Published by the Christian Science Nursing Network, Inc. |
Vision Now!
A newsletter by and for Christian Science Nurses February 2012 - Volume 19 Issue 1 |
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Tina Billhorn
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Jobea Lindley
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Workshop: Walking Over the Wave of Sudden Needs
by Tina Bilhorn and Jobea Lindley
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The workshop began with singing! -- Hymn #58 from the The Christian Science Hymnal.
We then shared citations from the Bible and Mrs. Eddy's writings that support a calm, uplifted, healing response to sudden needs:
Psalm 91
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
Isaiah 41:10
Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
Psalms 46:1
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Psalms 46:10
Be still, and know that I am God:
Matthew 14:29-31
And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
Acts of the Apostles 20:7-12
And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight. And there were many lights in the upper chamber, where they were gathered together. And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead. And Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said, Trouble not yourselves; for his life is in him. And they brought the young man alive, and were not a little comforted.
Matthew 25:1-13
Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
The Writings of Mary Baker Eddy
The starting-point of divine Science is that God, Spirit, is All-in-all, and that there is no other might nor Mind, - that God is Love, and therefore He is divine Principle.
(Science & Health with Key to the Scriptures p. 275:6)
Christian scientific practice begins with Christ's keynote of harmony,
"Be not afraid!" (S&H p. 410:30)
Accidents are unknown to God, or immortal Mind, and we must leave the mortal basis of belief and unite with the one Mind, in order to change the notion of chance to the proper sense of God's unerring direction and thus bring out harmony. (S & H p. 424:5)
Under divine Providence there can be no accidents, since there is no room for imperfection in perfection. (S&H p. 424:10)
Divinity is always ready. Semper paratus is Truth's motto. (S&H p. 458:15)
OIL. Consecration; charity; gentleness; prayer; heavenly inspiration. (S&H p. 592:24-26)
ANGELS. God's thoughts passing to man; spiritual intuitions, pure and perfect; the inspiration of goodness, purity, and immortality, counteracting all evil, sensuality, and mortality. (S&H
p. 581:4-7)
The healing power is Truth and Love, and these do not fail in the greatest emergencies.(Miscellaneous Writings 1883-1896 p. 5:14)
The divine Principle which governs the universe, including man, if demonstrated, is sufficient for all emergencies. (Mis. p. 41:28)
No evidence before the material senses can close my eyes to the scientific proof that God, good, is supreme.(Mis. p. 277:23)
...rest assured you can never lack God's outstretched arm so long as you are in His service. (Message for 1901 p. 1:5)
O gentle presence, peace and joy and power;...(Hymn #207, The Christian Science Hymnal)
Shepherd, show me how to go...(Hymn #304, The Christian Science Hymnal)
Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need. (S&H p. 494:10)
Attendees were then invited to share from the preparatory assignment they were given when they signed up for the workshop:
Think of a time in your own experience when you were called upon to respond to a sudden need: (This experience doesn't necessarily have to be one in which you were involved specifically as a Christian Science nurse.)
What was the need? (Briefly)
How did you know how to respond?
What did you do to meet the needs presented? (Briefly)
What did this experience teach you?
We then explored some questions together that helped us agree on a working definition for a "sudden need":
- Is a sudden need situation different than any other Christian Science nursing situation?
- Is the role of the Christian Science nurse different in a sudden need situation than in other situations?
- What is the role of the Christian Science nurse?
- To bear witness to the healing presence of the Christ
- To be an expression of ministering Love, an expression of God's mothering qualities
- To be a guardian of thought
- To acknowledge that God cares for man
- To support a fellow Church member's radical reliance on God for healing
- To "keep your violin in tune..."/lamps trimmed and filled with oil
- One working definition of a sudden need: "A sudden need is an unexpected situation requiring a prayerful and immediate response for practical wisdom and proper care."
We agreed that there is purity and strength in coming to a situation with complete humility, acknowledging that we need divine Mind's guidance, having that as our starting point rather than human reason, first aid techniques, etc.
