“His name shall be called Wonderful!”  Christ is the source of genuine wonder in human lives.  That wonder is the grace of God, the always-present influence that, through love, heals sickness, overcomes sin, and delivers mankind from the fear of death.  “Wonderful” is the name of a child—a child “borne to earth,” come to our everyday experience to bless, teach and heal.  In her “Cry of Christmas-tide,” Mrs. Eddy names Christian healing as “the babe we are to cherish.”  Here is a plain statement of the role of Christian Science nursing and the purpose of Fern Lodge.

Our role is to cherish Christian healing.  Our purpose is to heal.  We are dedicated to demonstrating the healing presence of God in our lives and the lives of patients who come to us for Christian Science nursing.  Your gift in support of Christian Science nursing at Fern Lodge enables us to care for those who need assistance to pay for the care they need.  You also make it possible for us to extend our education activities; to preach the gospel of God’s care for His children, reflected in Christian Science nursing for mankind.

With gratitude and affection,

George Strong

Administrator

“Every step of progress is a step more spiritual,” This statement opens Mary Baker Eddy’s sermon, The People’s Idea of God.  As delightful as the new entrance is, and as much as we are looking forward to using it, still we remember that to be truly progressive, this step must be accompanied by a more spiritual understanding and demonstration of Christian Science nursing at Fern Lodge.  To help us toward this goal, the Fern Lodge staff is in the midst of an inspiring reading project.  A few years ago we read Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures and met together to share the insights we gained that directly helped us in our Christian Science nursing work.  That project bore much fruit, including increased harmony and healing.

Mary Baker Eddy gave a precious gift when she wrote Science and Health.  Her gift to the world was a practical understanding of God and, especially, the works and teachings of Christ Jesus.  Accompanying that understanding, Mrs. Eddy taught the healing method of Christian Science, which she discovered, tested and established through her own lifetime of healing practice.  We are deeply grateful for her unfailing leadership in the present-day work of Christian Science, healing the sick and saving mankind from sin.  Mrs. Eddy once wrote to a student, “The truth in regard to your Leader heals the sick and saves the sinner” (Gottschalk, The Emergence of Christian Science, p. 165).  Fern Lodge is devoted to Christian Science healing.  To improve our healing abilities, the staff has joined together in reading the biography, Mary Baker Eddy: Christian Healer.  We invite you to join us!  We will have a place on our website where you can share with us the insights you gain.

Much is new at Fern Lodge!  Please help us keep you informed of our progress and our plans.  The Fern Lodge Focus is available by email before it is printed and mailed, so those who receive notice of the Focus by email and then read it on our website, hear our news almost a month before the Focus is in the mail.  If you would like us to be in touch with you in this way, it’s easy.  Just go to our website, fernlodge.org, and type your email address into the box in the sidebar where it says, “Subscribe to Fern Lodge’s eNewsletter.”  You also may call and give us your email address, or put your email address on the enclosed envelope and mail it to us.

We look forward to hearing from you, and you are welcome to visit Fern Lodge.  We would love to give you a tour of the facility.

With gratitude,

George Strong

Administrator

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The Fern Lodge Board of Directors is glad to announce plans to expand the Fern Lodge Christian Science Nursing Education Program.  We are preparing to offer education and experience to dedicated and inspired Christian Scientists who feel called to serve through the ministry of Christian Science nursing, wherever they may be.  Fern Lodge already has been actively teaching individuals in a private home, sharing Christian Science nursing workshops in branch churches, and conducting a course in Argentina.  We look forward to building on these experiences.  The November issue of the Focus will include a thorough update.

We are grateful to the faithful donors who provide financial support to enable us to continue our progress!

With heart-felt thanks,

George Strong, Administrator

The Fern Lodge Focus and our website, http://fernlodge.org, give us an opportunity to share with you insights into our work in the healing ministry of Christian Science nursing.  In our last issue, some of the Christian Science nurses on our staff told what brought them into Christian Science nursing.  Now we will let some of the workers in other departments tell you about what Fern Lodge means to them.

