THOSE on the front lines -
​Mary Baker Eddy, practitioners, nurses, churches, Associations, and students


Let’s start with MBE on the frontlines

After the discovery of Christian Science, Mrs Eddy came to realize the magnitude and timelessness of her discovery as it continued to grow. And she continued to refine Science and Health, with over 400 editions, making this book, on average, edited and republished once a month since its discovery. ( Now, remember that 6 or 7 of those changes were significant, while the rest were only minor.)  The movement required keen listening, humility, and demonstration as she adjusted, innovated, commanded and countermanded each step in the establishment of the movement and the founding of the Church.

What was she learning and encountering in her efforts to articulate her discovery and teach it and establish it?  She wrote: “I had learned that thought must be spiritualized, in order to apprehend Spirit. It must become honest, unselfish, and pure, in order to have the least understanding of God in divine Science. ….Our reliance upon material things must be transferred to a perception of and dependence on spiritual things. For Spirit to be supreme in demonstration, it must be supreme in our affections, and we must be clad with divine power. (Retrospection and Introspection, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 28:9)

In the early years of establishing Christian Science, in 1868 - two years after her discovery and remarkable healing  - she wrote Christ, My Refuge – a poem that she revised and republished for almost 40 years - so she had this poem almost as close to her as she did Science and Health!  “After this healing she spent much time studying the Bible and patiently seeking an understanding of the spiritual basis for the healings Christ Jesus accomplished. She had almost no money, no stable home or companionship, and few friends who were sympathetic to her revolutionary discovery of the spiritual laws that undergirded Jesus' healing method. In this context, isn't it natural that Mrs. Eddy's refuge was Christ, as the title of this hymn indicates?

• The concepts in this poem, written as Mrs. Eddy stood on the threshold of her new life-work, plainly indicate her growing conviction of the power of God, which enables any sincere seeker of Christ, Truth, to withstand and overcome the storms of adversity.” (from https://journal.christianscience.com/shared/view/25fwtfuvqqy?s=copylink)
  

Looking at the first edition of that poem and the final - tells a story of how this hymn brought her through many challenging times with the sweet assurance of “a world more bright” (SLIDE 6) 

(August 1868 version juxtaposed with current version)
Over the voice harp of my soul/There sweeps a hand—/Beyond this mortal, weak control, From some soft band
O’er waiting harpstrings of the mind/There sweeps a strain/Low, sad and sweet, whose measures bind/The power of pain,
Of ministries, a white-winged throng/Of thoughts illumed/By God, and breathed in raptured song/By love perfumed.
And wake a white-winged angel throng/Of thoughts, illumed/By faith, and breathed in raptured song,/With love perfumed.
And in this unveiled presence grew/A ladder bright,/Rising to bear me upward to/a world of light.
Then His unveiled, sweet mercies show/Life’s burdens light./I kiss the cross, and wake to know/A world more bright.
Not from this earthly home afar,/But nearer Thee,/Father, to shine a loving star/O’er crystal sea.
Over the waves of error here—/Time’s Galilee,/Aid me to walk, Christ ever near,/To strengthen me.
And o’er earth’s troubled, angry sea/I see Christ walk,/And come to me, and tenderly,/Divinely talk.
And fix my sight on God, the rock/Upon my shore,/’Gainst which the waves and winds may shock,/O nevermore!
Thus Truth engrounds me on the rock,/Upon Life’s shore,/’Gainst which the winds and waves can shock,/Oh, nevermore!
“I am no reed to shake at scorn/Or hate of man;/I am no medium but Truth’s, to warn/The creedish clan.”
AND
’Gainst their oppression and their wrong,/To crucify/The Christ, whose deeds they must prolong/To hold Him nigh.
From tired joy and grief afar,/And nearer Thee,—/Father, where thine own children are,
    I love to be.
My prayer, some daily good to do/To Thine, for Thee;/An offering pure of Love, whereto/God leadeth me.
From “Christ My Refuge.” Lynn Reporter (February 15, 1868); Amesbury Villager (August 20, 1868). 
MBE’s Life – Above the Smoke of ConflictHer life was “too eventful” she writes in her autobiography "Retrospection and Introspection.’” .And saw that  “God had been graciously preparing me during many years for the reception of this final revelation of the absolute divine Principle of scientific mental healing.” (Science and Health, p. 107:3)

SLIDE 7  And Love was ever with her. And as her hymns proclaim, Love and comfort never fail.
Here are excerpts from each hymn proving that

• 1868 “Christ My Refuge” two years after her discovery of CS.(Hymn 253)
  
  • And o’er earth’s troubled, angry sea / I see Christ walk, / And come to me, and tenderly, / Divinely talk.
    

