shall not be a member
of both a branch church and a society; neither shall he exercise
supervision or control over any other church. In Christian Science
each branch church shall be distinctly democratic in its government,
and no individual, and no other church shall interfere with its
affairs.
Teachers' and Practitioners' Offices. SECTION 11. Teachers and
practitioners of Christian Science shall not have their offices or
rooms in the branch churches, in the reading rooms, nor in rooms
connected therewith.
Recognition. SECTION 12. In order to be eligible to a card in _The
Christian Science Journal_, churches and societies are required to
acknowledge as such all other Christian Science churches and
societies advertised in said _Journal_, and to maintain toward them
an attitude of Christian fellowship.
GUARDIANSHIP OF CHURCH FUNDS
Article XXIV
Church Edifice a Testimonial. SECTION 1. Whereas, on March 20, 1895,
the Christian Science Board of Directors, in behalf of The First
Church of Christ, Scientist, Boston, Mass., presented to Rev. Mary
Baker Eddy their church edifice as a Testimonial of this Church's
love and gratitude, and she, with grateful acknowledgments thereof,
declined to receive this munificent gift, she now understands the
financial situation between the Christian Science Board of Directors
and said Church to be as follows:--
Financial Situation. SECTION 2. The Christian Science Board of
Directors owns the church edifices, with the land whereon they stand,
legally; and the Church members own the aforesaid premises and
buildings, beneficially. After the first church was built, the
balance of the building funds, which remained in the hands of the
Directors, belonged to the Church, and not solely to the Directors.
The balance of the church building funds, which can be spared after
the debts are paid, should remain on safe deposit, to be hereafter
used for the benefit of this Church, as the right occasion may call
for it. The following indicates the proper management of the Church
funds:--
Report of Directors. SECTION 3. It shall be the duty of the Christian
Science Board of Directors to have the books of the Church Treasurer
audited semi-annually, and to report at the annual Church meeting
the amount of funds which the Church has on hand, the amount of its
indebtedness and of its expenditures for the last year.
Finance Committee. SECTION 4. There shall be a Committee on Finance,
which shall consist of three members of this Church in good standing.
Its members shall be appointed annually by the Christian Science
Board of Directors and with the consent of the Pastor Emeritus. They
shall hold quarterly meetings and keep themselves thoroughly informed
as to the real estate owned by this Church and the amount of funds
received by the Treasurer of The Mother Church, who is individually
responsible for said funds. They shall have the books of the
Christian Science Board of Directors and the books of the Church
Treasurer audited annually by an honest, competent accountant.
The books are to be audited on May first.
Prior to paying bills against the Church, the Treasurer of this
Church shall submit them all to said committee for examination.
This committee shall decide thereupon by a unanimous vote, and its
endorsement of the bills shall render them payable.
If it be found that the Church funds have not been properly managed,
it shall be the duty of the Board of Directors and the Treasurer to
be individually responsible for the performance of their several
offices satisfactorily, and for the proper distribution of the funds
of which they are the custodians.
God's Requirement. SECTION 5. God requires wisdom, economy, and
brotherly love to characterize all the proceedings of the members
of The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist.
Provision for the Future. SECTION 6. In case of any possible future
deviation from duty, the Committee on Finance shall visit the Board
of Directors, and, in a Christian spirit and manner, demand that each
member thereof comply with the By-Laws of the Church. If any Director
fails to heed this admonition, he may be dismissed from office and
the vacancy supplied by the Board.
Debt and Duty. SECTION 7. The Mother Church shall not be made legally
responsible for the debts of individuals except such debts as are
specified in its By-Laws. Donations from this Church shall not be
made without the written consent of the Pastor Emeritus. Also
important movements of the manager of the Committee on Publication
shall be sanctioned by the Board of Directors and be subject to the
approval of Mary Baker Eddy. (See Article I, Sect. 6.)
Emergencies. SECTION 8. The Treasurer, personally, or through the
Clerk of the Church, may pay from the funds of the Church bills of
immediate necessity not exceeding $200 for any one transaction, and
he may keep on deposit the sum of $500 with the Clerk, as a petty
cash fund, to be used by him for the payment of such bills. Such
payments shall be reported, on the first of the following month,
to the Board of Directors and the Committee on Finance, for their
approval.
Committee on Business. SECTION 9. The Christian Science Board of
Directors shall elect annually a Committee on Business, which shall
consist of not less than three loyal members of The Mother Church,
who shall transact promptly and efficiently such business as Mrs.
Eddy, the Directors, or the Committee on Publication shall commit
to it. While the members of this Committee are engaged in the
transaction of the business assigned to them they shall be paid from
the Church funds. Before being eligible for office the names of the
persons nominated for said office shall be presented to Mrs. Eddy
for her written approval.
THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE PUBLISHING SOCIETY
Article XXV
Board of Trustees. SECTION 1. The Board of Trustees, constituted by a
Deed of Trust given by Rev. Mary Baker Eddy, the Pastor Emeritus of
this Church, on January twenty-fifth, 1898, shall hold and manage the
property therein conveyed, and conduct the business of "The Christian
Science Publishing Society" on a strictly Christian basis, for the
promotion of the interests of Christian Science.
Disposal of Funds. SECTION 2. The net profits of the business shall
be paid over semi-annually to the Treasurer of The Mother Church. He
shall hold this money subject to the order of the Christian Science
Board of Directors, which is authorized to order its disposition only
in accordance with the By-Laws contained in this Manual.
Vacancies in Trusteeship. SECTION 3. The Christian Science Board
of Directors shall have the power to declare vacancies in said
trusteeship, for such reasons as to the Board may seem expedient.
Whenever a vacancy shall occur, the Pastor Emeritus reserves the
right to fill the same by appointment; but if she does not elect to
exercise this right, the remaining trustees shall fill the vacancy,
subject to her approval.
