A newcomer to Christian Science attended our meeting and we devoted some time to unveiling its basic ideas to him. It was a stretch for all of us, as he coped with new concepts and we struggled to avoid jargon and make the ideas practical.

We decided to get into our topic as perhaps the best way to show how Christian Science is brought into action on human beliefs.

One member noted that history is a record of the constant devolution of power from the few to the many. Today equality seems everyone's goal, if not his or her actuality. This mirrors the availability of the Truth that Heaven and perfect earth, God and perfect man are fully present. Our member saw the increasing consciousness of this fact as bringing out a fully integrated sense of oneness and harmony. For those who know Science, perfection is a role, not a goal.

This point was illustrated beautifully by Rep. Tammy Baldwin (Dem. WI) at the Millennium March on Washington, April 30th. She said in substance, "If you dream of the day you can put your partner's photo on your desk at work, then do it today. If you dream of the day you can reach out and hold your lover's hand in public, then just do it today." Backed up by the absolute knowing of Science, such action and much more should be quite feasible — and also wonderfully meaningful.

Safety, dignity and civil rights are increasingly available to LGBT communities in the US and other Western Democracies. Much depends on the simple act of coming out to one's family and friends. The Millennium March focused however on the legislative requirements to bring our rights into alignment with those enjoyed by non LGBT people. Here is a brief summary of what's needed; then some of the work done by members in prayer during the week.

1) We need the rights to have our partnerships recognized as the equivalent of marriage; to have and adopt children; to be employed, including in the military; to public accommodation, including the Boy Scouts; to health care.

2) We must have whatever it takes—hate crime legislation, court rulings, appropriate Gay-Straight alliances, etc. — to secure safety for our people, whether young and at school. or elderly in retirement situations or people of color dealing with overwhelming odds.

3) Internationally, we need legislation permitting immigration of LGBT spouses and refugees fleeing persecution. Also, much more bite in dealing with murderous regimes.

Our work in Science seemed to follow two lines:

1) It is essential to "correct the past", as one member put it based on something he heard on the latest Christian Science Sentinel radio program. Jesus said, "Forgive them, for they know not what they do." Our member upgraded this to, "We don't care what mortal mind knows of its doings; the important thing is what divine Mind knows and does. It carries no memory of abuse and therefore no need for current suffering. The innocence of all concerned is the fact of divine Mind, our only Mind."

2) We must observe the Golden Rule to do unto others as we would have them do unto us. One member asked, "Am I seeing the divinity of others, no matter how good or bad they may appear?" He included good because he feels that human good is often a trap, keeping us locked into the human belief level more firmly than dysfunction, which normally gets us working right away.

One member based his treatment on this statement in Science and Health: "The real man cannot depart from holiness, nor can God, by whom man is evolved, engender the capacity or freedom to sin" (p. 475:28-31 The).

Of course sin in modern language is duality and no one, Gay or non-Gay, can base their thoughts or actions on any notion of man as less than infinite and eternal.

A member found some helpful concepts in the work of Melanie Klein, the Hungarian psychologist who worked for years in London. She felt that people in general — and particularly those in traumatic situations — avoid feelings of depression (in turn based on the fear or actuality of losing love) by resort to defenses like triumph or contempt. He just watched his thought during the week with this in mind and was quite amazed how often he'd reach for triumphal or contemptuous thoughts and feelings to block out any consideration of loss of love. He decided to let himself sink into the sadness still haunting him over some actual losses of love and the fears pent up in fantasies of additional possible losses. Then came the Science — he sank through the sadness and fear level to where Love alone rules and is all. This was very healing, for being at one with divine Love is the place from which to launch all human activity, including relationship as well as work on equality.

The subject of the internet as a promoter of equality came up. Whatever the regimes in Iran, Iraq, Syria, China — even right wing churches — may wish to impose on their people, evolving infinity, as shown by all communications means, will disrupt the establishment. A member told us of a new Christian Science society in California which has rethought the whole format of the services and meetings to gain relevancy in its community.

Finally, we were treated to a history lesson about the summer night in 415 BC when all the erect phalluses on the statues of Hermes in Athens — thousands of them — were hacked off, just as a military expedition was being prepared to invade Sicily. A very bad omen; and the hacking and ensuing Sicilian disaster marked the turning of Athens from its rapacious imperial path to quieter mental pursuits. Apparently it was the oppressed women of the city who did the deed. We wondered who would rein in the current worship of testosterone, which made an appearance on the cover of Time magazine this week? Surely the work in Science of seeing and being the male-female of God's creating is urgently required.

We ended with a member remarking that equality may be the booby prize — what we want to bring out is uniqueness. Most in the room saw no conflict, but as time was late we decided to take up Uniqueness for next week.