Who We Are

interactive -- participatory

781-222-0026

pin number 345

Informal Groups of Christian Scientists have a unique niche in the Christian Science movement.

Our Informal Group has been meeting for seven years in Mesa, Arizona.

Our name is "The Christian Science Outreach Group" (CSOG). Our unique vision is to bless the entire world with interactive Christian Science Services and Meetings. Our Home-Church offers interactive services and meetings offer spiritual answers that are based on the Bible and Science and Health with Key To The Scriptures

Holding services in the home of one of our members, our overhead costs are low and the informal atmosphere allows our protocol to be flexible. Our members and visitors quickly establish friendly relationships with one another.

We follow the order of Services standard for Christian Science Churches. Our governance is distinctly democratic, and our membership is by a commitment to live as best one can by the Tenets of The Mother Church. While our membership comes from different walks of life, and each of us are at different levels of human and spiritual maturity, our common commitment to the Tenets give us a common spiritual path to follow.

To provide the opportunity for deep spiritual growth, we voluntarily rotate our readers weekly. There is nothing like preparing a Sunday service and a Wednesday lesson to feel the spiritual animus of the Bible and Science and Health. Listening to each other read is cohesive. It builds fellowship. The creativity of each reader maintains a freshness to our services. The readings are also effective, partly because they come from people we know. We are all in the same spiritual boat.

The vitality and energy of the group is strong within and is demonstrated outwardly by our world-wide outreach. We have given away nearly 500 copies of Science and Health with Key To The Scriptures to those that have agreed to read at least the first chapter of the book. We support international and local Christian Science lectures. Our members have sung with a religious choral group before 30,000 baseball fans, and we support Christian Science radio broadcasting programs in our area and on American Indian Reservations.

Perhaps our vision is best seen in our Tele-Church. Anyone wishing to call a telephone number available on our Web site CSTeleChurch.com can hear a Christian Science Sunday service or a Wednesday evening testimony meeting. Even more, the caller can also participate as a reader and testify and comment on the ideas presented from the Bible and Science and Health With Key to The Scriptures.

Callers have called our Tele-Church from all over the U.S.A. and from Europe.

The first set of callers are those that treasure the interactive nature of our Church services and meetings by asking questions and commenting on the spiritual nature of the readings from the Bible and Science and Health With Key To The Scriptures.

The second set of callers are businessmen/women who are away from home and staying in hotels, individuals on vacation trips, or individuals that simply must travel too far to reasonably attend church. Even mothers with children in a park may call in using their cell phone.

The third set of callers are individuals in nursing homes or those that are home-bound.

When my mother was in her latter years, she could not leave the house easily. But Church was VERY important to her. It was one of the legs of the three legged stool of her life, God, family, and Church. So I began to conduct services at home as well as reading as first reader at a local Christian Science branch church. The Home-Church made my mother’s life full. It was sometimes only we two, but others too would join in, including my son, Ryan. Regardless of the number, however, the sense of unity through the readings and sharing of testimonies filled her heart with love, especially singing the hymns. Church was very important to my mother.

Expanding on that Home-Church experience, the CSOG’s Tele-Church is now a Home-Church to anyone with a telephone – it is a gift of love that may be one leg of a three legged stool for someone else’s life – spiritual unity through outreach.

The members of the CSOG revel in the ideas shared by callers from different parts of the country and world. The flavor of the Tele-Church callers is accented by the caller’s active and immediate environment, business, home, and their unique cultural slant on life. As each share his/her spiritual insights, we spider the Spirit within our Group – "The Tele-Church is a web of Soul."

The vitality, the heart and soul, of our Christian Science Outreach Group comes from being inclusive, not exclusive. The spiritual animus, unfettered, is unbounded and energizing. It is exceedingly easy to bring a visitor into a Home-Church environment.

Anyone can form an Informal Group of Christian Scientist. There is no need for a dedicated building. The only need is the desire to worship God in the fellowship of others of like thought. Our CSTeleChurch.com web site has information regarding our experience that we are happy to share.

Church is a vital part of every Christian Science Outreach Group member’s life. We revel in Mrs. Eddy’s vision that is ours as well: "The Church is that institution, which affords proof of its utility and is found elevating the race, rousing the dormant understanding from material beliefs to the apprehension of spiritual ideas and the demonstration of divine Science, thereby casting out devils, or error, and healing the sick."

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The formation of a Christian Science Informal Group is a joy, spiritually, and humanly.

The Christian Science Outreach Group has been holding services and meetings in accordance with the Manual of The Mother Church since 2001. Our services and meetings follow the Order of Services in the Manual, but have, of course, a less formal structure due to our size and needs.

