0:00:10.880,0:00:12.880
Hello, [br]I'm Scott Preller.

0:00:13.520,0:00:17.060
I'm serving this year as chair of the[br]Christian Science Board of Directors.

0:00:18.140,0:00:21.489
With me today is the newest member [br]of the Board, Beth Schaefer.

0:00:22.220,0:00:25.535
We're here in the Reading Room [br]of The Mother Church

0:00:25.535,0:00:28.850
to invite you to come to [br]Annual Meeting this year.

0:00:29.460,0:00:34.369
It'll take place here in Boston [br]on Monday, June 2nd.

0:00:34.970,0:00:39.202
There will be special events leading up [br]to Annual Meeting

0:00:39.220,0:00:46.606
and to find out about those events, you can[br]go to christianscience.com/annualmeeting

0:00:46.606,0:00:51.860
and there will be information posted[br]there as it becomes available.

0:00:51.860,0:00:57.880
The theme we've chosen for this year's [br]gathering is: "As you work, the ages win..."

0:00:59.110,0:01:01.839
We'll talk about the theme in a moment,

0:01:01.840,0:01:04.569
but first I'd like to talk about [br]Annual Meeting itself.

0:01:05.349,0:01:08.349
Beth, I remember last year I ran into you [br]at Annual Meeting,

0:01:08.429,0:01:11.429
and that was before we knew [br]you were going to be on the Board.

0:01:11.950,0:01:15.370
And I'd love to know what your experience [br]of Annual Meeting felt like.

0:01:15.370,0:01:18.053
I mean, why did you want to come [br]all the way from your home in Texas

0:01:18.143,0:01:20.406
to be here in Boston for Annual Meeting?

0:01:20.650,0:01:24.294
Well, first off, I wanted to come because [br]I wanted to support The Mother Church,

0:01:24.295,0:01:27.939
and coming was a tangible way to do that.

0:01:28.510,0:01:33.395
I realize that not everyone has the [br]opportunity to come to Annual Meeting,

0:01:33.425,0:01:36.877
but for those who can come in person, [br]it's a wonderful opportunity

0:01:37.758,0:01:40.840
to join with people across the globe.

0:01:41.320,0:01:46.306
And you feel this sense of [br]instant connection to people

0:01:46.644,0:01:51.820
because you have this one thing[br]in common: Christian Science.

0:01:51.820,0:01:56.229
You feel the hearts burning [br]with what that means to them.

0:01:56.590,0:02:03.730
And also you can just feel that [br]they have experienced the power of the Word.

0:02:04.680,0:02:05.620
It's so interesting.

0:02:05.620,0:02:06.620
It reminds me.

0:02:06.730,0:02:09.190
I remember when I was a teenager [br]and I came to an Annual Meeting,

0:02:09.190,0:02:11.650
and then came again once when I was in college.

0:02:12.100,0:02:13.930
And I loved the meetings.

0:02:13.930,0:02:16.039
I loved the talks. [br]They were inspiring.

0:02:16.150,0:02:20.219
But what I most took away was [br]that sense of connection,

0:02:20.250,0:02:22.409
that sense of feeling the hearts on fire

0:02:22.630,0:02:24.789
with being together with fellow members.

0:02:25.990,0:02:33.384
In fact, now that I've been here while[br]working at The Mother Church,

0:02:33.405,0:02:38.232
and every year when Annual Meeting comes around,

0:02:39.152,0:02:41.345
I just find myself filled with gratitude [br]for Christian Scientists all over the world

0:02:41.346,0:02:43.539
who are endeavoring to demonstrate Christian Science [br]and share it with their communities.

0:02:44.850,0:02:48.896
There are times when I run into people [br]on the weekend of Annual Meeting

0:02:48.896,0:02:52.586
and I'll think, these are the people [br]that are writing the articles I'm reading,

0:02:52.600,0:02:58.085
or I'll think, okay, the same Bible Lesson [br]I'm studying during the week

0:02:58.085,0:02:59.930
and trying to put into practice,

0:02:59.930,0:03:01.880
they're on the other side of the world [br]doing the same thing.

0:03:02.160,0:03:06.354
And you sort of feel the embrace [br]of The Mother Church

0:03:06.354,0:03:08.306
and what we're doing to support each other,

0:03:08.306,0:03:10.419
but also what we're doing [br]as a church to embrace the world.

0:03:10.710,0:03:12.840
And I just find that very moving.

0:03:12.931,0:03:15.000
Yeah. Talk about moving:

0:03:15.000,0:03:18.080
I don't know if you were at the Hymn Sing

0:03:18.080,0:03:21.605
in the Extension of The Mother Church last year,

0:03:21.625,0:03:26.170
but it was awesome to have hundreds of people [br]just singing their hearts out.

0:03:27.810,0:03:29.099
It was very moving.

0:03:31.620,0:03:35.378
I remember, too, after the hymn sing was over, [br]we all went outside

0:03:35.379,0:03:37.258
and there were ice cream stations,[br]and we all had ice cream

0:03:37.318,0:03:39.197
on the lawn of The Mother Church.

0:03:39.870,0:03:42.840
And conversations were going on well into the night.

0:03:43.680,0:03:48.014
I remember talking to one [br]college student from Africa

0:03:48.015,0:03:50.062
and a great grandmother from Canada,

0:03:50.062,0:03:52.349
and we were all just loving being together.

0:03:52.980,0:03:55.604
And I'm sure we're going to have [br]a lot of other conversations

0:03:55.605,0:03:58.229
like that this year as well.