Editors and Manager. SECTION 4. The term of office for the editors
and the manager of The Christian Science Publishing Society is one
year each, dating from the time of election to the office. Incumbents
who have served one year or more can be re-elected, or new officers
elected, by a unanimous vote of the Christian Science Board of
Directors, and the consent of the Pastor Emeritus given in her own
handwriting.
Suitable Employees. SECTION 5. A person who is not accepted by the
Pastor Emeritus and the Christian Science Board of Directors as
suitable, shall in no manner be connected with publishing her books,
nor with editing or publishing _The Christian Science Journal_,
_Christian Science Sentinel_, _Der Herold der Christian Science_,
nor with The Christian Science Publishing Society.
Periodicals. SECTION 6. Periodicals which shall at any time be
published by The Christian Science Publishing Society, shall be
copyrighted and conducted according to the provisions in the Deed
of Trust relating to _The Christian Science Journal_.
Rule of Conduct. SECTION 7. No objectionable pictures shall be
exhibited in the rooms where the Christian Science textbook is
published or sold. No idle gossip, no slander, no mischief-making,
no evil speaking shall be allowed.
Books to be Published. SECTION 8. Only the Publishing Society of
The Mother Church selects, approves, and publishes the books and
literature it sends forth. If Mary Baker Eddy disapproves of
certain books or literature, the Society will not publish them. The
Committees on Publication are in no manner connected with these
functions. A book or an article of which Mrs. Eddy is the author
shall not be published nor republished by this Society without her
knowledge or written consent.
Removal of Cards. SECTION 9. No cards shall be removed from our
periodicals without the request of the advertiser, except by a
majority vote of the Christian Science Board of Directors at a
meeting held for this purpose or for the examination of complaints.
Members of this Church who practise other professions or pursue
other vocations, shall not advertise as healers, excepting those
members who are officially engaged in the work of Christian Science,
and they must devote ample time for faithful practice.
TEACHING CHRISTIAN SCIENCE
Article XXVI--TEACHERS
Motive in Teaching. SECTION 1. Teaching Christian Science shall not
be a question of money, but of morals and religion, healing and
uplifting the race.
Care of Pupils. SECTION 2. Christian Scientists who are teachers
shall carefully select for pupils such only as have good past records
and promising proclivities toward Christian Science. A teacher shall
not assume personal control of, or attempt to dominate his pupils,
but he shall hold himself morally obligated to promote their progress
in the understanding of divine Principle, not only during the class
term but after it, and to watch well that they prove sound in
sentiment and practical in Christian Science. He shall persistently
and patiently counsel his pupils in conformity with the unerring laws
of God, and shall enjoin them habitually to study the Scriptures and
SCIENCE AND HEALTH WITH KEY TO THE SCRIPTURES as a help thereto.
Defense against Malpractice. SECTION 3. Teachers shall instruct their
pupils how to defend themselves against mental malpractice, never to
return evil for evil, but to know the truth that makes free, and thus
to be a law, not unto others, but to themselves.
Number of Pupils. SECTION 4. The teachers of Christian Science shall
teach but one class yearly, which class shall consist of not more
than thirty pupils. After 1907, the Board of Education shall have one
class triennially, a Normal class not exceeding thirty pupils.
Pupil's Tuition. SECTION 5. A student's price for teaching Christian
Science shall not exceed $100.00 per pupil.
Associations. SECTION 6. The associations of the pupils of loyal
teachers shall convene annually. The pupils shall be guided by the
BIBLE, and SCIENCE AND HEALTH, not by their teachers' personal views.
Teachers shall not call their pupils together, or assemble a selected
number of them, for more frequent meetings.
A Single Field of Labor. SECTION 7. A loyal teacher of Christian
Science shall not teach another loyal teacher's pupil, except it
be in the Board of Education. Outside of this Board each student
occupies only his own field of labor. Pupils may visit each other's
churches, and by invitation attend each other's associations.
Caring for Pupils of Strayed Members. SECTION 8. A loyal teacher of
Christian Science may teach and receive into his association the
pupils of another member of this Church who has so strayed as justly
to be deemed, under the provisions of Article XII, Sect. 1, not ready
to lead his pupils.
Teachers must have Certificates. SECTION 9. A member of this Church
shall not teach pupils Christian Science unless he has a certificate
to show that he has been taught by Mrs. Eddy or has taken a Normal
Course at the Massachusetts Metaphysical College or in the Board of
Education.
Such members who have not been continuously active and loyal
Christian Scientists since receiving instruction as above, shall
not teach Christian Science without the approval of The Christian
Science Board of Directors.
Article XXVII--PUPILS
Authorized to Teach. SECTION 1. After a student's pupil has been duly
authorized to be a teacher of Christian Science, or has been under
the personal instruction of Mrs. Eddy, he is no longer under the
jurisdiction of his former teacher.
Without Teachers. SECTION 2. Those beloved brethren whose teacher has
left them, can elect an experienced Christian Scientist, who is not
in charge of an association of students and who is ready for this
high calling, to conduct the meetings of their association.
Basis for Teaching. SECTION 3. The teachers of the Normal class shall
teach from the chapter Recapitulation in SCIENCE AND HEALTH WITH KEY
TO THE SCRIPTURES, and from the Christian Science Platform, beginning
on page 330 of the revised editions since 1902, and they shall teach
nothing contrary thereto. The teachers of the Primary class shall
instruct their pupils from the said chapter on "Recapitulation" only.
Church Membership. SECTION 4. Neither the Pastor Emeritus nor a
member of this Church shall teach Roman Catholics Christian Science,
except it be with the written consent of the authority of their
Church. Choice of patients is left to the wisdom of the practitioner,
and Mrs. Eddy is not to be consulted on this subject.
Class Teaching. SECTION 5. Members of The Mother Church who are
authorized by its By-Laws to teach Christian Science, shall not
solicit, or cause or permit others to solicit, pupils for their
classes. No member of this Church shall advise against class
instruction.