We observed that we may be on more solid spiritual ground in a sudden need situation than in other Christian Science nursing situations, if we let go of preconceived notions, opinions based on past experience, etc. in a sudden need situation.
We acknowledged the importance of staying within our theology in our responses.
- Emergency-Emerge and see!
- By-law for the Christian Science nurse found in Article VIII, section 31 of The Manual of The Mother Church by Mary Baker Eddy which states in the first paragraph:
"A member of The Mother Church who represents himself or herself as a Christian Science nurse shall be one who has a demonstrable knowledge of Christian Science practice, who thoroughly understands the practical wisdom necessary in a sick room, and who can take proper care of the sick."
- In each and every Christian Science nursing situation, it is the Manual By-law that is being called upon.
- With the Manual By-law as our starting point and guide, basic principles are established for our approach to any Christian Science nursing situation.
A member of The Mother Church..."
Mrs. Eddy's definition of Church from the "Glossary" of Science and Health provides further guidance:
CHURCH. The structure of Truth and Love; whatever rests upon and proceeds from divine Principle.
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. (S&H p. 583)
As members of this Church, Christian Science nurses practice within the theology of Christian Science. We are guided by and obedient to each aspect of "Church" included in this definition.
"... one who represents himself or herself as a Christian Science nurse..."
- Some definitions of "represent": to stand for, to show by action, to be an example of
- This portion of the By-law may be seen as prompting us to be alert to keeping the words "Christian Science" firmly attached to the front side of the word "nurse", and for our thoughts, words, and actions to be consistent with the role of the Christian Science nurse.
- We are not brought to a sudden need situation to represent human theories, societal beliefs and fears, first-aid practices, etc. We are there to support another individual's complete trust in and reliance on the healing activity of the Christ - the divine laws of Life, Truth, and Love that are present and powerful in every situation, at every moment. We may need to be alert to a temptation to think that our primary role is to put into practice bandaging techniques and other skills we have learned. Those may be helpful at some point, but primarily - we are supporting radical reliance on God for healing.
"...has a demonstrable knowledge of Christian Science practice..." - This requirement again places us firmly on the Rock of Christ, Truth and confirms that we are active Scientific healers.
- It requires us to approach each situation from a spiritual, metaphysical standpoint and to remain steadfast in this approach. As mentioned above, it acknowledges that Christian Science nurses are consistently and unwaveringly dedicated to the practice of Christian Science.
"...who throughly understands the practical wisdom necessary in the sickroom..."
- Practical wisdom effectively takes into account the whole picture, Listneing for and beign obedient to divine Mind's direction, we will know what we need to know and do what needs to be don in each situation and at any given moment.
"..who can take proper care of the sick."
- If we start with Church, we're sure to end with proper care. The structure of the By-law, the order of the elements, are worthy of our attention in its application. Practical wisdom and proper care flow out from the prior requirements: being a member of The Mother Church, representing oneself, and a demonstrable knowledge of Christian Science practice.
- "Proper" care ensures that we don't slip into "secular" care-giving, fraught with fear, worry, concern, diagnosis according to physical-sense testimony, etc.
- Proper care ideas mea a need rather than react to a false belief.
"The cards of such persons may be inserted in The Christian Science Journal."
- As we all know, Mrs Eddy designed The Christian Science Journal "... to bear aloft the standard of genuine Christian Science." (Retrospection and Introspection p. 53). Those who have met the By-law requirement and advertise in the Journal are making themselves available to publicly represent the Manual By-law.
- But certainly Christian Science nurses who may not be advertising in the Journal have the tools they need to meet a sudden need situation, should they find themselves involved in one.
The Christian Science Nurse Scope of Services from The Mother Church was included in the workshop hand-out. It is intended to clarify for patients and other interested persons what they may expect when engaging the services of a Christian Science nurse. Since it articulates what is and is not included in the role of the Christian Science nurse, it is important that we are aware of what it says and, in any situation, remain within its guidelines. We reviewed it together in the context of sudden needs. (The Christian Science Nurse Scope of Services is available on the Web at: http://members.christianscience.com/healing/christian-science-nurse/by-law/.)
