What is termed the news (combining the initial letters of north, east, west and south as one member pointed out) seems borne to us on the physical senses, but it doesn't need to remain there. We took on this topic to keep us alert to our Christian Science duty during a week that promised some challenging news events.

After the readings our facilitator asked, "How do we process the news? Do we just suck it up and react with anger, depression and cynicism or perhaps elation and feelings of safety? If so are we practicing Christian Science?"

In grappling with these questions, we first spent some time on how the Christian Science Monitor was founded and what Mrs. Eddy's intentions were. Between March and November of 1908 her thought moved from a simple desire to get away from the usual press sensationalism and hyping of evil to the actual founding of a newspaper which reported all levels of news and symbolized the embrace with which Christian Science was meant to hold the world. (See Mary Baker Eddy, Years of Authority, by Robert Peel pp 308-314). Here was a key for us. We don't have to avoid bad news and endorse good news. Indeed as students of Christian Science it is our duty to confront so called bad and good news with the facts of being — and see through both to Good alone. This line from Science and Health was quoted by a member to indicate how really simple this work is: "The Christianly scientific real is the sensuous unreal." (p. 353:1) It's our choice how we experience anything and anyone — divinely or materially.

It's hard to get away from the news today, what with all the outlets — newspapers, radio, TV, cable and internet — bombarding us all the time. And for the working Scientist such "getting away" could be viewed as dereliction. One member had the thought that even the news glut could be interpreted inspirationally: it's merely the sensuous belief about the scientific fact that our one Mind — yes, the divine Mind, the only Mind that is — is infinitely communicating with Itself. This may look like mortals doing something, but the mortality of the appearance will fade as we see the divine actuality of the events and their reportage.

One member proclaimed that error is a statement of truth (see Science and Health p. 126: 2). He defined error as what appears as evil certainly, but also as what appears as good, so long as the latter is founded on a belief of good and nothing deeper. He then read us some parts of the two pages 96 and 97 in Science and Health (see readings above) which show Mrs. Eddy's handling of how things appear while maintaining a scientific stance as to how things really are. These wonderful pages are a crash course in cutting through the seething jungle of belief to the luminous reality of God-man-universe.

This led us into a somewhat tricky area of how good seems often to emerge from evil. Thus in spite of all the carnage of the World Wars one can only marvel at the governmental changes and advances in the sciences growing from these events. One member referred to the emergence of Jews in western culture after the Holocaust. Others spoke of the journey of African Americans and Gay people out of the prison of bigotry into the light. Was error the cause of these emergences? Hardly. We had to admit that when people see themselves and others as mortals, suffering and science interplay; but the Scientist will hold guard over the process by living the present divinity of all concerned. Sure it's nice to see things moving along favorably, but whether they are or they aren't the Scientist must live the situation as it is, not as it appears (see Science and Health p. 296: 4-13).

Based on the foregoing, we got into questions of how to assess an undesirable attorney general, a wilting economy or a natural disaster. While we might discuss these fairly and intelligently — gathering information and perhaps metaphysical insights — we found a tendency in our conversation to reach out for bits of hope, visions of human good not based on Science. Fortunately we saw through this and noted the need for real scientific vision.

Just as hope does not heal, human will too is a loser. It's natural from a human standpoint to have reactions to a news story and our "druthers" as to its solution. The work in Science however is is to drop such speculations and get the facts clear. For instance, concerning the problems alluded to above we might stand with divine Government, Economy and Earth as the only manifestation. "All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation, for God is All-in all" (Science and Health p. 468: 10-11).

A member talked of some difficult appointments coming up the next day. He found this to be a "news forecast" — and saw the need to get the Science of it clear as of that very moment. It came to him to see himself running forward to meet the events ,just as David ran to meet Goliath. No person involved was a Goliath or a David for that matter — this was just a myth coming forth to break the mesmerism. Then he was free to see how his involvement in the appointments, as a Scientist, could enliven them and bless everyone there. He saw the news coming out of the day as the Gospel: "Good news is the only news," he concluded.

Another member handed out copies of a remarkable experience that a member of the Emergence GayLesBi e-mail system sent to him and others about the Christian Science work underlying a partnering success. Our members will review it to see whether we want to take up some aspects of this healing as our own topic for exploration and healing.

A member related a wonderful healing a friend told him of during the week. The friend, while supervising a construction project, fell and seriously injured himself. He was in such pain and so unable to breathe that he was able to croak only a few words into the phone when he contacted a practitioner. He and the practitioner worked for three days and the healing was complete. The controlling points of the work were that accidents are unknown to God (see Science and Health p. 424:5-9) and that man is a fully divine idea. Since this practitioner is also a Teacher of Christian Science our member's friend may soon undergo Class Instruction with him.

Our topic for next week is Mercy. The member suggesting it feels it is essential to the practice of Christian Science and both the Bible and the writings of Mary Baker Eddy have much to say on the subject. Another member advised us that the Lesson Sermon this week has a number of Bible quotes referring to mercy.