Teachers of Christian Science must have the necessary moral and
spiritual qualifications to elucidate the Principle and rule of
Christian Science, through the higher meaning of the Scriptures.
"The less the teacher personally controls other minds, and the more
he trusts them to the divine Truth and Love, the better it will be
for both teacher and student." (Retrospection and Introspection,
page 84.)
BOARD OF EDUCATION
Article XXVIII--ORGANIZATION
Officers. SECTION 1. There shall be a Board of Education, under
the auspices of Mary Baker Eddy, President of the Massachusetts
Metaphysical College, consisting of three members, a president,
vice-president, and teacher of Christian Science. Obstetrics will
not be taught.
Election. SECTION 2. The vice-president shall be elected annually by
the Christian Science Board of Directors. Beginning with 1907, the
teacher shall be elected every third year by said Board, and the
candidate shall be subject to the approval of the Pastor Emeritus.
President not to be Consulted. SECTION 3. The President is not to be
consulted by students on the question of applying for admission to
this Board nor on their course or conduct. The students can confer
with their teachers on subjects essential to their progress.
Presidency of College. SECTION 4. Should the President resign
over her own signature or vacate her office of President of the
Massachusetts Metaphysical College, a meeting of the Christian
Science Board of Directors shall immediately be called, and the
vice-president of the Board of Education being found worthy, on
receiving her approval shall be elected to fill the vacancy.
Article XXIX--APPLICANTS AND GRADUATES
Normal Teachers. SECTION 1. Loyal students who have been taught in
a Primary class by Mrs. Eddy and have practised Christian Science
healing acceptably three years, and who present such credentials as
are required to verify this fact, are eligible to receive the degree
of C.S.D.
Qualifications. SECTION 2. Loyal Christian Scientists' pupils who so
desire may apply to the Board of Education for instruction; and if
they have practised Christian Science healing successfully three
years and will furnish evidence of their eligibility therefor, they
are eligible to enter the Normal class. All members of this class
must be thorough English scholars.
Certificates. SECTION 3. Students are examined and given certificates
by this Board if found qualified to receive them.
Article XXX--ACTION OF THE BOARD
Sessions. SECTION 1. The term of the Massachusetts Metaphysical
College will open with the Board of Education on the first Wednesday
of December. The sessions will continue not over one week. None but
the teacher and members of the College class shall be present at the
sessions, and no Primary classes shall be taught under the auspices
of this Board.
Special Instruction. SECTION 2. Not less than two thorough lessons by
a well qualified teacher shall be given to each Normal class on the
subject of mental practice and _malpractice_. One student in the
class shall prepare a paper on said subject that shall be read to
the class, thoroughly discussed, and understood; this paper shall be
given to the teacher, and he shall not allow it or a copy of it to
remain, but shall destroy this paper.
Signatures. SECTION 3. The signature of the teacher and of the
President of the College shall be on all certificates issued.
Remuneration and Free Scholarship. SECTION 4. Tuition of class
instruction in the Board of Education shall be $100.00. The bearer of
a card of free scholarship from the President, Rev. Mary Baker Eddy,
shall be entitled to a free course in this department on presentation
of the card to the teacher. Only the President gives free admission
to classes.
Surplus Funds. SECTION 5. Any surplus funds left in the hands of the
Board of Education shall be paid over annually to the Treasurer of
The Mother Church.
Primary Students. SECTION 6. Students of Christian Science, duly
instructed therein and with good moral records, not having the
certificate of C.S.D. may enter the Normal class in the Board of
Education, which will be held once in three years beginning A. D.
1907; provided their diplomas are for three _consecutive_ years
under Mrs. Eddy's daily conversation on Christian Science, or from
the Massachusetts Meta-physical College Board of Education.
Healing Better than Teaching. SECTION 7. Healing the sick and the
sinner with Truth demonstrates what we affirm of Christian Science,
and nothing can substitute this demonstration. I recommend that each
member of this Church shall strive to demonstrate by his or her
practice, that Christian Science heals the sick quickly and wholly,
thus proving this Science to be all that we claim for it.
If both husband and wife are found duly qualified to teach Christian
Science, either one, not both, should teach yearly one class.
Not Members of The Mother Church. SECTION 8. No person shall receive
instructions in Christian Science in any class in the Massachusetts
Metaphysical College, nor receive the degree of C.S.B. or C.S.D., who
is not a member of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston,
Mass.
Only those persons who are members of this Church and possessed
of the qualifications named in Sect. 9 of Article XXVI of these
By-Laws shall be deemed loyal teachers of Christian Science.
BOARD OF LECTURESHIP
Article XXXI--ORGANIZATION AND DUTIES
Election. SECTION 1. This Church shall maintain a Board of
Lectureship, the members of which shall be elected annually on Monday
preceding the Annual Meeting, subject to the approval of the Pastor
Emeritus. The lecture year shall begin July 1 of each year.
Duty of Lecturers. SECTION 2. It is the duty of the Board of
Lectureship to include in each lecture a true and just reply to
public topics condemning Christian Science, and to bear testimony to
the facts pertaining to the life of the Pastor Emeritus. Each member
shall mail to the Clerk of this Church copies of his lectures before
delivering them.
No Disruption of Branch Churches. SECTION 3. The Board of Lectureship
is not allowed in anywise to meddle with nor to disrupt the
organization of branch churches. The lecturer can invite churches
within the city whither he is called to unite in their attendance on
his lecture, and so make for their churches a less lecture fee; but
the churches shall decide their action.
Receptions. SECTION 4. As a rule there should be no receptions nor
festivities after a lecture on Christian Science, but there may occur
exceptions. If there be an individual who goes to hear and deride
truth, he should go away contemplating truth; and he who goes to seek
truth should have the opportunity to depart in quiet _thought_ on
that subject.
