 Posted Monday, April 07, 2008 5:16 PM
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Hi,
I'm kind of wondering how long the Mother Church can continue in operaton. It's most recent announcement concerns the short-term leasing of the Administration and Colonnade buildings. This was preceded a month earlier by announcing changing bible translations from the King James to modern versions in the quarterly Bible Lesson. There seems to be a great deal of medical use in the CS community these days, sanctioned by the Mother Church and its Committee on Publication. And, of course, there are the dwindling church and societies through out the world. What CS has to offer now is nothing in comparisons to other religions. It has too much healing competition from nondenominational churches. Also, there seems to be a powerful faction in the CS Community called CSDirectory.com that is leading many of the changes going on in CS churches and leading to its precipitous downfall.
Just my observation,
Steve
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Posted Tuesday, April 08, 2008 1:03 PM
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| The CS Church is definitely in significant decline. It will be interesting to see where it is in 15 years. changing bible translations from the King James to modern versions in the quarterly Bible Lesson. Here's a link to the Board of Directors' statement on this issue.
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Posted Thursday, April 10, 2008 7:23 PM
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| Here's another article talking about the leasing of the CS church's buildings. (see "Christian Science church to lease Back Bay office space," Boston Business Journal, April 10, 2008) The article comments that the CS church currently employs about 550 people -- down from 800 four years ago. That's quite a drop.
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Posted Friday, April 11, 2008 5:02 AM
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| Interesting article. The church spokesperson mentioned a "40 year plan". I can't even fathom that the Christian Science Church will still be around in 40 years.
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Posted Saturday, April 12, 2008 8:51 AM
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CS church currently employs about 550 people -- down from 800 four years ago
What do these church employees do? Are all these people located at the Boston location? I understand the Mother Church hires non-Christian Scientists because of EEO laws and that the Mother Church has always employed non-Chrisitian Scientists on the Monitor Staff.
The latest news I've heard is that the bible translation issue has significantly divided the branch churches. And some of these churches have incorporated in their by-laws that they are to use the King James version of the Bible and no other versions.
I think the revenue from leasing their buildings will enable TMC to continue in operation for the short-term, except they won't have any members and therefore any churches. Maybe the group I mentioned initially, CSDirectory.com which is headed by Mark Mohlenbrock, is giving the Mother Church the money and the people to temporarily sustain the organization. My friend recently tried to contact Mark Mohlenbrock, but he hasn't answered his inquiry. Does any body have information about Mark and his CSDirectory.com group?
Steve
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Posted Saturday, April 12, 2008 10:35 AM
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| The Mother Church is sitll a fairly large organization between the church, its administration, the periodicals, etc., and all this requires staff. I have no idea whether the CSDirectory.com people are contributing to TMC; I wouldn't venture a guess since I have no information on the subject. I suspect that TMC is being given a lot of money through wills (much of the membership is elderly) and money made available when branch churches close (I've heard of this but am not sure how much money we're talking about). Both of these sources have a finite lifetime as the membership dwindles and the churches close. Time will tell. I'm going to guess that Christian Science will be around for a long time, although MUCH smaller and with much less influence than in the past.
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Posted Tuesday, April 29, 2008 8:04 PM
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I have long maintained a very cynical prognosis for the death-throes of insitutional CS. I posted the following quie a while back, and the revenue-producing leasing of the properties makes me more certain of my, er, "prophesy." This is what I posted 06/12/05 in the thread, "CS Church Statistics."
When CS implodes, I think it will got like this:
Membership will be decimated by the demographic erosion we have discussed on various threads (low fertility, very little conversion*, very low retention of offspring). Then there will be the substantial defections** of the "true believers," who will spin off into little groups and organizations of "reform CS'ists," but they will be few, fragmented, and inconsequential, although they will feel very righteous about themselves.
Then there will be a few thousand who will stay on with TMC. This is where it gets interesting. Bear in mind, Frogs, that all these branch churches that are/will be shutting down are very valuable properties, which revert to TMC when they go. And TMC will be sure to get top dollar for them, too. There will be financial assets galore with TMC while it withers away.
Follow the money!