Rosa Minchaca

A short while ago I was looking out the window at the time when a couple of our staff members were going to their cars to leave work for the day.  She was off-duty after working a full shift, but as I watched, Rosa Minchaca, Housekeeping Manager, stopped to speak with a patient on the patio.  They talked a while, with smiles on their faces, and then Rosa called over one of our Christian Science nurses, who also was headed for her car to go home.  That nurse came and spent several minutes with the patient, giving needed assistance.  Then the nurse went, with a smile on her face, to her car and home to her family.  It was a simple scene, one that is repeated all over the world, for the simple reason that God’s children express God’s love.  But that scene illustrated to me one of the things I love about Fern Lodge: for the dedicated workers at Fern Lodge, loving-kindness in service to those who come to us for care is more important than just doing a job.

Clovese Hughes

At Fern Lodge we always are working to fulfill our purpose.  Our purpose is to heal, so you can imagine how happy I was with the following conversation.  Our bookkeeper, Clovese Hughes, is a long-time Christian Scientist who has been with us almost four years.  I asked her, “What did you think of Fern Lodge before you came to work here?”  She answered almost immediately, “I thought of Fern Lodge as a place of healing.”  Clovese was, and is, right.

A patient told us of her recent experience.  She was praying for Fern Lodge, and her son called and said that he wasn’t feeling well.  He had an instantaneous healing during the telephone call.  Our purpose is to heal!  Patients come to Fern Lodge for Christian Science healing, and to practice that healing, for others as well as for themselves.

Hilda Palomares

The Fern Lodge staff is dedicated to helping fulfill our healing purpose.  Recently we asked some of our staff members, “What would you like our readers to know about Fern Lodge?”  Here are some of their answers:

Hilda Palomares, Cook, said, “It’s a Christian place where everybody cares about the patient. This is a nice place to work. I am not a Christian Scientist, but I can see their healings. If I see someone having a challenging time, I pray and ask God to heal them. I get happy to see them healed.”

Anna Sunraingross

Another Cook, Anna Sunraingross, told us, “To me, Fern Lodge is a special place where family, friends, and people from around the world have found each other and are helping one another.”

Leticia Leon

Leticia Leon, in Laundry, said, “I feel good here. I love the patients. Everybody loves the patients. Sometimes a patient is sad, and I go and talk to them and then they feel happy. Fern Lodge is beautiful, clean and quiet. Sometimes when I come to work I don’t feel too good and I feel better once I am here.”

Allison Cook

Allison Cook, Head of the Kitchen Department, grew up going to Sunday School at the Hayward Christian Science church.  She told us, “It feels like coming home, because it’s a family of Christian Scientists and I am discovering new connections all the time. Parents of friends come here and the friends can be reassured that their loved ones will be cared for with love. It really means a lot to me to work in a place that is a nurturing environment. It has a positive impact on my life. I am grateful for the opportunities for growth and nurturing; and the fact that people are praying is comforting. People are working for the higher good at Fern Lodge, not for self-serving, manipulative reasons.”

Jordan Bunting

And Jordan Bunting, Cook, told us, “Fern Lodge is a blooming garden of spirituality and love. We are constantly reminded of how beautiful the world can be through the inspirational landscape and the eyes of caring employees. The kindness and the compassion are visible in the food, the activities and the consistency that our patients experience. I’ve met some of my closest friends and some of the greatest people in my last three years of employment. This wonderful place has left me with some great memories and timeless experiences. I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.”

On Monday, March 1, one of our cooks came into my office with a plate of cookies and offered me one.  That’s not unusual, our cooks take good care of everyone at Fern Lodge all the time.  What was unusual was that this was a fortune cookie, I could tell by how it was folded.  It was the best fortune cookie I ever ate, fresh, light and tasty.  And of course, since it was a fortune cookie, it had a fortune inside.  I was really pleased to see that it read, “Perfect love casts out fear,” that much loved verse from 1 John.  That was such a reassuring gesture.  Instead of some thoughtless “fortune” based on wishful thinking or an empty statement about an imaginary future, all who opened their cookies found timeless truths that comfort, help and heal.  This precious incident is another example of the Christian love that characterizes the Fern Lodge staff.  In future editions of the Fern Lodge Focus we will give you a chance to meet some of these dear friends.

In this Focus you will read about the trip to South America that Sharon Strong, Carlos Ley and I took in January.  We were invited to speak about Christian Science nursing and education in Argentina and Brazil.  It was a delightful and fruitful trip for all of us, and we look forward to on-going, cooperative relationships with Christian Scientists in both countries as we work together to establish Christian Science nursing education there.