Circuit Lecturer. SECTION 5. Upon the written request of Mrs. Eddy,
The Mother Church shall appoint a Circuit Lecturer. His term of
office, if approved, shall not be less than three years. He shall
lecture in the United States, in Canada, in Great Britain and
Ireland.
A member shall neither resign nor transfer this sacred office.
Article XXXII--CALLS FOR LECTURES
The Directors. SECTION 1. When the need is apparent, the Christian
Science Board of Directors of The Mother Church may call on any
member of this Board of Lectureship to lecture at such places and
at such times as the cause of Christian Science demands.
From Branch Churches. SECTION 2. The branch Churches of Christ,
Scientist, may apply through their clerks to a member of this Board
of Lectureship for a speaker, and one shall be assigned them by the
Board.
From Societies. SECTION 3. If called for, a member of the Board may
lecture for a Society.
Annual Lectures. SECTION 4. The Mother Church and the branch churches
shall call on the Board of Lectureship annually for one or more
lectures.
No Lectures by Readers. SECTION 5. No lecture shall be given by a
Reader during his term of Readership. The duties alone of a Reader
are ample.
No Wednesday Evening Lectures. SECTION 6. The Board of Lectureship
shall not appoint a lecture for Wednesday evening.
Lecture Fee. SECTION 7. The lecture fee shall be left to the
discretion of the lecturer.
Expenses. SECTION 8. The lecturer's traveling expenses and the cost
of hall shall be paid by the church that employs him.
Exceptional Cases. SECTION 9. If a lecturer receive a call to lecture
in a place where he sees there is special need, and the local church
is unable to meet the expense, he is at liberty to supply that need
and trust to contributions for his fee.
COMMITTEE ON PUBLICATION
Article XXXIII
In The Mother Church. SECTION 1. There shall be appointed by The
Mother Church a Committee on Publication, which shall consist of
one loyal Christian Scientist who lives in Boston, and he shall
be manager of the Committees on Publication throughout the United
States, Canada, Great Britain and Ireland. He shall be elected
annually by a unanimous vote of the Christian Science Board of
Directors and the consent of the Pastor Emeritus given in her own
handwriting, and shall receive an annual salary, paid quarterly,
of not less than four thousand dollars.
Duties. SECTION 2. It shall be the duty of the Committee on
Publication to correct in a Christian manner impositions on the
public in regard to Christian Science, injustices done Mrs. Eddy
or members of this Church by the daily press, by periodicals or
circulated literature of any sort. This Committee on Publication
shall be responsible for correcting or having corrected a false
newspaper article which has not been replied to by other Scientists,
or which has been forwarded to this Committee for the purpose of
having him reply to it. If the correction by the Committee on
Publication is not promptly published by the periodical in which it
is desirable that this correction shall appear, this Committee shall
immediately apply for aid to the Committee on Business. Furthermore,
the Committee on Publication shall read the _last proof sheet_ of
such an article and see that it is published according to copy; he
shall circulate in large quantities the papers containing such an
article, sending a copy to the Clerk of the Church. It shall also be
the duty of the Committee on Publication to have published each year
in a leading Boston newspaper the letter sent to the Pastor Emeritus
by the Church members in annual meeting assembled. The State
Committees on Publication act under the direction of this Committee
on Publication.
In Branch Churches. SECTION 3. The Readers of the three largest
branch churches in each State of the United States and in Canada
shall annually and alternately appoint a Committee on Publication to
serve in their localities. For the purposes of this By-Law, the State
of California shall be considered as though it were two States, the
dividing line being the 36th parallel of latitude. Each county of
Great Britain and Ireland, except as hereinafter specified, through
the Readers of its three largest branch churches, shall annually
and alternately appoint a Committee on Publication to serve in
its locality. Each church is not necessarily confined to its own
members in selecting this Committee, but if preferred, can appoint
a Committee on Publication who is in good fellowship with another
Church of Christ, Scientist.
This By-Law applies to all States except Massachusetts, in which the
Committee on Publication is elected only by the Christian Science
Board of Directors. The Committee for the counties in which London,
England, is situated shall be appointed by the Christian Science
Board of Directors, and he shall, in addition to his other duties,
act as District Manager of the Committees on Publication for Great
Britain and Ireland.
Appointment. SECTION 4. The Committees on Publication shall consist
of men generally. Each State Committee shall be appointed by the
First and Second Readers of the church employing said Committee.
If prior to the meeting of the church for the election of officers,
Mrs. Eddy shall send to the First Reader of the church the name of
a candidate for its Committee on Publication, the Readers shall
appoint said candidate. Or if she shall send a special request to any
Committee on Publication, the request shall be carried out according
to her directions.
Removal from Office. SECTION 5. If the Committee on Publication
neglects to fulfil the obligations of his office according to these
By-Laws, and this becomes apparent to the Christian Science Board
of Directors, it shall be the duty of the Directors immediately to
act upon this important matter in accordance with said By-Laws.
The Christian Science Board of Directors may notify any Church of
Christ, Scientist, to remove its Committee on Publication and to
appoint another Committee to fill the vacancy; and it shall be the
duty of that church to comply with this request. In such cases it
shall be the privilege of this Board to name the Committee if it so
desires, and any Committee so named by the Board shall be elected by
the branch church.
Case of Necessity. SECTION 6. If a suitable man is not obtainable for
Committee on Publication, a suitable woman shall be elected. If at
any time the Christian Science Board of Directors shall determine
that the manager of the general Committee on Publication needs an
assistant, the Board shall, with the approval of the Pastor Emeritus,
appoint an assistant manager, who shall receive an adequate salary
from The Mother Church.
CHURCH-BUILDING
Article XXXIV
Building Committee. SECTION 1. There shall be a Building Committee
consisting of not less than three members, and this committee shall
not be dissolved until the new church edifice is completed. This
committee shall elect, dismiss, or supply a vacancy of its members
by a majority vote.
