This church was dedicated on January 6, anciently one of the many dates selected and observed in the East as the day of the birth and baptism of our Master Metaphysician, Jesus of Nazareth.
Christian Scientists, their children, and grandchildren to the latest generations, inevitably love one another with that love wherewith Christ loveth us. A love unselfish, unambitious, impartial, universal,--that loves only because it _is_ Love. Moreover, they love their enemies, even those that hate them. This we all must do to be Christian Scientists in spirit and in truth. I long, and live, to see this love demonstrated. I am seeking and praying for it to inhabit my own heart and to be made manifest in my life. Who will unite with me in this pure purpose, and faithfully struggle till it be accomplished? Let this be our Christian endeavor society which Christ organizes and blesses.
While we entertain due respect and fellowship for what is good and doing good in all denominations of religion, and shun whatever would isolate us from a true sense of goodness in others--we cannot serve mammon.
Christian Scientists are really united to only that which is Christlike, but they are not indifferent to the welfare of any one. To perpetuate a cold distance between our denomination and other sects, and close the door on church or individuals--however much this is done to us--is not Christian Science. Go not into the way of the unchristly, but wheresoever you recognize a clear expression of G.o.d"s likeness, there abide in confidence and hope.
Our unity with churches of other denominations must rest on the spirit of Christ calling us together. It cannot come from any other source.
Popularity, self aggrandizement, aught that can darken in any degree our spirituality, must be set aside. Only what feeds and fills the sentiment with unworldliness, can give peace and good will towards men.
All Christian churches have one bond of unity, one nucleus or point of convergence, one prayer,--The Lord"s Prayer. It is matter for rejoicing that we unite in love, and in this sacred pet.i.tion with every praying a.s.sembly on earth,--"Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as in Heaven."
If the lives of Christian Scientists attest their fidelity to Truth, I predict that in the twentieth century, every Christian church in our land, and a few in far-off lands, will approximate the understanding of Christian Science sufficiently to heal the sick in His name. Christ will give to Christianity His new name, and Christendom will be cla.s.sified as Christian Scientists.
When the doctrinal barriers between the churches are broken, and the bonds of peace are cemented by spiritual understanding and Love, there will be unity of spirit, and the healing power of Christ will prevail.
Then shall Zion have put on her most beautiful garments, and her waste places budded and blossomed as the rose.
CLIPPINGS FROM NEWSPAPERS.
(_Daily Inter-Ocean_, Chicago, December 31, 1894.)
MARY BAKER EDDY.
Completion of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, Boston.--"Our Prayer in Stone."--Description of the Most Unique Structure in Any City.--A Beautiful Temple and Its Furnishings--Mrs. Eddy"s Work and Her Influence.
BOSTON, Ma.s.s., December 28.--_Special Correspondence_.--The "great awakening" of the time of Jonathan Edwards has been paralleled daring the last decade by a wave of idealism that has swept over the country, manifesting itself under several different aspects and under various names, but each having the common ident.i.ty of spiritual demand. This movement, under the guise of Christian Science, and ingenuously calling out a closer inquiry into oriental philosophy, prefigures itself to us as one of the most potent factors in the social evolution of the last quarter of the nineteenth century. History shows the curious fact that the closing years of every century are years of more intense life manifested in unrest, or in aspiration, and scholars of special research, like Professor Max Muller, a.s.sert that the end of a cycle, as is the latter part of the present century, is marked by peculiar intimations of man"s immortal life.
The completion of the first Christian Science church erected in Boston strikes a keynote of definite attention. This church is in the fashionable Back Bay between Commonwealth and Huntington avenues. It is one of the most beautiful, and is certainly the most unique structure in any city. The First Church of Christ, Scientist, as it is officially called, is termed by its founders "our prayer in stone." It is located at the intersection of Norway and Falmouth streets on a plot of triangular ground, the design a Romanesque tower with a circular front and an octagonal form accented by stone porticos and turreted corners.
On the front is a marble tablet with the following inscription carved in bold relief:
The First Church of Christ, Scientist, erected Anno Domini, 1894. A testimonial to our beloved teacher, the Rev. Mary Baker Eddy, Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science; author of "Science And Health, with Key to the Scriptures;" President of the Ma.s.sachusetts Metaphysical College, and the first Pastor of this denomination.