We began with four members. Since then many other individuals have joined our Christian Science Outreach Group. One of our members has subsequently joined The Mother Church. One member has become a Christian Science Journal listed practitioner. Another was published in the December 8th Christian Science Sentinel. Yet another member, whose son and daughter are also members, shared, "I have grown spiritually more in the last seven months of CSOG membership than I have in the last many years of my life." Several members who had left the Christian Science movement have rejoined, becoming members of our CSOG. All members have experienced an accelerated spiritual growth.

Clearly, our human progress has followed our divine growth. Two members have purchased new homes; four have had significant professional promotions. Healings are copious. Every Wednesday everyone has a testimony.

Throughout the world, there are numerous Christian Informal Groups forming and serving the Christian Science movement. In our case, we have felt motivated by two statements.

The first is from the Bible: "And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles." The second is from Mrs. Eddy, our Leader. "What our churches need is that devout, unselfed quality of thought which spiritualizes the congregation."

Our prime directive is the spiritual growth of our members. To that end, we are inspired to heal and learn.

We have been asked hundreds of times why we formed our Group. Here is a synopsis of our path. Each Informal Group will demonstrate its own path, but to answer the question, the following is offered.

Here is a list of our expectations: (Many are identical with Branch Church expectations, and some are different, which is natural.)

Individual spiritual growth based on the study of the Bible and Science and Health with Key To The Scriptures.

Hold regular and organized services and meetings.

Strong interaction with others of like thought.

Governance without the traditional Executive Board.

Committees only by volunteerism.

Membership requirements inclusive, not exclusive.

Services and meetings may be as long as the congregation decides.

Outreach to the community to be spontaneous and rapid.

No bricks and mortar.

If collections are less than $5,000.00 a year on the average for three years, any group may declare itself to be an IRS 501 C3 charitable organization. Donations are tax deductible.

Readers may read for any period of time. They do not have to serve for a year or three, or even a month. Readers are not required to be members of The Mother Church.

Youths may attend church services and meetings and participate as fully as adults, even serve as Readers.

Refreshments may be served.

By-laws to be simple.

Music can be as desired. The First Reader may choose all the music.

Services and meetings to be congregant friendly.

The following represent the present Christian Science Outreach Group of Arizona's operation.

Governance:

No executive board. Democratic simple majority vote of members present. One week's notice on business meetings.

Committees:
No committees. If someone has an idea, he moves for its acceptance. If accepted, he is the Chairman. If others volunteer, that is the committee. If not, that person does "whatever" alone. If money is desired, a motion is made and vote taken.

Membership:
Members are those that commit in writing to abide by the Six Tenets of The Mother Church to the best of their ability. Nothing else is required. No questions are asked. Two members must sign the application. Upon the second signature, the person is a member.

Times:
We meet twice a week, once on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. and once on Sunday at 10:00 a.m. The meetings and services last as long as those present desire. Our shortest time has been one hour, longest two and a half. The duration is up to the group and the First Reader.

Spiritual Growth:
The prime directive of our CSOG is the spiritual growth of the members. While this is an individual responsibility, our CSOG avoids any activity that impedes the divine path of its members. There is a "No blame." policy. Everyone does their best. That is all that is required.

Outreach:
We support the CSDirectory.com Web site that provides networking for all C.S. activities. We conduct book store distributions of S&H. We have given away more than 500 copies. We have supported regional Library Conferences where S&Hs, Sentinels, and Monitors are offered. We have supported regional Hispanic Conferences where Spanish S&H, Sentinels, and Monitors are offered. We have supported the distribution of Spanish Heralds and English Sentinels in our Hispanic community. Our goal is to give 20 periodicals per month to be distributed by the "We Are One" C.S. organization. We support the annual Voices of Faith presentation.

We offer a Church Thanksgiving dinner for C.S. and non-C.S. We have co-sponsored a C.S. lecture. We sponsor any Mother Church activity offered for our community. We provide a  C.S. practitioner for our community. We warmly invite non-C.S. to our services and meetings. Some become members. Some of those become Mother Church members. Our members were asked to be a part of the September 11, 2001choir that sang before 30,000 people.

No Bricks:
We have held our meetings and services at the same home since 2001. The average travel distance, excluding our host, is about 50 miles for each person. The home offers a friendly atmosphere. If one visits the church meeting place where Mrs. Eddy first conducted her services, we look like that. We face each other during the services and meetings, which provides for active interaction. There are no maintenance people, ushers, etc.

Collections:
We do not take a Sunday collection. Even so, we are a 501 C3 charitable organization thus all donations are tax deductible.