Designation of Deeds. SECTION 2. All deeds of further purchases of
land for The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Mass.,
shall have named in them all the trusts mentioned in the deeds given
by Albert Metcalf and E. Noyes Whitcomb in March, 1903; but this rule
shall not apply to land purchased for any purpose other than the
erection of a church edifice. Also there shall be incorporated in all
such deeds the phrase, "Mary Baker Eddy's Church, The Mother Church
or The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Mass."
The Mother Church Building. SECTION 3. The edifice erected in 1894
for The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Mass., shall
neither be demolished, nor removed from the site where it was built,
without the written consent of the Pastor Emeritus, Mary Baker Eddy.
CHURCH MANUAL
Article XXXV
For The Mother Church Only. SECTION 1. The Church Manual of The First
Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Mass., written by Mary Baker
Eddy and copyrighted, is adapted to The Mother Church only. It stands
alone, uniquely adapted to form the budding thought and hedge it
about with divine Love. This Manual shall not be revised without the
written consent of its author.
Seventy-third Edition the Authority. SECTION 2. The Board of
Directors, the Committee on Bible Lessons, and the Board of Trustees
shall each keep a copy of the Seventy-third Edition and of subsequent
editions of the Church Manual; and if a discrepancy appears in any
revised edition, these editions shall be cited as authority.
Amendment of By-Laws. SECTION 3. No new Tenet or By-Law shall be
adopted, nor any Tenet or By-Law amended or annulled, without the
written consent of Mary Baker Eddy, the author of our textbook,
SCIENCE AND HEALTH.
Appendix
Special Instructions Regarding Applications for Church Membership
1. Loyal members of The Mother Church are eligible to approve
candidates to unite with this Church.
2. No persons are eligible to countersign applications except
loyal students of Mrs. Eddy, Directors, and students of the Board
of Education who have been given a degree, and are members of The
Mother Church.
3. Those who approve applicants should have applications returned
to them after being filled out by the applicants, as required by
Article V, Sect. 6, and should compare them with the forms here
given, and see that names are legibly written, before sending
them to the Clerk of the Church. If not correct, the applicant
will be notified, and new applications will be required, as
none will be returned that are not correctly made out. This
requirement is to prevent applications being duplicated and the
confusion that might result therefrom. It is important that these
seemingly strict conditions be exactly complied with, as the
names of the members of The Mother Church will be recorded in the
history of the Church and become a part thereof.
4. All names, whether of applicants, signers, or countersigners,
must be plainly written, and one, at least, of the given names of
each, written in full. Initials only of first names will not be
received. Women must sign Miss or Mrs. before their names as the
case may be.
All names must be written the same in all places where they are
required.
TO APPLICANTS
1. In filling out the application blank, one of the Christian
names must be written in full. Initials alone will not be
received.
2. If the applicant is a married woman she must sign her own
Christian name, not her husband's, and prefix her signature with
"Mrs;" unmarried women must sign "Miss."
3. There are two regular forms of application. 1. For those who
have studied Christian Science with an authorized teacher; 2. For
those who have not studied Christian Science with a teacher.
Applicants will find the chief points of these instructions
illustrated in Form 1 and Form 2, on pages 114 and 118.
4. Those whose teachers are deceased, absent, or disloyal, or
those whose teachers refuse, without sufficient cause, to sign
applications (see Art. V, Sect. 4), will be furnished special
forms on application to the Clerk.
5. When branch churches are designated by number, as First Church,
Second Church, etc., the number must be written First, Second,
as shown on page 118. The article "the" either capitalized (The),
or small (the), must not be used before titles of branch churches.
See Article XXIII, Sect. 2.
6. If the applicant is not a member of a branch church, he should
fill out his application in this respect according to the form on
page 114.
APPLICATION FORMS
Application I
PROPERLY SIGNED AND ENDORSED,
ACCORDING TO ARTICLE V, SECT. 2
If you have been taught by a loyal student who has taken a degree at
the Massachusetts Metaphysical College, or by one who has passed an
examination by the Board of Education, fill this blank.
FORM 1
The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Mass., is
designed to be built on the rock of Christ--Truth and Life--and to
reflect the Church Triumphant.
One who is not a member of any church, excepting a branch church
of Christ, Scientist, who loves Christian Science, and reads
understandingly the Bible, and SCIENCE AND HEALTH WITH KEY TO THE
SCRIPTURES, by Reverend Mary Baker Eddy, and other works by this
author, and who is Christianly qualified and can enter into full
fellowship with the Tenets and Rules of The First Church of Christ,
Scientist, in Boston, Mass., is eligible to membership.
_To The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Mass._
Gordon V. Comer Clerk.
I hereby make application for membership, and subscribe to the
Tenets and the By-Laws of the Church.
My teacher in Christian Science is
...............James B. Brown, C.S.D. ..................
I am not a member of any church.
FORM 1--(Continued)
I was formerly a member of the .............................
............ denomination, but have definitely severed my
connection therewith.
Name .............. Mrs. Jennie W. Field, C.S. ..........
Street and Number ....... 18 Forest St., ................
Town or City ................ Chicago, ..................
State ............................ Ill ..................
Date ................. Jan. 2nd, 1901 ...................
I cordially approve the applicant.
(a) ............... James B. Brown, C.S.D. ...............
Countersigned by ..........................................
DO NOT DETACH.
To the applicant: Name ...... Mrs. Jennie W. Field, C.S. ......
Please fill out the Street and Number ... 18 Forest St., ........
following for the use Town or City ............ Chicago, ..........
of the Treasurer of State ............................ Ill ......
the Church:
Application I
PROPERLY SIGNED AND ENDORSED,
ACCORDING TO ARTICLE V, SECT. 2
If you have been taught by a loyal student who has taken a degree at
the Massachusetts Metaphysical College, or by one who has passed an
examination by the Board of Education, fill this blank.