THE CHURCH EDIFICE.
The church is built of Concord granite in light gray, with tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs of the pink granite of New Hampshire, Mrs. Eddy"s native State. The architecture is Romanesque throughout. The tower is 120 feet in height and 21-1/2 feet square. The entrances are of marble, with doors of antique oak richly carved. The windows of stained gla.s.s are very rich in pictorial effect. The lighting and cooling of the church--for cooling is a recognized feature as well as heating--are done by electricity, and the heat generated by two large boilers in the bas.e.m.e.nt is distributed by the four systems with motor electric power. The part.i.tions are of iron; the floors of marble in mosaic work, and the edifice is therefore as literally fireproof as is conceivable. The princ.i.p.al features are the auditorium, seating 1,100 people and capable of holding 1,500; the "Mother"s room," designed for the exclusive use of Mrs. Eddy; the "directors" room," and the vestry. The girders are all of iron, the roof is of terra cotta tiles, the galleries are in plaster relief, the window frames are of iron, coated with plaster; the staircases are of iron, with marble stairs of rose pink and marble approaches.
The vestibule is a fitting entrance to this magnificent temple. In the ceiling is a sunburst with a seven-pointed star, which illuminates it.
From this are the entrances leading to the auditorium, the "Mother"s room," and the directors" room.
The auditorium is seated with pews of curly birch, upholstered in old rose plush. The floor is in white Italian mosaic, with frieze of the old rose, and the wainscoting repeats the same tints. The base and cap are of pink Tennessee marble. On the walls are bracketed oxidized silver lamps of Roman design, and there are frequent illuminated texts from the Bible and from Mrs. Eddy"s SCIENCE AND HEALTH WITH KEY TO THE SCRIPTURES impaneled. A sunburst in the centre of the ceiling takes the place of chandeliers. There is a disc of cut gla.s.s in decorative designs covering 144 electric lights in the form of a star, which is twenty-one inches from point to point, the centre being of pure white light, and each ray under prisms which reflect the rainbow tints. The galleries are richly paneled in relief work. The organ and choir gallery is s.p.a.cious and rich beyond the power of words to depict. The platform--corresponding to the chancel of an Episcopal church--is a mosaic work, with richly carved seats following the sweep of its curve, with a lamp stand of the rennaissance period on either end, bearing six richly wrought oxidized silver lamps, eight feet in height. The great organ comes from Detroit.
It is one of vast compa.s.s, with aeolian attachment, and cost $11,000. It is the gift of a single individual--a votive offering of grat.i.tude for the healing of the wife of the donor.
The chime of bells includes fifteen, of fine range and perfect tone.
THE "MOTHER"S ROOM."
The "Mother"s room" is approached by an entrance of Italian marble, and over the door in large golden letters on a marble tablet, is the word "Love." In this room the mosaic marble floor of white has a Romanesque border and is decorated with sprays of fig leaves bearing fruit. The room is toned in pale green with relief in old rose. The mantel is of onyx and gold. Before the great bay window hangs an Athenian lamp over two hundred years old, which will be kept always burning day and night.
Leading off the "Mother"s room" are toilet apartments, with full length French mirrors and every convenience.
The directors" room is very beautiful in marble approaches and rich carving, and off this is a vault for the safe preservation of papers.
The vestry seats 800 people, and opening from it are three large cla.s.s rooms and the pastor"s study.
The windows are a remarkable feature of this temple. There are no "memorial" windows: the entire church is a Testimonial, not a memorial--a point that the members strongly insist upon.
In the auditorium are two rose windows--one representing the heavenly city which "cometh down from G.o.d out of Heaven," with six small windows beneath, emblematic of the six water pots referred to in John xi:6. The other rose window represents the raising of the daughter of Jairus.
Beneath are two small windows bearing palms of victory and others with lamps typical of Science and Health.
Another great window tells its pictorial story of the four Marys--the mother of Jesus, Mary anointing the head of Jesus, Mary washing the feet of Jesus, Mary at the resurrection; and the woman spoken of in the Apocalypse, chapter 12, G.o.d-crowned.
One more window in the auditorium represents the raising of Lazarus.
In the gallery are windows representing John on the Isle of Patmos and others of pictorial significance. In the "Mother"s room" the windows are of still more unique interest. A large bay window composed of three separate panels is designed to be wholly typical of the work of Mrs.