Readers:
All Readers are volunteers. Each week, someone volunteers to read for a Sunday and Wednesday. Readers are anyone, even non-members, who wish to conduct a service. Readers need not be members of The Mother Church. Our teenage members conduct services and meetings. All of our members and some regularly attending non-members have been Readers. Some of the greatest spiritual growth comes about as a result of preparing for Wednesday meetings and Sunday services.

Sunday School:
Students may attend a Sunday School or our services. All students, to date, have wished to attend our services and meetings. During our services and meetings, we allow "on topic" questions and responses to questions to the lesson and/or readings. These interchanges offer very significant spiritual growth to all who attend. It has been said that we discuss issues that are never discussed openly by C.S. in any other environment. S&H and the Bible are our references.

Refreshments:
We frequently have refreshments. A warm drink or cold drink before our meetings and perhaps a dessert after our meetings is provided. We, as it were, "wash the feet of our members and guests" to honor their presence.

By-laws:
Our by-laws are one page and are mostly organizational in nature. Few operational matters are discussed. While membership is defined, discipline is not.

Business Meetings:
One weeks notice is required. All communications are by e-mail or in person. Because there is no Executive Board or Committees, and because all matters are dealt with democratically, regular meetings at the end of services are frequent. Our response time to requests for help or to join in an activity that blesses our community with the Christ is no more than three days.

Music:
We use Mother Church CDs (No longer available by the Publishing Society.) to accompany our singing. When the CDs do not have a hymn, we recite the hymn as poetry or sing a cappella. Any visitor or member who can play an instrument for accompaniment is encouraged to do so.

Progress:
The human advancement of members, new homes, being Journal listed, advanced professional positions, physical healings, physical protection, domestic tranquility, overcoming addictions, caring for hospitalized friends, purchasing new cars, better sports performance, are daily occurrences. Members have authored articles to local newspapers and C.S. periodicals.

Reading Room.

We maintain a Reading Room.

Services Congregant Friendly:

Each service and meeting is conducted in a manner that a non-Christian Scientist knows when to sing, pray, read, testify, stand, and sit. There are no mystery protocols to our services or meetings.

Our CSOG is focused on its members' spiritual growth. This growth is the natural outcome of our meetings and services. The result of our spiritual growth thrust us into the spiritual healing practice in our personal life, our domestic lives, our professions, our community, and the world.

We have found that spiritual growth is not the most important aspect of our CSOG; it is the only thing.
Our CSOG is an organized path to spiritual growth.

Leo Crocker Rogers
Representative of The Christian Science Outreach Group of Arizona

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Bylaws of The Christian Science Outreach Group

Tenets: The Tenets of the Christian Science Outreach Group of Arizona (CSOG) are the Tenets of The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientists, Boston, Massachusetts.

Historical Sketch: Leo Crocker Rogers and Sandra Lee McGeorge resigned from the Mesa Christian Science Church and on March 4, 2001, and along with Ryan McGeorge Rogers, and Michael Stephen Garcia began to hold Sunday services and Wednesday testimony meetings at the home of Mr. Rogers, 1651 W. Lindner Avenue, Mesa, Arizona.

Governance: The CSOG is democratic in its operation. All decisions are made by majority vote of the members present and voting. Any member may call a Church meeting. The member calling the meeting leads the meeting. One week’s written notice must be given all members unless all members agree to wave such notice. Notice by e-mail is official notice.

The Mother Church: The CSOG acknowledges the authority of the Manual of The Mother Church by Mary Baker Eddy as it applies to Informal Groups; and Societies and Branch Churches of The Mother Church.

Branch Churches: The CSOG acknowledges all other Christian Science churches and societies and agrees to maintain toward them an attitude of Christian fellowship.

Officers: Elected officers are: President/Treasurer/Clerk.

Membership: A member is an individual who agrees, to the best of his/her ability, to abide by the Six Tenets of TMC and who has two CSOG members sign his/her application. He/she becomes a member of the CSOG when the Clerk receives the signed application. The applicant must sign and date the application. Upon request, a Member wishing to withdraw from the CSOG will be given a letter of withdrawal.

Discipline: The First Reader is the disciplinarian of CSOG.

Services: The CSOG meets on Sundays and on Wednesdays.

Reading Room: The CSOG maintains a Reading Room.

IRS Status: The CSOG maintains a 501 (c) (3) status.

Upon Dissolution: Upon dissolution, the assets of the CSOG will be given to a nearby Christian Science branch church.

Committee on Publication: The CSOG supports the Arizona Committee On Publication.