Church Activities Department
The Church Activities Department at The Mother Church is a resource for your branch church or society. Recently, Branch Church Activities, Reading Room Activities, and TMC Youth joined forces to create this integrated department. It is designed as a full spectrum of support for church and all of its activities—from services and testimony meetings to Sunday Schools and Reading Rooms,—and it reflects the unity of the whole church membership in carrying out these activities together.
We also support Christian Science Organizations on university and college campuses, organize youth-focused events called Summits, and manage a summer internship program in Boston for college students.
For technical help with remote or hybrid services please call 617-450-2417. For all other questions call 617-450-3468 or email us at tmcbranch@csps.com.
If you're looking to attend a Christian Science church service find a church near you.
Reading Room
In this area, you'll find tools and resources to help you advance the healing mission of your branch church and Reading Room.
Sunday School
Are you a Sunday School student, teacher, superintendent or parent? Check out these resources to support a richer Sunday School experience.
Resources for hybrid services and activities
You'll find resources for offering hybrid (both in-person and remote) church services, Sunday School classes, and Reading Room activities.
Prison and institutional work
Christian Science branch churches around the world support prison and institutional work through volunteer chaplain programs.
About informal groups
Find a church, society or informal group
Resources for Readers
Here are some inspirational and practical ideas from the Bible, Mary Baker Eddy’s writings, and from historical documents and the Christian Science periodicals.
Receive a curated selection of inspirational articles and resources focused on Church-related topics.
Church of Healers
This interactive discussion explores how members can move forward with a focus on their collective healing ministry. Topics include: What is our mission and how can we fulfill that mission? How is our prayer for church leading us to an inspired course of action? How can we identify and effectively address whatever would try to impede the natural progress of our branch?”
Sharing Christian Science with Others
This workshop is designed to help people feel more comfortable navigating conversations about Christian Science with others. It is also focused on helping people become more courageous in sharing healing ideas.
Reading Room
This workshop helps librarians and members focus on the Reading Room as a healing place for the community and bring a fresh perspective to this intrinsic part of “a church designed to reinstate primitive Christianity”. (Manual, p. 17)
Strengthening Sunday School
This workshop is primarily for Sunday School teachers and Superintendents to consider together what makes a strong and effective Sunday School. This naturally flows into a conversation about Sunday School being a resource for the community and how the entire membership can support this activity.
Engaging Youth in Church
This workshop for the entire church community covers strengthening Sunday School, seeing it as a community resource, bridging the gap between Sunday School and church, and encouraging youth participation in church.
If you would like to request a workshop please email TMCbranch@christianscience.com
Forming a Christian Science society
To advertise in The Christian Science Journal as a society, members need to meet the following requirements:
A solid record of healing in the community,
A minimum of eight local, active members to support the activities advertised,
Weekly public Sunday church services,
Readers (as well as substitutes) who are members of The Mother Church,
An attitude of Christian fellowship towards all other Christian Science branches advertising in The Christian Science Journal and The Herald of Christian Science (Church Manual, Article XXIII, Sect. 12).
Societies are also welcome to include in their activities Wednesday testimony meetings, lectures, Sunday School activities, Reading Rooms, etc.
To request an application for advertising in the Journal as a society, email tmcbranch@csps.com.
Becoming a branch Church of Christ, Scientist
The requirements for organizing a branch church are set forth in the Church Manual, Article XXIII, Sections 6 and 7.
In order to begin advertising in The Christian Science Journal, a branch Church, of Christ, Scientist, needs to meet the following requirements:
Weekly public Sunday services, as well as Wednesday meetings (Church Manual, Article XIV, Sect. 2, and Article III, Sect. 2),
A membership with at least 16 loyal Christian Scientists, of which at least four are members of The Mother Church and one is an active Journal-advertised practitioner (Church Manual, Article XXIII, Sect. 7),
Readers and substitute Readers who are members of The Mother Church (Church Manual, Article III, Sect. 6),
A Sunday School, a Christian Science Reading Room, and at least one Christian Science lecture per year (Church Manual, Article XX, Article XXI, and XXXII, Sect. 4),
An attitude of Christian fellowship towards all other Christian Science branches advertising in The Christian Science Journal and The Herald of Christian Science (Church Manual, Article XXIII, Sect. 12).
To request an application for advertising in the Journal as a branch church, email tmcbranch@csps.com.
The Church Manual provides that “two small churches” may “consolidate under one church government” (Church Manual, Article XXIII, Sect. 6).
This process generally involves majority votes of both memberships and negotiations—often through meetings of the two church boards—to discuss and consider options resulting in resolutions that are then brought to the respective memberships.
A consolidation usually involves the following:
Two religious non-profit organizations cease to exist and a new one comes into being.
Assets from each church become the assets of the new entity.
The members of each body automatically become the members of the new church.
Sometimes both Boards operate together until the united membership holds new elections.
By-laws are written and voted upon and members decide upon the name of the new church.
The name of the new church can be the same as one of the churches consolidating, or a new name may be chosen by the members that reflects the identity and location of the community to be served.
State laws sometimes require the dissolution of any existing religious corporate charters of the former churches and the obtaining of a new one for the new church. It is wise to work with a lawyer to assist with the details of this process, since dissolution/merger laws vary from state to state.
When consolidating, it is necessary for each branch to fill out an application form for their new Journal advertisement. To get applications, please email tmcbranch@csps.com.
The following documents replace the tax guidelines sent to branches in 2007 and partly updated online in 2009. Click the links below to download them as PDF’s.
These documents may require Adobe Acrobat Reader for viewing. Download the free version of Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Tax determination letters from the US Treasury Department (IRS)
The documents below may be useful in proving the tax-exempt status of your church or society in situations such as proving tax deductibility of charitable contributions to your church, and obtaining branch church exemption from sales tax in your state, where such exemption is available.
Providing copies of these letters (plus a photocopy of the page in The Christian Science Journal where your branch is advertised) to persons requiring proof of your tax-exempt status will satisfy inquiries in almost all cases.
Letter from the Social Security Administration
A letter to The Mother Church from the Social Security Administration describes the tax status of Readers (see INFORMATION FOR READERS).
Questions?
Please contact:
Office of the General Counsel
617-450-3323 or 1-800-288-7155 ext. 3323
legalinfo@csps.com