We have some news of progress to share with you.  After many years of apologizing to visitors for the difficulty they have when they come to Fern Lodge for the first time, we finally are looking forward to correcting the situation.  It was sad that some visitors would come and find that our parking lot was completely full, leaving them to park in the dirt beside the road or a block or more away.  Once in the parking, lot visitors would have to search around the buildings to find the Fern Lodge entrance so they could visit a dear family member or friend who had come to us for Christian Science nursing care.  And then when they found, or were directed to, the nursing wing, they had to stand in the hall to wait while their loved one prepared for a visit.  Gratefully, that all will change soon.

Our first priority will be to provide a new staff parking lot to ensure that visitors always will find parking available near the entrance to the facility.  Then, we will change the entrance to the Christian Science nursing building.  Please take a look at pages 4 & 5 for a description and an architect’s rendition of the plan for a gracious new entrance, reception desk, and waiting area for the Fern Lodge Christian Science nursing building.  We hope to have this two-phase project finished and ready for use by the fall of this year, and we will be deeply grateful for each donation we receive to enable us to complete this project.

I’m sure you will be inspired, as was the Fern Lodge staff, by the helpful thoughts Nancy Stiner, C.S. shared at a recent Fern Lodge meeting.  Take a look at pages 6 & 7 and see fresh ways to think about listening for God’s voice, and overcoming fatigue and the supposed limitations of time.

Fern Lodge has been given a generous donation that we hope will enable us to begin a benevolence endowment fund.  We have discussed this idea for years, but in the past we have needed all the funds we had on hand to maintain the daily operation of Fern Lodge and provide for the benevolence needs of those we have served.  Very soon we will share more information about this important program and let you know how you can be a part of it.

Thank you for your support of Christian Science nursing and its practice at Fern Lodge.

With gratitude and affection

George Strong
Administrator

As I listened to what sounded to me like Appalachian folk tunes, I noticed a Fern Lodge employee who works in the kitchen come out and sit nearby, listening. This young man is Hispanic. I’ve heard, and I appreciate, the music he listens to in the kitchen. I don’t think mountain fiddle songs are on his iPod, but when one of the tunes ended and the group on the patio applauded, both he and I joined in the applause, and I heard our kitchen worker say, “That was nice!”

Each of us who heard that fine fiddle player was enveloped by the harmony of music, the expression of God-given and much-practiced talent, the generous affection of family and Christian friendship, the fruits of work done well. We all were embraced in divine Love, revealing to each of us something of our own identity in the family of God’s children, not limited or defined by age, occupation, nationality, language, or physical appearance and ability.

Our experience that afternoon demonstrated the spiritual qualities that make Fern Lodge a place for healing. Loving friends, helpful staff, gracious accommodations and beautiful grounds are visible indications of the deep spirituality and steadfast trust in God that form the foundation for and permeate every aspect of the healing mission of Christian Science nursing at Fern Lodge.

In this Fern Lodge Focus we will share with you information about this precious Christian Science nursing facility. We’ll shine our light of love on the healing Christian Science nursing services we offer. You’ll learn about the Christian Science nursing education opportunities we offer. We’ll tell you about our benevolence policy and ask you to join us in providing the necessary resources to ensure the availability of the healing ministry of Christian Science nursing at Fern Lodge and beyond. And as you read, if you are wondering what the pictures are in the background of this Focus, they are photos of flowers from the Fern Lodge gardens.

Also in this Focus, you will find excerpts of the wonderful annual meeting talk given by our speaker, Trinka Wasik, C.S., on the topic, “Christ Alive.”

We extend our warm welcome to you and invite you to come for a visit to see, hear, and feel the love that characterizes the ministry of Christian Science nursing and the work of the Fern Lodge staff in demonstration and support of that spiritual, healing ministry.

Welcome to Fern Lodge,

George Strong
Administrator

Christian Science nursing is a timeless expression of Christ’s love. It is one way Christians can fulfill Christ Jesus’ command, “Love one another as I have loved you.” All who seek to follow Jesus’ example and demonstrate Christian Science healing must include simple kindness and care for human needs in their prayer and practice.

