March-April 2009 - Christian Science Society San Juan Capistrano

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4 These days Jo volunteers for the New Jersey institutional committee from her home in North Brunswick. She writes to an inmate in solitary confinement at Newark State Prison to help him grasp the basics of Christian Science and apply its teaching to his problems. “You can’t hold on to the same thinking,” she recently told him. Jo herself had already learned that lesson---the day she found the coverless Christian Science Sentinel in the hotel library. (contributed by Susan Clay) Grateful hearts… From Valerie Flynn…Apoya, our Society’s volunteer tutoring-mentoring outreach to the CREER youth, wishes to express OUR GRATITUDE TO THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE SOCIETY IN SJC for the opportunity to help all of the children and their families who have been attending the program regularly. Parents, tutors and students regularly express gratitude to us for making our beautiful and peaceful space available for tutoring. The fruits of such labor are evident when excited parents bring their children’s most recent report cards to show us their improved grades in many subject matters. Thank you again to our Society for supporting this effort and for its constant prayer to bless our community. And thank you to the members who have graciously committed their time to help youth on a regular or substitute basis…… Many voices of appreciation to the facilitators of our recent Metaphysical Workshops…Julie Johnson and Bonnie MacDonald for our February and March workshops focusing on challenges facing children…..Deborah Huebsch and Carl Symons who led our April session on the “Christian Science Movement--Moving!” and will facilitate the May workshop continuing the same focus……From Rahla Lindsay (excerpt regarding our Metaphysical Workshop on Children) “Thank you for the powerful ideas (citations) and for the wonderful healing work you are all doing to bless our children….I was at a meeting that included Father Gregory Boyle, founder of HomeBoy Industries and a major force for good and God’s love in Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles…..Gang thinking is just mortal mind trying to make us believe there is power in numbers. You cannot believe (well, yes, you CAN believe) how much improvement there is in that neighborhood. There are NO gangs where there are jobs and opportunities for these young people. Yes..our work is cut out for us….” Many thanks to all who participated Easter Sunday afternoon in the hymn sing practice and filming for The Mother Church…..Expressions of gratitude from many to Evelyn Brookins, Alan Hess and Linda Worley for organizing our Recommitment Meeting with its thoughtful discussion topics and opportunities for new growth and progress…. Thank you to everyone on the Reading Room Team….who participated in organizing the recent open house events during Mercado Weekend and in celebration of the new Christian Science Monitor launch. A note of gratitude and inspiration….(excerpted) from Derra Moyers, a regular conference caller in Edmonds, Washington, following a rainy Saturday in Seattle….”This Sunday morning the sun was out, sky was blue and I felt the need to get out into the light. With Archie the Schnoodle (and drive-thru drink and goodies) drove to the bluff overlooking Puget Sound and got ready for our service with hymnals, notes and cell phone at hand. Throughout the service gulls were gliding over the water and overhead, beautiful and graceful. Then a large, dark hawk...soaring afar off but noticeable because of its wing shape and color. These birds danced in the sky all through the service as if emphasizing creation’s freedom, grace and beauty. THEN, during the offertory vocal piece sung by Sarah (Wow!) just as she concluded singing ‘God’s man is free’, the hawk came directly over me and Archie and hovered about 20 feet up. I could see all of his underfeathers, the beauty of his wing shape, his elegance and strength. I felt I could almost touch him, he was so close. The song ended and the hawk glided away. I was in awe! Please thank Sarah…part of this with her beautiful voice soaring and rejoicing! I love attending and participating (in CSSSJC services)…and thank you for all that all of you are doing to make this church experience possible.” New opportunities and possibilities…. BIG Sunday ‘09….For ongoing updates on this service opportunity in May, contact Linda Worley. An update from F.A.M…. Donations of non-perishable food are still welcome and needed in support of Family Assistance Ministries and the families they provide for. You may
5 may place your donations in the marked container in our Community Room. Current prayer requests from F.A.M ask our support for the women at Gilchrist House in challenging the claims of discouragement, depression, and hopelessness in their efforts to seek employment and in completely overcoming the history of substance abuse. In the news….and on the Internet…. Recent sightings of some familiar names in print…In the April Christian Science Journal in the Letters section look for the thoughtful comments of Beverly Lyle on the future vitality of our Christian Science churches in the 21 st Century….In the March 23 rd Sentinel a timely article by Cathryn Rathsam “The Economy and the 10 Commandments”….. In a recent edition of the Christian Science Monitor, a delightful piece in the Over the Hedge column by Laura Fisher. On the world wide web…Sunday School student, Melody Colliatie, shares a wonderful story of her recent participation in being part of the homebuilding mission in Mexico. Visit the ever-growing site tmcyouth.com and look for Melody’s inspiring piece, “Learning from humility” Much more to see of interest to us at tmcyouth.com…When visiting the site, go to “Church Unconfined” and then to “Real Church Experiences.” Click here, scroll down and you can watch some 15 video clips detailing many aspects of our Society and its participants from the early informal group to current Sunday School students sharing their views and experiences. While you’re there, don’t miss seeing video of other fresh approaches to church in other parts of the country. Africa Blog…Sunday School students Rachel Nishikawa and Melody Colliatie have written a daily blog detailing their recent trip to Petals of Africa School in Kenya. Don’t miss their insights and experiences they have taken time to share with the world about their service mission that included Rachel’s sister Stacey and former Sunday School student, Kyle Smith. Tithing…. Our tithing recipient for March was The Christian Science Monitor, celebrating the newspaper’s launch into a new format for the 21 st Century and offering continued focus and opportunities to pray for our worldwide family. Our Reading Room Open House paid tribute to the Monitor in a Sunday after-church celebration, April 19 th . In April we are tithing to CREER, the local organization that works to address the needs of the Latino-Mexican community and who is our partner in a tutoring program held each Saturday at our church facility. Beyond the monetary contribution we will make to CREER, we continue to respond to their requests for prayerful support during some recent difficult challenges that include neighborhood conflict and gang violence. A reminder: CREER means BELIEVE! The Book Report…. Many of us are currently reading, or re-reading, Rolling Away The Stone: Mary Baker Eddy’s Challenge to Materialism, by Stephen Gottschalk, Indiana University Press 2006, as part of our preparation for our Metaphysical Workshops focusing on The Christian Science Movement-- Moving! From the book’s introduction: “This book focuses on the dominant theme in her life during (the last) two decades: her effort to protect and perpetuate a religious teaching that could provide an alternative to the materialism she saw as potentially engulfing traditional Christianity.”…….And further…”For Eddy, materialism had deepened and become more intransigent---not because it was on the ascendancy, but because it was fighting for its life.” From the publisher: “This is the first book-length discussion of Eddy to make full use of the resources of The Mary Baker Eddy Collection in Boston and focuses as no other previous book has on her long-range legacy as a Christian thinker, specifically her challenge to the materialism that—in changing forms---continues to threaten religious belief and practice in our time.” Not exactly a “quick read” but highly recommended, very timely, and worth the study. Recommitment Meeting 2009 Thanks to everyone for bringing their “best game” to our Recommitment Meeting March 29. This year the daylong event let us dialog, in small groups, about some key issues: the vitality and spirituality of our services, keeping our various outreach activities focused on Spirit, and making sure organizational demands don’t overwhelm our real business -- healing. The dialog helped us to know each other better, and to articulate the reasons we are involved with church. Several
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March-April 2009 - Christian Science Society San Juan Capistrano

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