• 1876  “Communion Hymn” written a year after the first edition of SH was published (Hymn 298)
  
  • ... / Love wipes your tears all away, / And will lift the shade of gloom, / And for you make radiant room ...
    
• 1887 “‘Feed My Sheep'”major departure of students in mid-1800s; church dissolved in 1889 in order to rework SH (Hymn 304)
  
  • So, when day grows dark and cold, / Tear or triumph harms, ... / Lead Thy lambkins to the fold / Take them in Thine arms; ...
    
• 1893  “Mother’s Evening Prayer” written just before the landmark 50th edition and church reorganization complete (Hymn 207)
  
  • No snare, no fowler, pestilence or pain; / No night drops down upon the troubled breast, / …. And mother finds her home and heav’nly rest.
    
• 1896  “Love” written two years after the Bible and SH were ordained as the impersonal pastor  (Hymn 30)
  
  • “Let there be light, and there was light.” / What chased the clouds away? …
    
  • Thou to whose power our hope we give, / Free us from human strife. / Fed by Thy love divine we live, / For Love alone is Life; ...
    
• 1898 “Christmas Morn” Church builds outward and to the future with BoL, CSPS, Com Pubs during Spanish American War Sentinel started with theme of Watching (Hymn 24)
  
  • “Truth infinite - so far above all mortal strife, or cruel creed, or earth born taint””
    
• 1900  “Satisfied” Mrs Eddy known world wide; the 1890s saw court cases and rapid growth of the movement( The whole hymn is victorious over every ill imaginable!)
  
  • It matters not what be thy lot, / So Love doth guide; / For storm or shine, pure peace is thine, / Whate’er betide. (Christian Science Hymnal, No.  160)
    

 She lived in a very fertile and creative time filled with shifts in ideals and ideas in religious thought ( a movement to have a direct relation to God), philosophical and spiritual thought (eastern thought, spiritualism, New Thought, transcendentalism and theosophy were on the rise).  More and more, as she was introducing her discovery through her lectures and writing and teaching, she was constantly needing to defend and clarify her discovery.  It wasn’t an easy thing for the public to actually understand what she was all about. Mrs. Eddy simply could not easily be classified, nor could Christian Science.  As she wrote, “Truth cannot be stereotyped; it unfoldeth forever.”  (No 45: 27)
As one of the most well-known women in her time,  many of the prominent movers and shakers of her time knew Mary Baker Eddy and CS. However—she couldn’t be categorized as:

• A transcendentalist, even though she advocated for an individual’s closeness to God
  
• An abolitionist—although she roundly opposed slavery and racism
  
• Nor a suffragist (or a feminist, a term not used at the time)—although she regularly argued for equal rights for women, grounded in the Bible’s spiritual laws
  
• Not a physical scientist; Discovered a system of spiritual law behind Jesus’ works — a repeatable science of healing, grounded in scriptural authority. 
  

How did she defy categorization?
She dove deeper like Jesus, who  “... plunged beneath the material surface of things, and found the spiritual cause. “  (Science and Health, p. 313:24 26)
She discovered and proved through Jesus’ teachings that we are all spiritual, not material. Categorization can limit and not tell the whole story. She discovered a first principle— a wholly original, primitive, not derivative—discovery through Christ’s words and works: that there exists a primal oneness and unity that supersedes all human division and definition.