Love for God and man is fundamental to everyone’s true nature and character. It is the spiritual expression of divine Love, which demonstrates God’s design. Our Father-Mother sets His/Her children in their proper relationships, each one fulfilling his or her own unique role in support of the fullness of Creation, and in obedience to the Creator’s instruction, “Be fruitful and multiply, replenish the earth and subdue it,” Genesis 1:28. Whatever our specific role, we reflect divine Love as we fulfill our God-appointed role in our daily lives. Every day, as we are led to complete our tasks under the unerring guidance of Love, we are shown how to love.

A vital characteristic of love is tender and patient willingness to help others. Christian Science nursing is one expression of such help. The mission of Christian Science nursing is to heal through steadfast witnessing of the true nature of man as God’s image and likeness. This healing mission includes daily willingness to provide comfort, protection, food and shelter for our fellow man in times of sickness or confusion.

If we obeyed only the urgings of divine Love, then every nursing need would be met by another’s able reflection of Love, and Christian Science nursing would need no other discipline. But in our daily experience the selfless, assured, and affectionate expression of Love seems to lack completeness. The bylaw, “Christian Science Nurse,” which Mrs. Eddy included in the Church Manual 100 years ago, provides the standards and discipline that are necessary for our full and correct demonstration of the loving care of our Father-Mother God (Manual 49: 7–16).

The Manual bylaw, when adhered to, ensures that Christian Science nursing cannot be understood as merely the human repetition of another’s words about health, however correct the words may be. Nor can Christian Science nursing be just competent assistance to meet another’s physical needs. The bylaw standards require Christian Science nurses to keep these two aspects of nursing, practical metaphysics and practical physical care, in their proper order. The bylaw requires all Christian Science nurses to understand and demonstrate the reflection of Love, which heals certainly and thoroughly. The bylaw also requires that Christian Science nurses be able to do whatever is necessary to care for individuals who need help to meet their physical and/or mental needs. And the bylaw demands that Christian Science nurses have the wisdom to know when and how their prayers must take form in the ministering attention known as nursing care.

Jesus made it clear that entrance into the Kingdom requires everyone to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, and visit the sick. And he taught that, “The Kingdom of God is within you,” Luke 17:21. Thanks to the discipline of the Church Manual bylaw, “Christian Science Nurse,” we can accept with confidence our ability to care for others and let our reflection of divine Love pour from our hearts to comfort and heal those who are in need.

If you would like to learn more about the role of nursing in Christian Science, and its miss ion of healing and saving mankind from sin and sickness, disease and death, please contact us. We will be happy to share with you the insights and inspiration that are gained by those whose love for others is expressed in Christian Science nursing.

Sincerely,

George Strong
Administrator

Think about the Story in 1 Samuel 17. The giant, Goliath, challenged Israel, shouting, “Choose your man to meet me. If I kill him, you shall be our slaves.” For forty days, he repeated his challenge. David, a young shepherd, came forward to meet Goliath, putting his trust in God. David chose five smooth stones, and with his sling, ran to meet Goliath. He said, “the battle is the Lord’s, and He will put you all into our power.” One stone later Goliath was dead and his armies turned and ran.

Goliath symbolizes the fears–sickness, substance abuse, war, crime, poverty, mental illness, etc.–that appear so threatening. These fears say, “Fight me; if you lose you’re my slave.” A Goliath may be any collection of materialistic beliefs of “the basic error,” which Mrs. Eddy defines by the term, “mortal mind.” But the problems of our day, no matter how large they appear, are like Goliath. They can’t carry out their threats if they are met with prepared reliance on God. David gives a model for how we can respond to challenges today.

A challenge is a demand to identify ourselves, as in a sentry’s, “Halt! Who goes there?” Our task is to respond with confidence, “We are children of the one God, and we have our place in His kingdom of love, health and harmony.” Many people have had instant Christian Science healing from right identification. But what if the challenge doesn’t let us pass? Are we at the mercy of Goliath?

For years I thought that David was an underdog–Goliath’s armor, sword and spear against a defenseless boy throwing rocks. We’ve seen news photos of young men throwing rocks at a tank, and that’s what I thought of when David met Goliath. But a sling has an effective range of over 100 yards, so David could stay out of Goliath’s reach. Sling stones were up to three inches in diameter and made of flint, a very heavy material. And accurate! Soldiers could sling a stone and nor miss their target by a hair. David was well-armed, indeed. Most importantly, David knew his identity and proclaimed it to Goliath, loud and clear: “I come to thee in the name of the Lord,” with the strength of Spirit and Truth.

