The
importance of building The Mother Church is brought out in Armstrong's
conclusion.
He
says,
“It was a victory for Christian Science, a victory in which every claim of
error was met and overcome. Something was accomplished which must be accepted
by mortals as part of the world's history. . . Just as a large part of mankind
have accepted the lives of Jesus and his apostles as historic facts, however
little this may affect their own living; just as proofs of astronomical facts,
reversing the evidence of the senses, are universally undenied, -- so the
erection of this church is so great a demonstration of Christianity and Science
as to leave on the world's thought an indelible mark which must be given a
place in its history.
Only
future ages can fully appreciate and understand the mighty triumph of good over
evil, of Spirit over matter, manifested in the circumstances connected with the
successful erection of this beautiful building, as given in this historical
sketch of The Mother Church in Boston.
Page 92.
In
September 1893, Mary Baker Eddy, Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science,
advised the Directors of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, to
lay the foundation for a church building the following October. (See p. 1, the opening paragraph
of the chapter entitled The Foundation.)
“Hold
your services in the Mother Church Dec. 30, 1894, and dedicate this church Jan.
6th” (letter from Mrs. Eddy Dec. 19, 1894).
And that
is what was accomplished.
The only
building of an important church/cathedral I know of is St. John's Cathedral in
Brisbane. Its foundation stone was set in 1901; a portion of the building was
consecrated in 1910; a second phase was begun in 1965, consecrated 1968; the final phase, which included the towers, was begun in 1989; church consecrated 2009. I wonder
if there is a history of problems and their resolution on that project.
One of
my favourite stories in the book is of Caroline Bates climbing up shaky ladders
to solve problems with workmen.
This is
a wonderful book. Thank you to our Editor for setting it for us. (Although I
had just reread it a few months ago, I always get renewed inspiration from it.)
Joyce Voysey
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