Your Questions and Answers
from The Christian Science Journal
I sometimes hear people talk about Christian Science nurses who care for a wide range of physical needs. But Christian Science treatment through prayer is purely spiritual. It seems somewhat contradictory to admit that there’s a physical need to be met while you’re trying to heal on a purely spiritual basis. If a Christian Science practitioner is already giving specific treatment, why would someone also call a Christian Science nurse?
It is true that the practitioner prays from the basis that God, or Spirit, is all. However, at our present stage of understanding, humanity has only a limited concept of Spirit’s allness, so we still need to physically care for the body, and to do so in a gentle and humane way.
The kind of care a Christian Science nurse offers is intended to help the individual carry out normal daily activities without conflicting with the individual’s desire to rely on prayer for healing. A Christian Science nurse does not administer drugs or have any specialized medical knowledge, but has the practical skills to care for basic needs, such as dressing a wound, assisting someone in bathing, or showing one how to use a walking aid.
A Christian Science nurse prays for spiritual discernment and wisdom in order to respond to each situation in the most helpful way—always taking into account the patient’s concerns and desires, and encouraging independence without pushing the patient to do what they are not ready for.
Because Christian Science explains all experience as essentially mental in nature, it is important that the mental environment surrounding the patient be supportive of healing. It is the role of the practitioner to give Christian Science treatment, and the Christian Science nurse does not interfere with that. The Christian Science nurse does, however, have an important contribution to make to the mental environment by keeping his or her own thought spiritually uplifted (see Science and Health, p. 424), and expressing such qualities as good cheer, orderliness, punctuality, and patience (Science and Health, p. 395).
Jesus’ example of spiritually inspired care included not only many healings of physical illness and disability. He also helped meet other human needs, such as when he fed the multitudes (see Mark 8:1–9) and when, at the cross, he gave his mother into the care of one of his disciples (see John 19:25–27). Mary Baker Eddy wrote, “The divinity of the Christ was made manifest in the humanity of Jesus” (Science and Health, p. 25). One of the most humbling lessons I grew to appreciate during the years I worked as a Christian Science nurse, and continue to learn now as a Christian Science practitioner, is that the meeting of every human need is integral to spiritual growth.
Jenny Lobl | Surbiton, Greater London, England
I have had many quick healings as a Christian Scientist. But I have also had situations that required diligent prayer for a period of time before healing came. Sometimes, even though I worked closely with a Christian Science practitioner who prayed with me and for me, I was grateful for help meeting basic needs I was not able to meet on my own—such as having a meal prepared or having some assistance with personal care. Even more, I appreciated having someone with me to sing hymns, to read the Christian Science Bible Lesson, to encourage and support me when I was disheartened.
While many Christian Scientists have been blessed with the support of family and close friends, not everyone has such support. Sometimes the situation can require skills and experience that family members, however caring, do not have. And this is where a Christian Science nurse can be especially helpful. It is ideal to be cared for by someone who shares a love and understanding of Christian Science—not just from the basis of being able to meet a physical need with skill and confidence, but from the perspective of spiritual refreshment, with the expectation of complete healing.
This aspect of caring for others is completely consistent with the teachings of Christian Science. In her Church Manual, Mary Baker Eddy provided a means for members to embrace this practical aspect of caring for others. She stated these expectations in the Manual’s By-Law for Christian Science nurses (see p. 49). She also expected all of her students to be healers, to be practical in their application of Christian Science, and stated this expectation in the same By-Law, noting that the Christian Science nurse should have a “demonstrable knowledge of Christian Science practice ….”
When an individual engages the services of both a Christian Science practitioner and a Christian Science nurse, the practitioner specifically addresses the patient’s thought through prayer, while the Christian Science nurse works to maintain an environment free of fear and concern so the patient can focus attention on prayer and study, rather than on dealing with physical needs.
Andrew Love | Princeton, New Jersey, US
While prayer in Christian Science does teach looking away from the material condition to the facts of spiritual existence, it is also a deeply compassionate healing system and doesn’t ignore the need to take care of the body. As a Christian Science practitioner, I’ve found that Christian Science nurses can be a great help on a case by enabling patients to stop focusing on how to take care of their physical condition and to stick to their desire to hold their thoughts to God’s perfect creation.
For example, in one case a woman’s eyes suddenly became infected so that she couldn’t see. A Christian Science nurse came to her home and helped the woman remove her contact lenses, and then gently cleansed and bandaged her eyes. While the Christian Science nurse did these things, she also quietly declared the truth about the woman’s pure spiritual identity, and this calmed the woman’s fear. The next day, when another Christian Science nurse removed the bandages, the woman’s eyes were clear.
The presence of a Christian Science nurse also reassures family and friends that the person is getting practical care while he or she is receiving spiritual treatment. If the patient is having trouble eating, for instance, the Christian Science nurse can prepare foods that would be more appealing and easier to eat. None of this distracts from the prayers that are helping to change the basis of thought from matter to Spirit. Rather, unobtrusive nursing care helps because it gets rid of fear.
I worked as a Christian Science nurse before I was a practitioner, and I found that a Christian Science nurse’s work is not only physically active, but spiritually demanding. It requires discipline to defend oneself from the constant suggestion that material conditions are real and must be “fixed.” As much as the practitioner or patient, Christian Science nurses commit to holding thought to the fact that God’s creation has never fallen out of perfection, and that the lie of “brokenness” must yield to the truth of health and harmony.