David was NOT the underdog, and he knew it! Neither are we underdogs when we face Goliath challenges today.

It is essential to remember where the challenge and the ensuing struggle take place. It’s not at Fern Lodge or in our churches or homes. The call and the battle are wholly within consciousness. Here is an important fact: There is one God; one infinite, eternal, spiritual, divine Mind, who creates and maintains man and the universe, expressed as individual ideas. There appears to be a lie about Mind, claiming that mind is finite, limited, and expressed by lots of mortal minds. This lie seems to generate its own set of conditions, which it calls the physical universe, including the material earth, and man with a precarious sense of health and happiness.

But mortal mind is a lie, and its creation always remains a lying collection of beliefs–beliefs of a lie and about that lie–without a shred of Truth. Many of the beliefs of mortal mind appear dangerous; these are its weapons, and they threaten our health, our happiness, even our lives. But remember that you, God’s spiritual idea, are beyond the range of mortal mind’s weapons. And remember that truth always destroys a lie, as light destroys darkness. In each case, mortal mind is defeated–its beliefs are denied, and its weapons are ineffective. Goliath may have a lot of weapons, but he is killed with one stone.

There are practical applications to this understanding of the powerlessness of mortal mind to keep up any of its threats when it is opposed in the name of God. A man called a Christian Science practitioner for treatment of a cold. With the affirmation in prayer that man is God’s likeness, immune to mortal mind’s belief of sickness, the symptoms quickly vanished AND a cyst disappeared, for which removal surgery had already been scheduled.

On his way to meet Goliath, David selected his stones. He didn’t take just any rock that was lying in the creek bed. Misshapen ones don’t go as far or as accurately as the smooth ones he picked, proven to be hard by tumbling for generations in the stream of life. Let’s select stones that will be effective in meeting the specific challenge Goliath throws down.

Mary Baker Eddy writes of Christ Jesus, “Of the lineage of David, like him he went forth, simple as the shepherd boy, to disarm the Goliath…the three-in-one of error: the world, the flesh, and the devil. ” What were the stones Jesus armed himself with? When tempted by the devil (see Matt 4), he used some of them, and they had the form, “It is written,” followed by a statement in Scripture telling of man’s identity and his proper relationship to God. Jesus, like David, didn’t just believe in God, he believed God. That is, he trusted that if God promised, it would happen.

Remember God’s promises; they are spiritual stones, not just words. Here are just a few: “I am the Lord your God, your Deliverer … Have no fear for I am with you;” “I am the Lord thy God … open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it;” “I am the Lord that healeth thee. ” Each stone we select to put in our bag as we run to meet every Goliath-challenge will be an idea of God’s presence and our identity.

David’s victory over Goliath has special significance for Christian Science nurses. Christian Science nursing demonstrates man’s reflection of God’s care for His children; it is a human expression of God as Mother. The qualities of our Mother-Love are those we associate with womanhood–nurturing, nourishing, cherishing, and bringing out the best in everyone. Remember this idea, and consider the statement, “Materialistic hypotheses challenge metaphysics to meet in final combat. In this revolutionary period, like the shepherd-boy with his sling, woman goes forth to battle with Goliath. ” Woman–the expression of mothering, cherishing, nursing qualities–battles with the materialistic hypotheses which suggest that men and women are merely material, mortal beings, subject to the whims of chance and the sufferings of age, accident, disease, mental decline, and so on. Mrs. Eddy also wrote, “The ideal woman corresponds to Life and to Love,” and to “…faith armed with the understanding of Love.” The battle of faith armed with love describes Christian Science nursing.

We’re not killing big men. We are utterly destroying the appearance of evil in consciousness through the demonstration of divine Principle, Love. We’re standing up with Christ, Truth, in the face of aggressive mental suggestion, that comes disguised as a giant in our thinking, demanding that we be afraid. We are standing up for our true identity in the face of lies and the liar, mortal mind. Now let’s take a look at some challenges and pick out some smooth, tried and true stones of Life and Love that will meet each one with a correct identification of ourselves and overcome Goliath, each appearance of mortal mind.

Challenge #1: Christian Science doesn’t really heal; it’s not as effective as modem medical practice.

“The ancient Christians were healers. Why has this element of Christianity been lost? Because our systems of religion are governed more or less by our systems of medicine. ” We should be clear that our system of religion cannot be governed in any degree by current systems of medicine. We can put off any suggestions that material means and methods are effective in meeting material challenges. Then our stones will be tried and trusted ones, not weakened by the influence of material modes of treatment or health maintenance, and not misdirected by fear of future needs.