FORM 1
The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Mass., is
designed to be built on the rock of Christ--Truth and Life--and to
reflect the Church Triumphant.
One who is not a member of any church, excepting a branch church
of Christ, Scientist, who loves Christian Science, and reads
understandingly the Bible, and SCIENCE AND HEALTH WITH KEY TO THE
SCRIPTURES, by Reverend Mary Baker Eddy, and other works by this
author, and who is Christianly qualified and can enter into full
fellowship with the Tenets and Rules of The First Church of Christ,
Scientist, in Boston, Mass., is eligible to membership.
_To The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Mass._
Gordon V. Comer Clerk.
I hereby make application for membership, and subscribe to the
Tenets and the By-Laws of the Church.
My teacher in Christian Science is
...............James B. Brown, C.S.D. ..................
I am not a member of any church, excepting Church of Christ,
Scientist, at ........................
FORM 1--(Continued)
I was formerly a member of the .............................
............ denomination, but have definitely severed my
connection therewith.
Name .............. Mrs. Jennie W. Field, C.S. ..........
Street and Number ....... 18 Forest St., ................
Town or City ................ Chicago, ..................
State ............................ Ill ..................
Date ................. Jan. 2nd, 1901 ...................
I cordially approve the applicant.
(a) ............... James B. Brown, C.S.D. ...............
Countersigned by ..........................................
DO NOT DETACH.
To the applicant: Name ...... Mrs. Jennie W. Field, C.S. ......
Please fill out the Street and Number ... 18 Forest St., ........
following for the use Town or City ............ Chicago, ..........
of the Treasurer of State ............................ Ill ......
the Church:
Application II
SIGNED, ENDORSED, AND COUNTERSIGNED,
ACCORDING TO ARTICLE VI, SECT. 2
If you have not been taught by a loyal student who has taken a degree at
the Massachusetts Metaphysical College, or by one who has passed an
examination by the Board of Education, fill this blank.
FORM 2
One who is not a member of any church, excepting a branch church
of Christ, Scientist, who loves Christian Science, and reads
understandingly the Bible, and SCIENCE AND HEALTH WITH KEY TO THE
SCRIPTURES, by Reverend Mary Baker Eddy, and other works by this
author, and who is Christianly qualified and can enter into full
fellowship with the Tenets and Rules of The First Church of Christ,
Scientist, in Boston, Mass., is eligible to membership.
_To The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Mass._
Gordon V. Comer Clerk.
I hereby make application for membership, and subscribe to the
Tenets and the By-Laws of the Church. I have not studied Christian
Science with a teacher, and am not a member of any church excepting
_Second_ Church of Christ, Scientist, at _New York, N.Y._
I was formerly a member of the .............................
............ denomination, but have definitely severed my
connection therewith.
FORM 2--(Continued)
Name .............. Miss Emma L. French .................
Street and Number ...... 293 Emerson St., ...............
Town or City ................ New York ..................
State ............................ N.Y. .................
Date ................. Jan. 2nd, 1901 ...................
I cordially approve the applicant.
(a) ............. Miss Mary E. Grant, C.S. ...............
Countersigned by .... James B. Brown, C.S.D. .............
DO NOT DETACH.
To the applicant: Name ....... Miss Emma L. French .......
Please fill out the Street and Number .. 293 Emerson St. ...
following for the use Town or City ............ New York .....
of the Treasurer of State ......................... N.Y. ...
the Church:
Present Order of Services in The Mother Church and Branch Churches
_Republished from the_ Sentinel
SUNDAY SERVICES
1. Hymn.
2. Reading a Scriptural Selection.
3. Silent Prayer, followed by the audible repetition of the Lord's
Prayer with its spiritual interpretation.
4. Hymn.
5. Announcing necessary notices.
6. Solo.
7. Reading the explanatory note on first leaf of _Quarterly_.
8. Announcing the subject of the Lesson Sermon, and reading the
Golden Text.
9. Reading the Scriptural selection, entitled "Responsive Reading,"
alternately by the First Reader and the congregation.
10. Reading the Lesson-Sermon. (After the Second Reader reads the
BIBLE references of the first Section of the Lesson, the First Reader
makes the following announcement: "As announced in the explanatory
note, I shall now read correlative passages from the Christian
Science textbook, SCIENCE AND HEALTH WITH KEY TO THE SCRIPTURES,
by Mary Baker Eddy.")
11. Collection.
12. Hymn.
13. Reading the scientific statement of being, and the correlative
SCRIPTURE according to I John 3:1-3.
14. Pronouncing Benediction.
The services should be preceded and followed by organ or piano music
of an appropriate character in all cases where this is possible.
On the first Sunday of each month Article VIII, SECT. 1, _A Rule for
Motives and Acts_, is to be read.
WEDNESDAY MEETINGS
1. Hymn.
2. Reading from the BIBLE, and correlative passages from SCIENCE AND
HEALTH WITH KEY TO THE SCRIPTURES.
3. Silent Prayer, followed by the audible repetition of the Lord's
Prayer, its spiritual interpretation being omitted.
4. Hymn.
5. Announcing necessary notices.
6. Experiences, testimonies, and remarks on Christian Science.
7. Closing Hymn.
The services should be preceded and followed by organ or piano music
of an appropriate character in all cases where this is possible.
Thanksgiving Day.
Order of Service for The Mother Church and Branch Churches.
1. Hymn.
2. Reading the Thanksgiving Proclamation of the President of the
United States, or the Governor of the state, or both.
3. Reading a Scriptural Selection.
4. Silent Prayer, followed by the audible repetition of the Lord's
Prayer with its spiritual interpretation.
5. Hymn.
6. Reading the Explanatory Note on the first leaf of the _Quarterly_.
7. Announcing the subject of the Lesson Sermon, and reading the
Golden Text.
