Manual of the Mother Church | Page 3

Officers. SECTION 9. Law constitutes government,
and disobedience to the laws of The Mother Church must ultimate in
annulling its Tenets and By-Laws. Without a proper system of
government and form of action, nations, individuals, and religion are
unprotected; hence the necessity of this By-Law and the warning of

Holy Writ: "That servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not
himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many
stripes."
It is the duty of the Christian Science Board of Directors to watch and
make sure that the officers of this Church perform the functions of their
several offices promptly and well. If an officer fails to fulfil all the
obligations of his office, the Board of Directors shall immediately call a
meeting and notify this officer either to resign his place or to perform
his office faithfully; then failing to do either, said officer shall be
dismissed from this Church, and his dismissal shall be written on the
Church records.
It is the duty of any member of this Church, and especially of one who
has been or who is the First Reader of a church, to inform the Board of
Directors of the failure of the Committee on Publication or of any other
officer in this Church to perform his official duties. A Director shall not
make known the name of the complainant.
If the Christian Science Board of Directors fails to fulfil the
requirements of this By-Law, and a member of this Church or the
Pastor Emeritus shall complain thereof to the Clerk and the complaint
be found valid, the Directors shall resign their office or perform their
functions faithfully. Failing to do thus, the Pastor Emeritus shall
appoint five suitable members of this Church to fill the vacancy. The
salary of the members of the Board of Directors shall be at present two
thousand five hundred dollars each annually.
Article II--READERS OF THE MOTHER CHURCH
Election. SECTION 1. The Readers for The Mother Church shall be a
man and a woman, one to read the BIBLE, and one to read SCIENCE
AND HEALTH WITH KEY TO THE SCRIPTURES.
Eligibility. SECTION 2. The Directors shall select intelligible Readers
who are exemplary Christians and good English scholars. They must be
members of The Mother Church.

Removal. SECTION 3. If a Reader in The Mother Church be found at
any time inadequate or unworthy, he or she shall be removed from
office by a majority vote of the Board of Directors and the consent of
the Pastor Emeritus, and the vacancy supplied.
First Reader's Residence. SECTION 4. Unless Mrs. Eddy requests
otherwise, the First Reader of The Mother Church shall occupy, during
his term of Readership, the house of the Pastor Emeritus, No. 385
Commonwealth Avenue, Boston. The Board of Directors shall pay
from the Church funds the taxes and rent on this property; the Board
shall attend to the insurance before it expires, suitably furnish the house,
and keep the property in good repair, so long as Mrs. Eddy does not
occupy the house herself and the occupants are satisfactory to her.
Article III--DUTIES OF READERS OF THE MOTHER CHURCH
AND OF ITS BRANCH CHURCHES
Moral Obligations. SECTION 1. The Readers of The Mother Church
and of all its branch churches must devote a suitable portion of their
time to preparation for the reading of the Sunday lesson,--a lesson on
which the prosperity of Christian Science largely depends. They must
keep themselves unspotted from the world,--uncontaminated with
evil,--that the mental atmosphere they exhale shall promote health and
holiness, even that spiritual animus so universally needed.
First Readers' Duties. SECTION 2. It shall be the duty of the First
Readers to conduct the principal part of the Sunday services, and the
Wednesday evening meetings.
Suitable Selections. SECTION 3. The First Readers shall read, as a part
of the Wednesday evening services, selections from the SCRIPTURES,
and from SCIENCE AND HEALTH WITH KEY TO THE
SCRIPTURES.
Order of Reading. SECTION 4. The First Readers in the Christian
Science churches shall read the correlative texts in SCIENCE AND
HEALTH WITH KEY TO THE SCRIPTURES; and the Second
Readers shall read the BIBLE texts. The readings from the

SCRIPTURES shall precede the readings from SCIENCE AND
HEALTH. The Readers shall not read from copies or manuscripts, but
from the books.
Naming Book and Author. SECTION 5. The Readers of SCIENCE
AND HEALTH WITH KEY TO THE SCRIPTURES, before
commencing to read from this book, shall distinctly announce the full
title of the book and give the author's name. Such announcement shall
be made but once during the lesson.
Readers in Branch Churches. SECTION 6. These Readers shall be
members of The Mother Church. They shall read understandingly and
be well educated. They shall make no remarks explanatory of the
LESSON-SERMON at