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 thisChurch shall submit them all to said committee for examination.This committee shall decide thereupon by a unanimous vote, and itsendorsement 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.
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 publishingThe 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 toThe 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.
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 ChristianScience 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 loyalChristian Scientists since receiving instruction as above, shallnot teach Christian Science without the approval of The ChristianScience 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.)
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 andmalpractice. 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 thePresident 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 theBoard of Education shall be paid over annually to the Treasurer ofThe 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 threeconsecutiveyears 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 ChristianScience, 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.
Article XXXI—ORGANIZATION AND DUTIES
Election. SECTION 1. This Church shall maintain a Board ofLectureship, the members of which shall be elected annually on Mondaypreceding the Annual Meeting, subject to the approval of the PastorEmeritus. 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 quietthoughton 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 Boardof Lectureship for a speaker, and one shall be assigned them by theBoard.
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.
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 thelast proof sheetof 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 theCommittee on Publication is elected only by the Christian ScienceBoard of Directors. The Committee for the counties in which London,England, is situated shall be appointed by the Christian ScienceBoard of Directors, and he shall, in addition to his other duties,act as District Manager of the Committees on Publication for GreatBritain 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.
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.
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.
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 I
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.
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 theTenets 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 ……………………………………
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
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.
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 theTenets 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 ……………………………………
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
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.
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 theTenets and the By-Laws of the Church. I have not studied ChristianScience with a teacher, and am not a member of any church exceptingSecondChurch of Christ, Scientist, atNew 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. ………….
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 theSentinel
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 ofQuarterly.
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 forMotives and Acts, is to be read.
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 theQuarterly.
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 ofQuarterly.
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 TrustConveying Land for Church Edifice
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.
Signed, sealed, and delivered in presence ofLAURA E. SARGENT.R. E. WALKER.
September 1st, 1892.
Then personally appeared the above named Mary Baker G. Eddy and acknowledged the foregoing instrument to be her free act and deed,
Before meR. E. WALKER.Notary Public.
September 2, 1892.SUFFOLK REGISTRY OF DEEDS, Lib. 2081, Fol. 257.
Deed Conveying Land for Church Purposes
METCALEtoKNAPPet al. Trs.Libro 2886, Fol. 521.
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 MASSACHUSETTSSUFFOLK March 20th, 1903
Then said Albert Metcalf acknowledged the foregoing instrument to be his free act and deed.
Before meMALCOLM 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.
End of Project Gutenberg's Manual of the Mother Church, by Mary Baker Eddy