Her work transcends geography, time, and human history. Her unselfish and unswerving commitment is seen through her words in a 1907 interview with The New York American:
“All my work, all my efforts, all my prayers and tears are for humanity, and the spread of peace and love among mankind.”  And just as Mary Baker Eddy can’t be categorized, neither can Christian Science be pigeonholed into an alternative health care system, a product, or a denomination or a spin-off of another denomination.  It is a discovery of the law of Truth; the law of God, good.    

Some of the sweeping changes of the 19th century helped to prepare her for founding so great a movement.  But not all. Medical and cultural barriers were to be overcome.

An example of this barrier is not often mentioned:  She writes of the need to cast out “fashionable lunacy” in a letter to a branch church.  (My 192: 4)  Fashionable lunacy, around the mid-1800s, was a way to describe mental illness , especially among women who strayed outside the gender norm for women. And straying outside the gender norm definitely describes Mrs. Eddy.  Also described as hysteria, or insanity, there were disproportionate female admission rates into asylums during this period. By evaluating gender discrimination and prejudice, women’s admission typically was not only against their will, but also heavily influenced by a male-dominated society.  This accusation was used against Mrs. Eddy in a well-known case called The Next Friend’s Suit in 1907.  It was filed in New Hampshire by relatives and others claiming she was mentally incompetent to manage her affairs. It involved a larger smear campaign against Mrs. Eddy and became a major public event, with national newspaper coverage.

From Years of Authority, p. 307
Of the two outstanding names in popular American journalism - William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer, it is paradoxical that the more reputable, Joseph Pulitzer, should have launched the major newspaper attack on Mrs. Eddy (though staff members of The Christian Science Monitor would later win Pulitzer prizes for excellence in journalism).  His main argument was to prove Mrs Eddy was mentally ill - insane.
Mary Baker Eddy and her legal team launched a counter-campaign by inviting reporters and psychiatrists to interview her and assess her mental state. This led to widespread reports affirming her sanity and competence. The suit, filed by Eddy's son and other family members, was ultimately unsuccessful. and eventually ruled in her favor. 
Countering restrictive cultural norms, dealing with challenges and overcoming them  was her “smoke of conflict.” She constantly went on the offensive , not on the defensive.   Yet her offensive was love. “Be all love.” She once told a student “That will do the work. It will heal everything; it will raise the dead. Be nothing but love.” (WKMBE Vol.1 p. 297) This love heals instantaneously.  “An especially interesting sidelight of this experience (of the Next Friends’ Suit) was Mrs. Eddy’s healing of a newspaper reporter who had throat cancer and could no longer talk. This reporter, who had come to her, seeking scandal, left completely healed. In his later years, he turned to Christian Science and felt “he owed a debt of gratitude to Mrs. Eddy for his healing . . . . ” (Christian Healer , Amplified, p. 264.)

Love was her motive, her Life’s work, and her protection.  She loved.

(From Christian Healer, Amp. p. 165-171 - Excerpts - direct quote as if reading from the book)
Mrs. Eddy healed the same way she loved God: it was simply in her nature and had been from childhood. Nothing was more important to her than doing God’s will, which she perceived through daily prayer. She was continually urging her students to lean more on God instead of turning to her for advice, sometimes referring them in her letters to Proverbs 3:5, 6: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

But this by no means meant she had stopped caring for them. Quite the contrary, Mrs. Eddy felt toward her pupils as a mother feels for her children. ….The need to love one another dominates Mrs. Eddy’s correspondence during this period.

 A beautiful example of this can be seen in her words to one pupil: SLIDE 8
Oh may this Easter Sunday carry you my prayer . . . “Little children love one another” . . . you must love all. No matter if they persecute you even, you must love all. But you must love especially the brethren. You must meet with them, cheer them, in their labors, point the way of love to them and show them it by loving first, and waiting patiently for them to be in this great step by your side, loving each other and walking together. This is what the world must see before we can convince the world of the truths of Christian Science. (Mary Baker Eddy: Christian Healer| page 166)

In writing to another student about the relationship of divine Love to healing, Mrs. Eddy said:
SLIDE 9
The healing will grow more easy and be more immediate as you realize that God, Good, is all and Good is Love. You must gain Love, and lose the false sense called love. You must feel the Love that never faileth, —that perfect sense of divine power that makes healing no longer power but grace. Then you will have the Love that casts out fear[,] and when fear is gone doubt is gone and your work is done. Why? Because it never was undone. Mary Baker Eddy: Christian Healer| page 167

When Mrs. Eddy reorganized the Boston church in the summer of 1892, she changed it from a local church to what would become an international one. More importantly, she would gradually replace the former congregational government and its member involvement with a church governed by divinely inspired laws.