Eddy. The central panel represents her in solitude and meditation searching the scriptures by the light of a single candle, while the Star of Bethlehem shines down from above. Above this is a panel containing the Christian Science seal, and other panels are decorated with emblematic designs with the legends, "Heal the Sick," "Raise the Dead,"
"Cleanse the Lepers," and "Cast Out Demons."
The cross and the crown and the star are presented in appropriate decorative effect. The cost of this church is $221,000, exclusive of the land--a gift from Mrs. Eddy--which is valued at some $40,000.
THE ORDER OF SERVICE.
The order of service in the Christian Science Church does not differ widely from that of any other sect save that its service includes the use of Mrs. Eddy"s book ent.i.tled SCIENCE AND HEALTH WITH KEY TO THE SCRIPTURES in perhaps equal measure to its use of the Bible--The reading is from the two alternately; the singing is from a compilation called the "Christian Science Hymnal," but its songs are for the most part those devotional hymns from Herbert, Faber, Robertson, Wesley, Browning, and other recognized devotional poets, with selections from Whittier and Lowell, as are found in the hymn books of the Unitarian churches. For the past year or two Judge Hanna, formerly of Chicago, has filled the office of pastor to the church in this city, which held its meetings in Chickering hall, and later in Copley hall, in the new Grundmann Studio building on Copley square. Preceding Judge Hanna were Rev. D.A. Easton and Rev. L.P. Norcross, both of whom had formerly been Congregational clergymen. The organizer and first pastor of the church here was Mrs.
Eddy herself, of whose work I shall venture to speak, a little later, in this article.
Last Sunday I gave myself the pleasure of attending the service held in Copley hall. The s.p.a.cious apartment was thronged with a congregation whose remarkable earnestness impressed the observer. There was no straggling of late-comers. Before the appointed hour every seat in the hall was filled and a large number of chairs pressed into service for the overflowing throng. The music was spirited, and the selections from the Bible and from SCIENCE AND HEALTH were finely read by Judge Hanna.
Then came his sermon, which dealt directly with the command of Christ to "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the leper, cast out demons." In his admirable discourse, Judge Hanna said that while all these injunctions could, under certain conditions, be interpreted and fulfilled literally, the special lesson was to be taken spiritually--to cleanse the leprosy of sin, to cast out the demons of evil thought. The discourse was able, and helpful in its suggestive interpretation.
THE CHURCH MEMBERS.
Later I was told that almost the entire congregation was composed of persons who had either been themselves, or had seen members of their own families, healed by Christian Science treatment; and I was further told that once when a Boston clergyman remonstrated with Judge Hanna for enticing a separate congregation rather than offering their strength to unite with churches already established--I was told he replied that the Christian Science church did not recruit itself from other churches, but from the graveyards! The church numbers now 4,000 members, but this estimate, as I understand, is not limited to the Boston adherents, but includes those all over the country. The ceremonial of uniting is to sign a brief "confession of faith," written by Mrs. Eddy, and to unite in communion, which is not celebrated by outward symbols of bread and wine, but by uniting in silent prayer.
The "confession of faith" includes the declaration that the Scriptures are the guide to eternal life; that there is a Supreme Being, and his Son, and the Holy Ghost, and that man is made in his image. It affirms the atonement; it recognizes Jesus as the teacher and guide to salvation; the forgiveness of sin by G.o.d, and affirms the power of truth over error, and the need of living faith at the moment to realize the possibilities of the divine life. The entire membership of Christian Scientists throughout the world now exceeds 200,000 people. The church in Boston was organized by Mrs. Eddy, and the first meeting held on April 19, 1879. It opened with twenty-six members, and within fifteen years it has grown to its present impressive proportions, and has now its own magnificent church building, costing over $200,000, and entirely paid for when its consecration service on January 6 shall be celebrated.
This is certainly a very remarkable retrospect.
Rev. Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of this denomination and discoverer of Christian Science, as they term her work in affirming the present application of the principles a.s.serted by Jesus, is a most interesting personality. At the risk of colloquialism, I am tempted to "begin at the beginning" of my own knowledge of Mrs. Eddy, and take, as the point of departure, my first meeting with her and the subsequent development of some degree of familiarity with the work of her life which that meeting inaugurated for me.
MRS. EDDY.