Students from the Christian Science Sunday School in Canberra share ways they have resolved physical problems through prayer:
Lessons on the Netball Court
I play netball for a local team. During a recent game I was playing down at the defense end. At one point in the game I caught the ball. The opposition player was also running for the ball and she didn’t stop in time. She fell hard into my knee which twisted inwards. It really hurt. However, I kept going because I knew if I went off, we wouldn’t have a replacement for me. I was in quite a bit of pain so I held to the truth, that I had learned in Sunday School, that I was spiritual and therefore couldn’t be hurt. I relaxed when I held to this idea. Quickly the pain left and I played the rest of the game without any problems. This shows how instant God’s love is.
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Stomach Ache Gone
Last weekend I had to play in a soccer game. Part way through the game I got a really bad stomach ache. In Sunday School I’ve learned to watch my thinking, so I thought to myself that there is no such thing as pain because God is by my side forever and always and He made me perfect. So, I just kept playing. The pain went away straight away and I played really well.
After the soccer game I went to my friend’s house and then the pain started again. I thought of reasons why I might have a pain but I knew God didn’t make pain so there was no reason for it. I sat quietly and prayed again. That was the end of the pain.
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Praying for My Baby Sister
I am only 3 years old, so my mum and aunty are helping me to write my story.
I have been Skyping into Sunday School for a few weeks now. My teacher has been teaching me that God is Love and that God always keeps us safe. She is also teaching me some fun songs like the Circle of Love. My favourite game is the one where we say, ‘No’ to bad thoughts and ‘Yes’ to good thoughts. I use this at home now when I am tempted to be naughty.
The other day I was in the car with my little sister and my mum. My sister started to cry really loudly. She had a sore tummy and she wanted Mummy, but Mummy was driving so I leaned over and held her hand. I told her that she was safe because God loved her. My Sunday School teacher taught me that God loves everyone and keeps them safe. Straight away she stopped crying and was happy.
Now I use what my teacher is teaching me whenever my sister is crying. Sometimes I skip around her singing the Circle of Love song and sometimes I hold her hand and sing the Meghan song that my teacher taught me. It goes like this:
Hello Meghan, Hello Meghan
Who are you? Who are you?
You are God’s reflection
Showing His perfection.
God loves you, God loves you.
When I do these things she always stops crying. This is how I know that God loves us. I love learning about God in Sunday School.
This is a letter from a remote member of our Canberra church community. All services and testimony meetings are available via phone for those who cannot attend in person. Sunday School classes are also available via Skype for all age groups.
I’d like to say a heartfelt thank you to the Christian Science church in Canberra for their Sunday School. I grew up with Christian Science, attending Sunday School for most of my childhood. It taught me the power and omnipotence of God. Sunday School taught me the basics: how to pray; how to be brave; how to be grateful. It also taught me the reliability of God’s love, where no matter the situation we are always protected, we are always loved and we are always cared for. I have had countless healings from these fundamental truths and I want my children to be bought up with healing, and with God being a normal part of life.
We live in a small town in Tasmania where there is no Christian Science Church or Sunday School. When my eldest daughter was three I started praying about this as I wanted her to go to Sunday School but wasn’t sure if I should teach her or if there were other options. I spoke to my aunt, who is a member of the Christian Science Church in Canberra, about this, and she came up with the perfect solution … Skype Sunday School.
The teacher on the pre-school class is the blessing we sought. She is a confident, loving teacher who pitches stories at the girls (my 2yro is also now a weekly attendee) in an age appropriate, enthusiastic way. She mixes Bible stories and songs that maintain their attention all the way from Tasmania! I have never had a Sunday morning where either of them has not willingly ‘gone to Sunday School’. We Skype from their bedroom, which they tidy up every Sunday morning so their teacher will be proud of them. The girls’ favourite song from Sunday School has always been The Silly Man and the Wise Man song. They sing it so often at daycare that the other children can now sing it too.
The girls’ teacher has been teaching the girls how to pray: have no fear, God loves me, be grateful for all your blessings, (and their favourite part) jump for joy! And she’s been demonstrating this through wonderful Bible stories and analogies. The constant reinforcement of God’s love is cutting through some of the fairly scary messages they are bombarded with from the news and other children. Colds and general childcare diseases rarely touch our household (or the daycare for that matter) and when occasionally the ideas present, they are met with prayer and chant of, ‘Error, error go away’. And it does. This was beautifully highlighted last year with the bush fires that were raging around NSW. My mum, dad and sister live near Nowra and had a very large blaze running straight at them. My sister had ash falling on her house and Mum and Dad who live at the top of a beautiful but heavily forested mountain were packing up ready to evacuate. I spoke to the girls and asked them to pray for Nanna and Grampy. Neither of the girls was scared (and they both know what fire is like as their Dad is on a forestry brigade), both took the job of praying very seriously and the older girl told me in unequivocal terms, ‘There’s no spot where God is not’. We kept in contact with Nanna and Auntie K for most of the evening, but within 30 mins of us all starting to pray the fire quietened down and the danger passed. The girls don’t think of this as anything miraculous or wonderful it was just what they expected. This is what the world needs … prayer to be normal, prayers to be answered and to be unimpressed by challenges whatever form they take.