Mrs. Eddy wrote, “It has been said that the New Testament does not authorize us to expect the ministry of healing at this period,” and she concluded her response, “…the shepherd’s sling would slay this Goliath.” The promise is, “Stick to the truth of being…you will heal the sick.”

Let me illustrate the aggressive nature of material medical hypotheses. Not long ago I suddenly felt sick. As I prayed for God’s help, I was aware of physical symptoms indicating an internal problem, challenging me to submit. At the same instant, I was aware of a brand of medication, advertised as able to reverse the symptoms I felt. I just laughed out loud. I saw that the Goliath of sickness was nothing more than mortal mind’s description of itself, offering itself to me for acceptance as my experience.

The symptoms, the diagnosis of a specific illness, the medication, and the advertisements for that medicine, were all just one thing, — materialistic hypotheses of mortal mind, the liar and the lies it tells, including the lie that material medicine is more effective than Christian Science. As I laughed, I flung a mental stone of Truth at that liar; I was completely free of the symptoms, which did not return.

Challenge #2: Christian Science doesn’t appeal to people these days.

“Millions of unprejudiced minds-simple seekers for Truth, weary wanderers, athirst in the desert–are waiting and watching for rest and drink. Give them a cup of cold water in Christ’s name, and never fear the consequences….Those ready for the blessing you impart will give thanks. ” Hear this call for us to love and to witness the effects of Love. We need to “reduce to practice the real man’s divine Principle, Love.” Divine Principle, Love, reduced to practice, heals.

It’s natural for Christian Scientists to think of Principle and Love used as equivalents, as synonyms for God. But many people believe that love is something people can give or withhold, and that often loving is just too difficult. It is not yet understood that Love is the very substance and law of man’s being. When our lives bear witness to our nature as active expressions of divine Principle, Love, we will heal. And we will be known as children of God — and as followers of Christ Jesus.

Jesus promised, “This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples–when they see the love you have for each other” (John 13:35, The Message). By our love for each other, we will help mankind grasp our Leader’s revelation of Love as divine Principle. I’m comforted by Christ’s promise. To maintain His church, all we have to do is love each other. We don’t have to agree on every theological point, or on how to further the mission of Christian Science, or on what a Christian Science nursing facility or church should look like.

But no matter what else we do, we have to show our love for each other! How? Jesus gives an answer, “This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends,” (John 15: 13). Putting your life on the line for your friends describes Christian Science nursing. Every day nurses put their lives on the line for our friends in Christ. We face Goliath in the fears expressed by patients, in pictures of disease, and in lies of mortality, and we are willing to sacrifice our own comfort to cherish Christian healing.

It was the sacrifices Christ Jesus made, his limitless expression of love, that led Mrs. Eddy to recognize Love as the Principle of the Master’s life. Love is the Principle of our lives, too. And we will sacrifice our wishes, wants, and opinions in order to love. We have to do this. Remember, we are vanquishing the Goliath that claims Christian Science doesn’t appeal to people today. Let’s acknowledge the vital role played by Christian Science nursing in forming the stone of Love which lays that giant to rest.

Challenge #3: Our work is fraught with lack. There are too few Christian Science nurses, and we lack funds for benevolence, and other activities.

Our Father-Mother, Love, tenderly cares for each of His children. Man, as the reflection of God expresses Love’s care everywhere. We cannot be afraid of the Goliath-claim that there aren’t enough Christian Scientists who are willing and able to nurse. We cannot be afraid that a lack of funds will keep us from providing loving care. But to meet these challenges we must understand God’s law of supply and demand, identify ourselves with this law, and run to meet the giant with a practical response.

Science and Health includes a nursing example t0 illustrate the truth of supply and demand. “Florence Nightingale and other philanthropists engaged in humane labors have been able to undergo without sinking fatigues and exposures which ordinary people could not endure…The spiritual demand, quelling the material, supplies energy and endurance surpassing all other aids, and forestalls the penalty which our beliefs would attach to our best deeds.”

