I was saddened to hear that the Christian Science church near my home had its last service last week. Apparently this was due to declining membership. I was able to attend another CS church not far from me, to be honest, now I think I understand why the first church may have not been able to sustain members.
This is not a progressive religion by any means of the word. Being there was almost like going back in time. The service relies solely on readings from the bible and Science and Health. They don't have ministers or preachers, they have what they call "readers". Readers are voted in by other church members and have to commit to three years of reading. They literally stand at the front of church and read the passages. There is no sermon of any kind. They are reading, from what I understand, the exact same thing that was read last year and the year before on this same day.
The church itself was beautiful, more like a chapel than anything else. There werent a lot of people there and not many young people at all. I think this is largely due to there failure to be progressive or offer anything really other that bible and Science and Health readings. I think see how anyone can relate to or embrace this type of church service. I found the whole thing to be terribly, well boring. It was certainly a learning experience though, I am so glad to have experienced a Christian Science service. However, I guess I can safely say I am not a Christian Scientist.