8. Responsive Reading by the First Reader and the congregation.
9. Reading the Lesson-Sermon prepared by the Bible Lesson Committee.
10. Solo.
11. Testimonies by Christian Scientists, appropriate for the occasion.
12. Hymn.
13. Reading the Scientific Statement of Being, and the correlative
SCRIPTURE according to I John 3:1-3.
14. Pronouncing Benediction.
No collection is to be taken at this service.
The services should be preceded and followed by organ or piano music
of an appropriate character in all cases where this is possible.
Present Order of Communion Services in Branch Churches
1. Hymn.
2. Reading a Scriptural Selection.
3. Silent Prayer, followed by the audible repetition of the Lord's
Prayer with its spiritual interpretation.
4. Hymn.
5. Announcing necessary notices.
6. Reading Tenets of The Mother Church.
7. Collection and Solo.
8. Reading the explanatory note on first leaf of _Quarterly_.
9. Announcing the subject of the Lesson Sermon, and reading the
Golden Text.
10. Reading the scriptural selection entitled "Responsive Reading"
alternately by the First Reader and the congregation.
11. Reading the Lesson-Sermon. (After the Second Reader reads the
BIBLE references of the first Section of the Lesson, the First Reader
makes the following announcement: "As announced in the explanatory
note, I shall now read correlative passages from the Christian
Science textbook, SCIENCE AND HEALTH WITH KEY TO THE SCRIPTURES,
by Mary Baker Eddy.")
12. The First Reader briefly invites the congregation to kneel in
silent Communion. This is concluded by the audible repetition of the
Lord's Prayer (spiritual interpretation omitted).
13. Singing the Doxology:
"Be Thou, O God, exalted high;
And as Thy glory fills the sky,
So let it be on earth displayed,
Till Thou art here and now obeyed."
14. Reading the scientific statement of being and the correlative
SCRIPTURE according to I John 3:1-3.
15. Pronouncing Benediction.
The Church Tenets shall be read at this service.
The services should be preceded and followed by organ or piano music
of an appropriate character in all cases where this is possible.
Order of Exercises for the Sunday School of the Mother Church.[4]
1. Call to order by the Superintendent.
2. Hymn.
3. Subject of the lesson announced; Golden Text repeated by the
children; Responsive Reading.
4. Silent prayer, followed by the audible repetition of the Lord's
Prayer in unison.
5. Instruction in classes, in accordance with Sections 2 and 3 of
Article XX of the Manual of The Mother Church.
6. Entire school reassembles.
7. Hymn.
8. Scientific Statement of Being read by the Superintendent.
9. School dismissed.
[4] If a collection is taken, it should be taken in the classes
before they reassemble.
Deed of Trust
_The following is a Copy of the Deed of Trust_
_Conveying Land for Church Edifice_
KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS,
That I Mary Baker G. Eddy of Concord in the County of Merrimack and
State of New Hampshire in consideration of one dollar to me paid by
Ira O. Knapp of Boston, Massachusetts, William B. Johnson of Boston,
Massachusetts, Joseph S. Eastaman of Chelsea, Massachusetts, and
Stephen A. Chase of Fall River, Massachusetts, the receipt whereof is
hereby acknowledged, and, also in consideration of the trusts and
uses hereinafter mentioned and established, do hereby give, bargain,
sell, and convey to the said Ira O. Knapp, William B. Johnson, Joseph
S. Eastaman, and Stephen A. Chase as trustees as hereinafter provided
and to their legitimate successors in office forever, a certain
parcel of land situate on Falmouth street in said Boston, bounded and
described as follows:
Beginning at the junction of Falmouth street, and a forty-foot street
now called Caledonia street; thence running Southwest on said
Falmouth street one hundred and sixteen and eighty-eight hundredths
feet; thence Northwest at a right angle to a point where a line drawn
at right angles to said forty-foot street at a point thereon one
hundred and sixteen and fifty-five hundredths feet Northwest from
the point of beginning meets the said boundary at right angles to
Falmouth street, sixty-six and seventy-eight hundredths feet; thence
at an obtuse angle on said line at right angles to said forty-foot
street sixty-seven and thirty-five hundredths feet to said forty-foot
street; thence Southeasterly on said forty-foot street one hundred
and sixteen and fifty-five hundredths feet to the point of beginning;
containing seven thousand eight hundred and twenty-eight square
feet more or less, and subject to the agreements and restrictions
mentioned in a deed recorded in Suffolk Registry of Deeds Lib. 1719,
Fol 83 so far as the same are now legally operative.
This deed of conveyance is made upon the following express trusts
and conditions which the said grantees by accepting this deed agree
and covenant for themselves and their successors in office to fully
perform and fulfil.
1. Said grantees shall be known as the "Christian Science Board of
Directors," and shall constitute a perpetual body or corporation
under and in accordance with section one, Chapter 39 of the Public
Statutes of Massachusetts.[5] Whenever a vacancy occurs in said
Board the remaining members shall within thirty days fill the same
by election; but no one shall be eligible to that office who is not
in the opinion of the remaining members of the Board a firm and
consistent believer in the doctrines of Christian Science as taught
in a book entitled "SCIENCE AND HEALTH," by Mary Baker G. Eddy
beginning with the seventy-first edition thereof.
[5] The deacons, church wardens, or other similar officers of
Churches or religious societies, and the trustees of the Methodist
Episcopal churches, appointed according to the discipline and usages
thereof, shall, if citizens of this commonwealth, be deemed bodies
corporate for the purpose of taking and holding in succession all
grants and donations, whether of real or personal estate, made either
to the and their successors, or to their respective churches, or to
the poor of their churches.
2. Said Board shall within five years from the date hereof build or
cause to be built upon said lot of land a suitable and convenient
church edifice, the cost of which shall not be less than fifty
thousand dollars.
