Practicing spiritual care responsibly
Last Friday, The Washington Post ran a guest column called Practicing Spiritual Care Responsibly in response to comments on Christian Science by Herb Silverman of the Secular Coalition for America. The column addresses the importance of caring for children well. Here’s the piece.
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Myth busters!
Recently, Bob Clark met with a reporter from The Florida Times-Union in order to provide accurate information about Christian Science. Bob, who lives in Florida, and does media relations work for the church, discusses why this work is helpful.
Russ Gerber | Posted: March 2, 2010 | 4:01 pmWhy pay for prayer?
In an interview for a recent story, Victoria Colliver at the San Francisco Chronicle asked Eric Nelson (who does media relations work in California for the church) why he would pay for prayer. Isn’t prayer free? See his answer above.
Russ Gerber | Posted: February 23, 2010 | 4:37 pmIs Christian Science the same as Scientology?
Many people think Christian Science and Scientology are the same thing. They’re not! The two aren’t related in any way. Check out the video for an illustration -
Russ Gerber | Posted: February 19, 2010 | 6:03 pmColumnist Tom Elias surprised that church members free to choose type of care
Being interviewed by a journalist is not everyone’s cup of tea. Friends tell me they’re much happier that someone else does that. Still, most journalists practice their craft fairly and honestly, they ask intelligent questions, and they value a process that can be instructive as well as constructive.
When the Christian Science Church Directors sat around a table with California-based syndicated columnist and author Tom Elias, the Directors not only gained an insight into some of the difficult issues Californians are struggling with today, but Elias gleaned a lot more about the Church than he’d known before. It was a two-way learning experience. read
Russ Gerber | Posted: February 3, 2010 | 2:48 pmA place for spiritual care in health care
Reporter Katharine Seelye of the The New York Times recently wrote an article titled, “To a Divisive Debate, Now Add Religion“. During the interview, she asked me if I think spirituality is related to health. I shared with her how deeply connected spirituality and health are in my experience, and in that of many others. Here are some more people who want to share their own accounts of spiritual healing in Christian Science.
Russ Gerber | Posted: December 22, 2009 | 6:23 pmHealthy Thanks to Christian Science
On Dec. 4, 2009, The Boston Globe published a letter to the editor titled “Healthy Thanks to Christian Science (Feds Take Note).” We thought it was a clear message that should be captured on video. See what you think.
webmedley | Posted: December 18, 2009 | 1:38 pm“On Faith” column
Please see my guest column in the The Washington Post’s On Faith section: Pluralism includes spiritual health care
Pay for what?
Conversation starters are tools of the trade in media relations work. In talking with a reporter the other day I saw how quickly just three words near the start of our conversation—pay for prayer—had the opposite effect. He couldn’t see why someone would do that—he’s not alone!—and we weren’t going to talk about anything else until that oddity was explained.
The reason this came up was because he’d seen a story in the Los Angeles Times about this Church’s efforts to have spiritual care included as a qualified expense in whatever health care reform legislation makes it into law. read
Russ Gerber | Posted: November 24, 2009 | 4:49 pmThinking long-term
Paul Tash is confidently playing the long game.
As the Editor, Chairman and CEO of a newspaper—the St. Petersburg Times—this may come as a surprise to some people. Newspapers have been talking a lot more about survival these days than about longevity. But not Tash. read
Russ Gerber | Posted: November 19, 2009 | 12:01 pm