Supply and demand are qualities of God, which, like tenderness and might, coincide in all of God’s creation. Man expresses the divine coincidence of supply and demand, and our lives demonstrate the fact that spiritual demands supply whatever qualities are needed to meet them. God’s demand for care supplies each of us with energy and endurance, patience and persistence, mercy and affection, readiness and resources, and so on. The demand and the supply must be inseparable. Lack and insufficiency are aggressive suggestions that are native to mortal mind. Lack is nothing more than mortal mind’s admission to itself that it is not capable of supplying the needs of man.

“God gives you His spiritual ideas, and in turn, they give you daily supplies.” Animal magnetism may suggest that daily supplies are material things, which man demonstrates. But man is God’s spiritual idea, and spiritual ideas don’t demonstrate material things. When God meets our needs, then that which we call daily supplies–health, nursing staff members, or financial resources–are our objective experience of our understanding of God’s spiritual ideas.

Our understanding of God’s ideas is the work of Christ, the “divine influence ever present in human consciousness, and repeating itself….” Christ comes to the belief of life in matter, and repeats the nature of God, our real identity. As God’s idea, we have no fear or experience of lack, and that’s what Christ repeats to us. We hear what David heard; Goliath is not a threat; we are better armed. We know we are fully supplied. Supply is not the addition of things to material lives, it is Christ’s revelation of the abundance of divine Life and Love to man.

Is another Goliath standing in the valley, shouting a challenge and threatening to enslave us? Let’s pick up some of the plentiful stones lying at our feet, smooth ideas from the Bible and Science and Health, and let’s run to meet the challenge, doing whatever God directs.

George Strong

Quotes

Mis page 162
Isaiah 43:3. 5
Psalm 81:10
Exodus 15:26
S&H 268
S&H 517:10
My 278 :10–12
Mis 195:13–30
S&H 18:5
S&H 146:2.6
S&H 570:14
S&H 490:14
S&H 385:1–11
Mis 307:1–2
S&H  xi:16–18

Anyone who had the opportunity to attend the Annual Meeting of The Mother Church, or to watch it broadcast over the Internet, heard a message from the Nursing Manager that brought me a deep sense of joy and gratitude. We heard Christian Science nursing described in simple terms that showed it as the practice of Christian Science, an activity that is a healing presence for patients. I have been a Christian Science nurse since 1975, and that message stood our to me as the clearest public statement I have heard of the role of Christian Science nurses in the healing mission of The Mother Church.

When I began to learn Christian Science nursing in the training program that was then required, I came away with the belief that being a nurse meant being primarily concerned with certain skills, products and techniques that could be used to bring comfort to a patient. I often heard the statement, “a Christian Science practitioner takes care of the spiritual needs of a patient, and a Christian Science nurse takes care of the patient’s physical needs, carefully avoiding praying for the patient.”

This view of Christian Science nursing gives the impression that it is merely non-medical, physical care, and so the Christian Science nurse is much like a medical nurse who doesn’t give medicine. And this view of Christian Science nursing never felt right to me. As a Christian Scientist, I couldn’t accept the statement that a patient is a physical person with physical nursing needs. Nor could I believe that he is a spiritual individual with physical nursing needs.

Through prayer I realized that I needed to repent–completely change the way I had been thinking about myself as a nurse and my role when working with patients. It dawned on me while reading Matthew 25 that Christian Science nursing is not a physical activity, it is divine Love expressed in Christian obedience to Jesus’ command to “love one another.” Christian Science nursing has more in common with the metaphysical treatment given by a Christian Science practitioner than it has with any form of medical or material nursing. Christian Science nursing starts from the standpoint of man as the image and likeness of God, Spirit, and stays there with the conviction of man’s inherent health.

Yes, if a patient appears to need physical comfort and care, a Christian Science nurse’s prayer and work will be seen to provide them, but this activity just fulfills Christ Jesus’ promise, “set your minds on God’s kingdom and his justice before everything else, and all the rest will come to you as well” (New English Bible, Matt 6:33). A Christian Science nurse does nor give specific treatment for a patient, but the nurse does pray specifically and consistently for his or her concept of each patient. And a Christian Science nurse can expect that the right idea of another, held clearly and firmly in consciousness, will heal. Mary Baker Eddy writes of spontaneous healing, and I feel that in her assurance of the power of Love she endorses this mode of healing as a standard for Christian Scientists.

I rejoice in the growing understanding and demonstration of the fact that spontaneous healing can and will accompany the care given by Christian Science nurses.