3. When said church building is completed said Board shall elect a
pastor, reader or speaker to fill the pulpit who shall be a genuine
Christian Scientist; they shall maintain public worship in accordance
with the doctrines of Christian Science in said church, and for this
purpose they are fully empowered to make any and all necessary rules
and regulations.
4. Said Board of Directors shall not suffer or allow any building to
be erected upon said lot except a church building or edifice, nor
shall they allow said church building or any part thereof to be
used for any other purpose than for the ordinary and usual uses of
a church.
5. Said Board of Directors shall not allow or permit in said church
building any preaching or other religious services which shall not be
consonant and in strict harmony with the doctrines and practice of
Christian Science as taught and explained by Mary Baker G. Eddy in
the seventy-first edition of her book entitled "SCIENCE AND HEALTH,"
which is soon to be issued, and in any subsequent edition thereof.
6. The congregation which shall worship in said church shall be
styled "The First Church of Christ, Scientist."
7. Said Directors shall not sell or mortgage the land hereby
conveyed; but they shall see that all taxes and legal assessments
on said property are promptly paid.
8. Said church building shall not be removed from said lot except
for the purpose of rebuilding thereon a more expensive or a more
convenient structure in which said doctrines of Christian Science
only shall be preached and practised. If said church building is
removed for either of the purposes above set forth, any and all
tablets and inscriptions which are or shall be upon said church
building at the time of removal shall be removed therefrom and placed
upon the walls of the new edifice. If said building is burned, the
Directors shall forthwith proceed to rebuild the church.
9. Said Directors shall maintain regular preaching, reading or
speaking in said church on each Sabbath, and an omission to have
and maintain such preaching, reading or speaking for one year in
succession shall be deemed a breach of this condition.
10. Whenever said Directors shall determine that it is inexpedient to
maintain preaching, reading or speaking in said church in accordance
with the terms of this deed, they are authorized and required to
reconvey forthwith said lot of land with the building thereon to Mary
Baker G. Eddy, her heirs and assigns forever by a proper deed of
conveyance.
11. The omission or neglect on the part of said Directors to strictly
comply with any of the conditions herein contained shall constitute
a breach thereof, and the title hereby conveyed shall revert to the
grantor Mary Baker G. Eddy, her heirs and assigns forever, upon
her entry upon said land and taking possession thereof for such
breach.
To Have and to Hold the above granted premises with all the
privileges and appurtenances thereon belonging to said grantees and
their successors in office to the uses and trusts above described
forever.
And the said grantor for herself and her heirs, executors and
administrators covenants with the said grantees and their successors
in office that she is lawfully seized in fee simple of the aforesaid
premises, that they are free from all incumbrances not herein
mentioned or referred to, that she has good right to sell and convey
the same to the said grantees and their successors in office
as aforesaid, and that she will and her heirs, executors, and
administrators shall, warrant and defend the same to the said
grantees and their successors in office forever against the lawful
claims and demands of all persons.
In witness whereof I the said Mary Baker G. Eddy have hereto set
my hand and seal this 1st day of September, 1892.
MARY BAKER G. EDDY.
Signed, sealed, and delivered in presence of
LAURA E. SARGENT.
R. E. WALKER.
September 1st, 1892.
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE, MERRIMACK.
Then personally appeared the above named Mary Baker G. Eddy and
acknowledged the foregoing instrument to be her free act and deed,
Before me
R. E. WALKER.
_Notary Public._
September 2, 1892.
SUFFOLK REGISTRY OF DEEDS, Lib. 2081, Fol. 257.
Deed Conveying Land for Church Purposes
METCALE _to_ KNAPP _et al. Trs._
Libro 2886, Fol. 521.
KNOW ALL MEN,
That I, Albert Metcalf, the grantor in a certain deed given to Ira O.
Knapp and others dated October 23, 1896, and recorded with Suffolk
Deeds, Book 2591, page 398, do hereby declare that the land conveyed
by said deed was conveyed to the grantees therein, as they are the
Christian Science Board of Directors, upon the trusts, but not
subject to the conditions mentioned in the deed creating said Board
given by Mary Baker G. Eddy to Ira O. Knapp and others, dated
September 1st, 1892, and recorded with Suffolk Deeds, Book 2081, page
257. In addition to the trusts contained in said deed of September 1,
1892, from Mary Baker G. Eddy, this property is conveyed on the
further trusts that no new Tenet or By-Law shall be adopted, nor
any Tenet or By-Law amended or annulled by the grantees unless
the written consent of said Mary Baker G. Eddy, the author of the
textbook "SCIENCE AND HEALTH WITH KEY TO THE SCRIPTURES," be given
therefor, or unless at the written request of Mrs. Eddy the Executive
Members of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, (formally called
the "First Members,") by a two-thirds vote of all their number,
decide so to do. And that the same inscription which is on the
outside of the present church edifice shall be placed on any new
church erected on said lot. And in consideration of one dollar to me
paid by said Ira O. Knapp, William B. Johnson, Joseph Armstrong and
Stephen A. Chase, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, I do
hereby confirm the deed as above mentioned, and do grant and release
unto them, their heirs, successors and assigns in trust as aforesaid,
the premises therein described.
In Witness Whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this
nineteenth day of March, A. D. nineteen hundred and three.
ALBERT METCALF. [Seal]
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
SUFFOLK March 20th, 1903
Then said Albert Metcalf acknowledged the foregoing instrument to be
his free act and deed.
Before me
MALCOLM McLOUD.
_Justice of the Peace._
March 20, 1903. at twelve o'clock and sixteen minutes P.M.
Received, Entered and Examined.
Attest: THOS. F. TEMPLE, _Reg_.
A true copy from the RECORDS OF DEEDS for the COUNTY OF SUFFOLK, Lib.
2886, Fol. 521.
Attest: CHAS. W. KIMBALL, _Asst. Reg_.
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