On March 8, 1857, women garment workers marched and picketed the streets of New York City demanding shorter work days, more pay, and equal rights for women. Then, in 1908, women in the needle trades took to the streets again, demanding the right to vote and calling for an end to sweatshops and child labor. Years later, March 8 was proclaimed International Women’s Day, and March was designated Women’s History Month--a time to recognize and celebrate outstanding reformers in women’s rights, theology, and social issues.
This month, I celebrate and honor the remarkable women--past and present–who have trodden the path before me, and whose vision and commitment have resulted in positive contributions to the world, benefiting me, my daughters, and all women.
I pay special tribute to one such reformer, inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 1995 and included on Smithsonian’s 100 Most Significant Americans of all Time--one of only three women on that list honored as renowned spiritual and religious leaders. Her name is Mary Baker Eddy, and in the latter half of the 19th Century, she discovered and founded Christian Science, proclaiming everyone’s right to freedom as a child of God--freedom not only from oppressive human laws, but from all suffering, including sin and sickness.
This discovery was born of her lifelong study of the Scriptures, which gave her a deep trust in the Divine and sustained her during very difficult experiences--chronic ill health, the loss of several loved ones, separation from her child, and the desertion of a husband. At a low point she had a terrible accident and was not expected to recover from her injuries. She sent for her Bible, where she read and pondered one of Jesus’ healings and was quickly healed -- much to the amazement of her friends sitting in the parlor awaiting her passing. From that experience and deep research of the Bible for three years following, she wrote about, practiced, and taught the divine Principle and rules of Christian Science healing, based on her understanding of God as Love, realized in Jesus’ teachings.
In subsequent years she lived an active, healthy life, devoting herself to sharing her discovery, healing and teaching others how to heal through Christian prayer. At a time when there was a definite bias against women concerning equal opportunities to higher education, Eddy founded and presided over the Massachusetts Metaphysical College. And when women were not allowed in the pulpit--when St. Paul’s instruction to the Corinthians that women keep silent in the church was taken literally--Eddy lectured to huge audiences of spiritual seekers and served as pastor to The Mother Church, preaching God as both Father and Mother.
She also wrote extensively, publishing 16 books and countless articles. Her primary work, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, has sold over 10 million copies and was voted in 1996 by the National Women’s Book Association as one of 75 books by women whose words have changed the world. Over one hundred years after it was published, the ideas found within its pages still continue to provide inspiration and healing to all who read it.
In 1908, the very year other women were demonstrating for equality, Mary Baker Eddy demonstrated her understanding of God’s equal love for all humanity when she established The Christian Science Monitor, a Pulitzer Prize-winning international daily newspaper, with a mission to “injure no man, but to bless all mankind.” The Monitor is still a highly-regarded publication in print and online today.
Eddy’s love for and unique contribution to mankind may be summed up in this quote from Science and Health: “One infinite God, good, unifies men and nations; constitutes the brotherhood of man; ends wars; fulfils the Scripture, “Love thy neighbor as thyself,” annihilates pagan and Christian idolatry, -- whatever is wrong in social, civil, criminal, political, and religious codes; equalizes the sexes; annuls the curse on man, and leaves nothing that can sin, suffer, be punished or destroyed.”
(Debra Chew writes about the connection between thought, spirituality and wellness from a Christian Science perspective. She has been published in USA Today, chattanoogan.com, Knoxville News Sentinel, UK Health Triangle Magazine, Jackson Sun Health Magazine, and in the Memphis Commercial Appeal. She is the media and legislative liaison for Christian Science in Tennessee.)