…her ideal of church government was one supported by the members’ love for one another.

In the March 1892 issue of the Journal, Mrs. Eddy wrote  of church organization in the same terms she used to describe marriage: “If our Church is organized, it is to meet the demand, ‘suffer it to be so now.’ The real Christian compact is love for another. This bond is wholly spiritual and inviolate.”

The prosperity and progress of the organization rests on the love felt and expressed by its members for each other.

A month after  Mrs. Eddy established The First Church of Christ, Scientist in Sept, 1892, she wrote to a student:
. This new form of Church government is a light set upon a hill. Mary Baker Eddy: Christian Healer| page 170

This “light” is produced by the flame of divine Love, the power and grace that exist for the healing of mankind, individually and collectively—the same power and grace that underlay all of Mary Baker Eddy’s healing works.”

• This flame of divine Love perpetuates all of Christian Science.  She refers to ... “legitimate Christian Science, aflame with divine Love” .(Science and Health, p. 367:8 on) 
  
• She declares: “I make strong demands on love, call for active witnesses to prove it, and noble sacrifices and grand achievements as its results. Unless these appear, I cast aside the word as a sham and counterfeit, having no ring of the true metal. Love cannot be a mere abstraction, or goodness without activity and power.”(Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 250:16–21)
  
• Love is impartial and universal in its adaptation and bestowals. It is the open fount which cries, “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters.” (Science and Health, p. 13:2)
  
• The Christian Science God is universal, eternal, divine Love, which changeth not and causeth no evil, disease, nor death. (Science and Health, p. 140:25–27)
  
• Universal Love is the divine way in Christian Science. (Science and Health, p. 266:18 Universal)
  

Love is what we have on the frontlines.

Practitioners and nurses on the frontlines - Love- impelled work
It is easy to see how inspiring the work of the CS nurse is- as they are the ones physically and metaphysically on the front lines of many nursing cases.

Christian Science practitioners are also on this “frontline”—albeit in a very different way. They are holding the line on man’s salvation, offering a refuge from sin, disease, and death through the revolutionary discovery that man is not material, but wholly spiritual.

Christian Science healing can be accompanied by the combined prayerful work of both the practitioner and the Christian Science nurse—each fulfilling a distinct and vital purpose in their expression of Christlike care. A healing example illustrates this partnership when my husband Rick became immobilized - could not even turn his head for the pain - we called a practitioner and he went to a CS nursing family.  Upon entering, he felt a deep sense of love in that atmosphere of healing.  Three days later, he was home, playing soccer with his young sons.
Together, they all bore witness to divine Love’s action. 
In the article “The Michael/Gabriel model” https://journal.christianscience.com/shared/view/16z9kk0wk7a?s=copylink
Author Anna Lisa Kronman writes: “One day a fresh model of this teamwork of Christian Science practitioner and nurse came to mind: Michael and Gabriel. ….. I reasoned that like Michael, the practitioner must be mighty in exercising spiritual strength. He or she actively recognizes man’s inseverable relationship to God and vigorously defends against any other supposed power. And like Gabriel, the Christian Science nurse tends to have the (sometimes) quieter job of expressing an unfaltering sense of God’s tender, ministering love in the daily details of living.
The paragraph continues,  “In this team effort, Michael and Gabriel, angelic messages of Truth and Love, work together to deliver from the depths. This joint action could be thought of as two hands coming together, gently, securely holding man forever safe. I saw these two hands, this dual action of Truth and Love, exemplified in the practical love expressed by a Christian Science practitioner and nurse.
Let’s take a deeper look at the role of the practitioner as seen through the eyes of Michael
From Science and Health: “The Old Testament assigns to the angels, God’s divine messages, different offices. Michael’s characteristic is spiritual strength. He leads the hosts of heaven against the power of sin, Satan, and fights the holy wars.”  Michael is depicted as a powerful, loyal, and essential figure in the fight against evil and the advancement of God's kingdom. His actions demonstrate a deep commitment to God's will and the protection of His people. 
Cher shares some responses to questions about what her daily life is like on the frontlines as a Christian Science practitioner:
Thoughts on the frontline of the practice - Cher
Question: How is your practice? 
Answer: My first thought is 'Well, I'd like more patients, more financial stability, more opportunities to contribute financially with my living situation. Then,  I realize that divine Love is supplying every little and big thing, all my needs are being met in the moment, which is all there really is. That my purpose, joy, and dominion over the so-called pains and pleasures of matter, above the smoke of conflict,  are at this time, practiced and exalted,  NOW. Given, realized and provided by the ever-abundant and glorious and all-intelligent Mind, Love, God.
Praying to know how to glorify God, I go to the rules in the Bible. The 10 commandments.  I start there. Then off to the Sermon on the Mount, to be reminded of all that is given to us by our Mother-Father , our source, creator and causer! I am wrapped up in Loved and Blessed promises of freedom, joy, dominion, peace and happiness, productivity and Peace . I repeat Peace because it is what anchors me in my healing practice. 