Look for all sorts of "Metaphysical Education Trust" and "Scientists' Spirituality Institute" and "MBE Memorial Trust" and foundations and all sorts of exotic financial entities and instruments to be formed. The BOT will set up all sorts of organizations, and they will each take over various chairmanships and presidencies and executor positions at phenomenal salaries. They will consult to each other and be on each others boards, and the CS'ists who are close to them will get lucrative managerial and administrative positions.
A lot of lackies will pick up crumbs (secondary administrative jobs, etc.) And quite a few, dazed and without ecclesiastical moorings, will just go off into the wilderness, perhaps joining up with the scatted tribes of MBE purists.
All this will be done to scripts loaded with euphemisms and spiritual principles, not to mention the impotent shrieks of the MBE purists. Rumor will be the Greek chorus.
*tmcl nothwithstanding
And the beat goes on...
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Posted Wednesday, May 21, 2008 11:25 PM
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| Thanks folks, I need to read this stuff, tough as it is on my sentimental side. It would be interesting to have a list of the various C.S. Churches that have already sold and at what price. I might be naive but I thought they would have been a bit desperate and perhaps sell them cheap just to get out from under them. I was told that they sold the Denver church over 10 years ago and the group that bought it wasn't a wealthy group. It is sad in so many ways, because these old C.S. women followers were just raised to believe and not to doubt Mrs Eddy. They probably tried very hard to heal their emotional and mental pains using C.S. and in my view they never even really had a life. How sad. I have treated them in C.S. nursing homes and it is pathetic. All they had,in my view anyway, was the sweet precious sentimentality of it and hope. I remember my first visit to the Mother Church, I was 19, on my own, running away from my mentally ill C.S.family. Touring the Mother Church made me proud and made me weep. Sigh. The Mecca of CS dreamers. Most of us were innocent. But we left when the contradictions gnawed at us. Now the churches are being sold, portions of the Mother Church are being leased. No matter how sick I feel regarding C.S. and the horror it has caused in my family life, and families across the globe (my siblings' children were so badly neglected and abused, and are horribly torn apart to this day). It still is sad to me that the Church that we held so dear will soon be no more. It's like a death of your dearest dream and hope. Dreams die hard. I hope they turn it into a genuine healing center or Department of Peace or something like that..... Just saying....
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Posted Thursday, May 22, 2008 6:23 AM
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Menderfire9,
I might be naive but I thought they would have been a bit desperate and perhaps sell them cheap just to get out from under them.
I was always under the impression that most of the old time CS churches were fully paid for years ago leaving only maintenance as a facility expense. In the recesses of my mind, I seem to recall that full funding was required to build CS churches. Many were built with funds donated by wealthy individuals.
For example, my old church was part of the city plan. The developer donated the land and original building. I've heard rumors, however, that due to shrinking numbers they have retreated into the original edifice rather than use the larger, newer building. They may have sold that building by now to raise operational funding.
Like you, I take no delight in seeing the churches close. For whatever I've come to understand CS to be, I have many happy memories and a sense of heritage about it. I'd especially hate to see the Mother Church and Extension used for inappropriate purposes.
Though an admittedly naive concept, I've prayed that TMC would come to renounce apostasy in the manner that the Worldwide Church of God did after the passing of Herbert Armstrong. I suppose that if I believed that were in God's plan that I would be back at the CS church working to make that happen. Maybe there is a megachurch in the Boston area in need of a place to meet.
Do Go Be Man
<><
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Posted Thursday, May 22, 2008 2:23 PM
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| Menderfire9, with sentiments echoed by Do-Go-Be-Man, remarked I need to read this stuff, tough as it is on my sentimental side, regarding the decline and demise of branch churches. My memories are neither fond nor bitter, so I take a cerebral tact: anything which augurs or hastens the demise of institutional CS is fine by me. I do feel a tragic pity for "the old CS women" and all others, who have been deluded by this evil heresy. It's imperative to stay focused on the most important issue of all: the eternal destinies of those we deeply love--and many, many others!-- is in the balance here. Will they be left to in irredeemable pain and anguish, or will they be lead to a Paradise of happiness and perfection that surpasses human understanding?
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