Christian Science Edifice
Eureka Springs, AR
Painting by Julie Kahn Valentine
In our small, tourist town, we have many wonderful things. One of my favorites is called Heart of Many Ways. It’s a non-profit group which provides a place for spiritual groups to meet. These groups are too small to have an edifice of their own, and they have meetings and events in a beautiful, historic building which previously was a Christian Science church. Built in 1914, it is Italian in style on the outside and Arts and Crafts inside. Shortly after the isolation of the pandemic began, this non-profit began asking performers to play for a noontime meditation. I was asked to play organ for them once a month, and happily agreed to do so. After one day’s performance, a man told me why he had enjoyed the hour. He said when he was in a regular church, the words got in the way. He repeatedly placed his hands on his heart and looked up to the beautiful 20-foot ceiling, illustrating his words while he told me how he had been uplifted by the hour of classical music. My heart soared with his as he told me of his traditional religious training and how it had never brought about the feelings he had experienced on that day. His joy was mine. Namaste…
“Only the healed mind can experience revelation with lasting effect, because revelation is an experience of pure joy.”
A Course in Miracles T-5.I.1:3-4
“I love you when you bow in your mosque, kneel in your temple, pray in your church. For you and I are sons of one religion, and it is the spirit.”
Khalil Gibran - The Prophet
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