I cannot thank Canberra church enough for the effort they put into my girls. It is standing them on firm ground and teaching them lessons that will influence and guide them for the rest of their lives. As parents our job is to give the world useful, compassionate little people that will bless the space around them. One of the best ways to do this is to send our children to Sunday School. Thank you for the logistical support and for the smiles every Sunday. Thank you for teaching them the good stuff and putting up with the wriggles. The girls love going to Sunday School.
For students, it’s about discovering how spirituality is relevant in your life—how it fits into every day and shows up in everything you love to do. It’s an environment where you feel totally supported. You can ask the hardest questions with your peers and teacher as you work out how to apply spiritual truths to your own experiences. It’s an opportunity to look together for meaningful answers to the stuff that comes up in your lives. And it’s open to anyone under age 20.
For parents, it’s about giving your child a solid moral foundation—a spiritual framework that will help them face questions about who they are, their value, and their purpose. It’s an environment where each student is welcomed with love, respected, and encouraged to discover their relationship to God.
For teachers, it’s where the love of Christian Science – the love of thinking and living spiritually – extends to embrace the youth in our community. It’s diving deep into the timeless lessons of the Bible. It’s exploring together the spiritual laws that apply to any situation. And it’s nurturing the innate healer in everyone.
What’s taught in Sunday School?
Each Sunday School class is designed to meet the students’ needs. Students are taught in small discussion groups with others of similar age and ability. The lessons in all classes are based on the Bible. Mary Baker Eddy’s book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures is used to help students explore the deeper meanings of the Bible. Instruction is based around the Ten Commandments and the teachings of Jesus.
Central to the teachings of Christian Science is the understanding that God is Love. God is seen in every act of kindness, of loyalty, of generosity, of compassion. Hence, Christian Science is a religion of tolerance. Acceptance of the individual differences that enrich our communities is central to the understanding of God who is unconditional Love.
Christian Science also teaches that God is Principle. Valuing Principle means that qualities such as order, punctuality, lawfulness, honesty, discipline are encouraged in students.
Gradually students will also come to know God as infinite Mind, as Spirit, Soul, Truth and Life. They will discover that living the qualities associated these terms enriches their lives and brings harmony, satisfaction and improved health. These are the qualities that make life work. Armed with them, our children are better equipped to cope with the many challenges that will face them in this modern world.
The Christian Science Sunday School in Canberra is always ready to welcome new students. It is located with the church on the corner of Macquarie and Bligh Streets in Barton. To contact the Sunday School superintendent, please ring 02 6273 1715. We would love to welcome you.
One Saturday morning I was standing in the foyer of a young peoples’ theatre. Students were gathering for their weekly drama lesson. A teacher who had been away the previous several lessons arrived. I watched as one by one children sidled over to her.
“I did my piano exam,” one told her.
“I’ve auditioned for an arts program.”
“I lost my tooth.”
Their teacher embraced each with a comment, or smile, or hug – an affirmation of value. Children know when teachers or coaches care for them and they shine under this attention. Apart from the instruction in drama, football, or swimming, this is also of real value.
As kids become adolescents they enjoy finding people that care for them enough to verbally spar with them, let them exercise their wit, reason and questioning of the world. They want teachers, coaches, friends and neighbours to care enough not to always agree with them as they develop their own unique identities. Finding a variety of situations where this can safely happen can be a challenge.
In the Christian Science Sunday School time is given for the fostering of caring respectful relationships. Grouped around similar ages up to 20, a teacher or facilitator typically stays for two to three years. Relevant ideas from unique thinkers in the Bible and the book, Science and Health with Key to the Scripturesby Mary Baker Eddy, prompt discussion.
Along with a pre-teen group, I was part of an exploration of an idea from this book: ‘The divine Mind maintains all identities, from a blade of grass to a star, as distinct and eternal.’ There were no right or wrong answers. It included a discovery of our spiritual identity, our pets and the local water-ways!
This group grew in confidence at school and in extra-curricular activities. They uncovered something about their spiritual identity. As part of the group I learned about soccer umpiring, teenage movies, pokemon and mine-craft. Our regular one-hour a week together was a cheerful win-win all round!
In Canberra the Christian Science Sunday School operates every Sunday 10.00 – 11.00 am. It is located at the corner of Macquarie and Bligh Street in Barton. Visitors and new pupils up to the age of 20 are warmly welcomed. Instruction in classes is based on the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes and the Lord’s Prayer.
For students, it’s about discovering how spirituality is relevant in your life—how it fits into every day and shows up in everything you love to do. It’s an environment where you feel totally supported. You can ask the hardest questions with your peers and teacher as you work out how to apply spiritual truths to your own experiences. It’s an opportunity to look together for meaningful answers to the stuff that comes up in your lives. And it’s open to anyone under age 20.
Christian Science Canberra 