Question: How do I overcome fear?
Answer: Pray without ceasing, stand porter at the door of thought, acknowledge Love as supreme above all discord pain and fear. Praise God. Sing a new song .

Question: How can I best spiritualize my thought?
Answer:  When I pray throughout the day, listening for Love, I am learning to be a more honest listener. Sharing the good has become paramount in thought and then in life and deed. Listening for good coming into my experience through the words and encounters of my fellow man has been my goal when out and about. I am seeing God's man. Knowing God's creation. Being a part of Love's design. In Retrospection and Introspection,  p. 93: 13  states"The best type of Christly method for uplifting thought and imparting divine Truth, is stationary power, stillness, and strength: and when this spiritual ideal is made our own, it becomes the model for human action."

The role of the nurse as seen through the eyes of Gabriel
From Science and Health:  Gabriel has the more quiet task of imparting a sense of the ever-presence of ministering Love” (pp. 566–567).
“The Gabriel of His presence has no contests. To infinite, ever-present Love, all is Love, and there is no error, no sin, sickness, nor death.”
In essence, Gabriel serves as a vital link between the heavenly realm and humanity, delivering pivotal messages that are central to the establishment and advancement of the Kingdom of Heaven. 
Thoughts on the frontline with Christian Science nursing - Kynslie
What I love most about my Christian Science nursing practice is the deep sense of spiritual purpose that underlies everything we do. It’s not just about offering physical care, it’s about witnessing and affirming each individual’s spiritual identity as the image and likeness of God. Each case is an opportunity to trust divine Love and to support the patient’s own practice of Christian Science healing. There’s such quiet joy in seeing how even simple acts of care, given with prayerful support and compassion, can encourage, uplift, and comfort.
 Of course, there are fears that arise, uncertainties about the specific needs of a case, or the human sense of limitation in the face of intense need. But I’ve found that these fears diminish as I stay anchored in the understanding that God is the only true presence and power. When I remember that my role is to bear witness to Truth, not to fix something, I feel peace return. Every case becomes a spiritual lesson in humility, listening, and trust.
 
When training new Christian Science nurses, we emphasize spiritualizing thought in every aspect of care. Whether making a bed, preparing a meal, or changing a bandage, we’re not just performing a task, we’re expressing spiritual qualities such as attentiveness, grace, precision, patience, and love. By identifying and practicing these Christlike qualities in every action we take, the atmosphere is lifted and imbued with divine Truth. This kind of thinking blesses both the patient and the Christian Science nurse. It helps the student see that their work is a ministry, and their thought, when rooted in God, is the most important element of care.