0:03:58.710,0:04:01.824
And let's maybe pivot now and talk about the theme:

0:04:01.824,0:04:04.608
"As you work the ages win...."

0:04:06.300,0:04:10.560
That statement comes from a letter [br]by Mary Baker Eddy.

0:04:10.800,0:04:20.969
It says: "As you work the ages win; for the majesty of Christian Science [br]teaches the majesty of man."

0:04:22.380,0:04:29.209
This whole letter that Mrs. Eddy wrote [br]to a church in Atlanta, Georgia,

0:04:29.209,0:04:35.328
has a lot to tell us about our efforts at church.

0:04:36.120,0:04:40.559
We realize that many members are working really hard

0:04:40.560,0:04:42.779
and in fact often feel like there aren't enough workers

0:04:42.780,0:04:44.999
to do everything that needs to be done.

0:04:45.810,0:04:50.160
But that's actually why this theme is so important this year,

0:04:50.160,0:04:53.310
because it gives us an opportunity to think about not just

0:04:53.310,0:04:55.195
how much effort we're putting into the work,

0:04:55.195,0:04:58.010
but what approach are we taking?

0:04:58.860,0:05:03.580
Imagine for a moment that we're birds

0:05:03.580,0:05:07.450
and we're at the base of a mountain and[br]we're told to get to the top of the [br]mountain,

0:05:07.450,0:05:09.545
but we're told we're told to get to the top of the [br]mountain,

0:05:09.615,0:05:10.830
that you can only get there by hopping.

0:05:10.830,0:05:14.249
That would indeed feel pretty discouraging [br]and hard to do.

0:05:15.230,0:05:18.920
But if we're told get there by being yourselves, [br]by flying,

0:05:19.980,0:05:20.530
we'd love it.

0:05:20.530,0:05:22.865
In fact, even the wind blowing at us [br]would help lift us higher

0:05:22.865,0:05:25.200
and we'd enjoy the views all along the way.

0:05:25.950,0:05:29.460
And that's the approach we need to be taking [br]as Christian Scientists

0:05:29.570,0:05:33.080
when we think about our practice of Christian Science [br]and [how] our church work together.

0:05:33.900,0:05:37.110
The discovery of Christian Science shows us [br]that we're meant to soar.

0:05:37.530,0:05:39.899
We're not meant to trudge [br]through various challenges.

0:05:40.440,0:05:46.570
Yes. And the second part of our theme [br]is just as important.

0:05:47.520,0:05:51.645
Mrs. Eddy clearly had high expectations

0:05:51.645,0:05:55.770
for the impact of our work as Christian Scientists.

0:05:56.700,0:06:00.489
We all may be tempted from time to time [br]to feel like:

0:06:00.490,0:06:04.149
What difference does my work make?

0:06:04.770,0:06:09.119
Yet, Mrs. Eddy was convinced that as we work

0:06:09.120,0:06:13.469
from the standpoint of Christian Science, [br]the ages win.

0:06:14.820,0:06:19.061
We get a hint of what she was talking about,

0:06:19.062,0:06:21.182
when we think about the nature of the work that goes on

0:06:21.183,0:06:23.303
in Christian Science Reading Rooms.

0:06:23.910,0:06:28.560
Jesus said: "My father worked hitherto, and I work."

0:06:29.130,0:06:33.135
And being in the Reading Room makes you realize [br]that Christian Scientists

0:06:33.135,0:06:37.140
are endeavoring to follow that same example.

0:06:37.680,0:06:42.660
There's so much here to work with, to inspire us.

0:06:42.900,0:06:49.649
There are articles and testimonies by ordinary people

0:06:49.650,0:06:53.024
whose lives have been healed and transformed

0:06:53.025,0:06:56.399
by the Bible's message of God's law

0:06:56.670,0:07:01.004
that's been opened[br]up to them through the study of

0:07:01.005,0:07:05.339
<i>Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,</i> by Mary Baker Eddy.

0:07:05.820,0:07:13.170
And this year marks the 150th year [br]of the publication of that work.

0:07:14.380,0:07:17.152
It is remarkable to pause and think about

0:07:17.152,0:07:19.924
all that's been accomplished in those 150 years.

0:07:20.560,0:07:22.570
How many lives have been made whole.

0:07:23.730,0:07:27.497
How much has been learned of the actuality of God

0:07:27.497,0:07:31.432
and of our ability to demonstrate the Christ in our lives

0:07:31.446,0:07:33.931
through the study of <i>Science and Health</i>.

0:07:34.670,0:07:39.236
We think it'd be wonderful, in fact, for each of us

0:07:39.236,0:07:41.253
to spend some time thinking about the impact that our own study

0:07:41.253,0:07:43.270
of <i>Science and Health</i> has made in our lives.

0:07:43.490,0:07:47.412
And to send an account in to the Clerk of The Mother Church [br]for Annual Meeting.

0:07:48.560,0:07:51.355
When we gather those together in some [br]form, I think we're going to realize why

0:07:51.355,0:07:54.707
the work we're doing in Christian Science

0:07:54.708,0:07:57.804
makes such a difference in our lives today

0:07:57.804,0:08:02.490
and why that work will make such an impact on the ages to come.

0:08:02.820,0:08:06.335
Whether you're able to be here in person with us

0:08:06.335,0:08:10.300
or whether you're joining us online for Annual Meeting.

0:08:10.320,0:08:13.110
We look so forward to being together on June 2nd.

0:08:14.310,0:08:15.310
See you then!