Responses to assignment 2018 on 'What's new?'

Dear People,

Here are some of the responses to this year's Association assignment, What's new? (which, as you recall, became the basis of our floor discussion and panel in Section Seven on Association day). Your responses – sometimes brief and "cutting to the chase" as the saying goes, and at other times exploring the subject in depth and how we need to think about it as Christian Scientists – represent some very fine thinking. Better than one finds on a lot of editorial and Op-Ed newspaper pages. But even better still, you'll also find woven all through them some wonderful accounts of healings.

With love,
Skip

Assignment – Be ready to participate by asking yourself and answering some simple questions:

What are some of the typical old and repetitive things in human life that get reported as news? Anything that you’re seeing and hearing in the news that actually feels new?

Would you say that the Science of Christianity is new? Tell us what’s new about it.

Share with us how Christian Science is bringing newness of life, new energies, new healing to you, your family, your patients, your church.

Here's something in response to the question of What's Really New? It strikes me that healing is always new – by which I mean not only that whenever we are healed, we feel new – lifted into a place quite different from the place we thought we were, but also any healing we have ever had remains timeless and blesses us each time we are grateful for it.

After a rough night a few mornings ago, I was sitting on the couch trying to gather myself. I've worked a lot with Mrs. Eddy's interpretation of the 23rd Psalm, and have loved the line "Love restoreth my...spiritual sense." One of the claims I've faced recently is that I don't have enough spiritual sense to heal myself, so it's very comforting to know that Love, God gives it and never takes it away. As I was thinking about that, I was suddenly deeply grateful for every moment of true spiritual consciousness I've ever had, and as I was pondering that, I went back over my list of healings. I was amazed to find how many there were, and while I thought about them, more and more came to me. They weren't just my own healings but healings that had occurred for other people when I prayed.

For example: when I was seven or eight, many people in my family were sick. Things felt pretty dark. But I remember going somewhere with my mom, and sitting in the back of the car praying. I'm sure it was a simple prayer, but when I got home my dad was up and dressed, and greeted me joyfully at the door. "Have you been praying?" he asked. I said almost sheepishly that I had. It turned out that everyone in the family was well.

When I was 16 I had a healing of warts on my hands that came about after I was lying in bed one night, just trying to find God. Within a little while, the room was filled with a spiritual light that I have never experienced again, but I know it was real. Within a week, the warts were gone.

In college I had several days of inspired studying for a final exam on a course I had not enjoyed or worked very hard for. The days included the turning away of flu symptoms, and being led to read an entire book from scratch right before the exam. I truly enjoyed the exam and earned a high score on it.

There have been quick healings of sprained ankles – my own and others; a back injury three days before Association that made it seem that sitting all day would be impossible. It wasn't. I was healed; healings of colds, and sadness and all the little things that become very big in our thought; times when I was able to make a right decision when only God could have given me what I needed.

Phinney Association

Phinney Association

Responses to assignment 2018

Phinney Association

Responses to assignment 2018 on 'What's new?'

It strikes me that healing is always new

Phinney Association

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