In any sudden need situation, we respond according to the principles on which the theology of Christian Science is based.
- Why we do something is key to contributing to healing - our reasons are based on the principles - comfort, cleanliness, dignity, normalcy, allaying fear, relying on God, etc. If we cover a wound, support a limb, etc., it would be because that action on our part is coming out from divine Love's direction and is in support of one of these basic principles
- Practical wisdom and proper care ideas will unfold from these principles, whatever the situation - as will healing: "Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need."
- It is divine Love that meets the need and fosters healing, not human knowledge. "Knowledge" isn't particularly useful to us. The Glossary definition of "knowledge" is:
Evidence obtained from the five corporeal senses; mortality; beliefs and opinions; human theories, doctrines, hypotheses; that which is not divine and is the origin of sin, sickness, and death; the opposite of spiritual Truth and understanding. (S&H p. 590)
The theology of Christian Science includes obedience to the laws of the land. As Mrs. Eddy states,
Christian Scientists abide by the laws of God and the laws of the land; and, following the command of the Master, they go into all the world, preaching the gospel and healing the sick. (The First Church of Christ Scientist and Miscellany p. 128)
In sudden need situations, this includes the requirement that for those under 18 years of age, the decision about turning to Christian Science must be supported by a parent or guardian.
The workshop participants then divided into smaller groups and each group took a different scenario (from the hand-out) and identified what the role of the Christian Science nurse was and was not in that scenario. The scenarios were based on testimonies from the
- Christian Science Sentinel June 29, 2009 "Child quickly healed of burn"
- Christian Science Journal Nov. 2000 "Bleeding quickly stopped"
- Christian Science Journal Aug. 2009,"Crushed hand restored"
- Christian Science Sentinel March 26, 2001,"No need to go to the emergency room"
- Christian Science Sentinel March 26, 2001, "A healing that left no scar"
- Christian Science Sentinel April 9, 2001, "Help in an emergency"
- Christian Science Sentinel Feb. 4, 2004, "Persistent prayer for healing"
- Christian Science Journal November, 2003, "Immediate help in emergency"
Then each group shared their thoughts about the role of the Christian Science nurse in their scenario. We then shared the full testimonies so everyone could see how their scenario actually played out, and the complete healing that had taken place.
It was interesting to note that even in the situations where a Christian Science nurse was not involved, the role of the Christian Science nurse was clearly represented.
To conclude the workshop, we read as a benediction the poem "
Our First Aid"
by Peter J. Henniker Heaton ( Christian Science Sentinel, v. 53 #23 - June 9, 1951)
OUR FIRST AID
God is our first and surest aid.
To Him in sudden need we turn
and from His instant answer learn
that God preserves what God has made.
No lawless accident we fear,
no sharp reverse of fate or chance.
Beneath His ordered governance
only new forward steps appear.
Smoothly each detail of our day,
inspired by Him, is brought to pass.
We see the oceans turned to glass,
the mountains to a level way.
Clad in the spotless seamless dress
of good acknowledged everywhere,
we live and move. Nor wound nor tear
can breach our inviolate holiness.
Framed as idea in Mind, our frame
can neither loss nor damage know.
Though fitful shadows come and go,
our eternal substance is the same.
The perfect Love and law that made
man perfect must maintain him too.
In all we set our hands to do
God is our first and instant aid.
"Our First Aid" by Peter J. Henniker Heaton © 1951 The Christian Science Publishing Society.
Reprinted with permission from the June 9, 1951 edition of the Christian Science Sentinel.
Tina serves as the Director of the Tenacre School of Christian Science Nursing School in Princeton, NJ. Jobea is a private duty Christian Science nurse from North Carolina. She loves to travel and works as a contract CSN as well.
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All Rights Reserved, Christian Science Nursing Network, Inc., Copyright 2012
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