Gabriel and Michael are angels – angels that help fortify our practice SLIDE 10

1. ANGELS. God’s thoughts passing to man; spiritual intuitions, pure and perfect; the inspiration of goodness, purity, and immortality, counteracting all evil, sensuality, and mortality.(Science and Health , p. 581:4)
   
2. These inspired and intuitive thoughts play a significant role in the work of the CS practitioner and nurse, contributing greatly to creating and guarding an atmosphere of healing wherever we are.
   

The Healing power of Associations and collective healing

• Associations of authorized teachers are quite a stroke of genius in the design of CHurch.  We are all here with one focus - to be better healers. 
  
• The field work of this Association is collected here to inspire, encourage, and affirm that LOVE is ever active in all walks of life.  We’ve made six years of our reports of healing in streamer-like posters throughout the lobby area.
  
•  It is awe-inspiring to consider that each healing touched at least one other person.  We may never know the ripple effects of each of these healings.
  
• The ongoing influence of ONE healing; even one kind act!  In fact, I can trace my place here back to one kind act of a branch church!  Here’s the story: 
  
  • My grandfather was healed of severe head injuries that made it impossible to work and provide for his five children during the Depression.  His encounter with CS started when, in his suicidal moments of despair, he came across a Sentinel in a literature distribution box at the train station.  Now, months earlier, someone had probably suggested at a church business meeting that the church install a literature distribution box at the local train station.  The members voted to put up a literature distribution box and regularly fill it.  That was what my grandfather saw at the train station, where he went to end his life.  He picked up a Sentinel, read it, and decided to go to the church.  He later met a helpful Church member who visited him and his wife regularly, and shortly thereafter, he was fully healed.  Of his grandchildren, one was a CS nurse, then a practitioner, and one was a practitioner and became a teacher.  I have a one-inch notebook full of healings I collected from my extended family alone. 
    

• Please take some time to read the healings that have come in over 6 years of our Association.
  
  • The full spectrum of the human experience is covered here.
    
  • Try to imagine the trajectory of the influence of each of the healings you read. Each healing “marking out paths for generations unknown.”
    
  • Each healing is part of the leaven of Truth at work.  Each healing is the result of understanding the one Mind, and our collective fieldwork continues to influence thought collectively.  As Mrs Eddy told her March Primary Class - “We, today, in this class-room, are enough to convert the world if we are of one Mind; for then the whole world will feel the influence of this Mind; as when the earth was without form, and Mind spake and form appeared. (Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 279:27)
    
• It may be hard to gauge the impact of our collective work, but this work adds to the leaven of Truth and is constantly working.  And the results go beyond the physical well-being of one individual.  We are also seeing the leavening impact that is taking away the sins of the world ( like hatred, lying, divisions, etc.) and Truth is finetuning our spiritual sense that enables us to detect and then reject evil.
  
• Here is one example from a Journal article of July 2025 “The power and reach of scientific thought.”( See https://journal.christianscience.com/shared/view/ltwbjlmj8i?s=copylink.) His association explored this theme one year ago - an idea shared earlier today:
  
  • “Evil is self-destroyed and so destroys its perpetrator. What is this destruction? It is the loss of selfhood and the loss of the power to do evil and to realize the far-off attainable power of good” (We Knew Mary Baker Eddy, Expanded Edition, Vol. 1, p. 116).
    
  • He writes: I shared all of this in addressing the association of my Christian Science students recently. The following week, one student was led to pray about the fear of shooters coming onto school campuses and harming children. She also shared the topic and some corrective ideas with a fellow church member, and they both felt impelled to embrace their community in these truths. I heard about it and joined in. The next week, the following story appeared in several of their local newspapers.
    
  • The local police department had responded to a call from three teenage girls who said they had received repeated death threats from two suspects. According to the girls, both suspects made threats on social media that they would find the girls at their respective schools and shoot them the following day. The captain of the police department said to reporters, “Fortunately, with timely and critical help from the community, the [police department] was able to interrupt this escalation of threats, get the two people making them into custody, and get their firearms away from them before we had a tragedy in our community.”
    
  • I think we all felt a reverent and humble sense of the power of scientific thought to reflect divine power in the community.
    
  • Our Leader once said: “Healing physical sickness is the smallest part of Christian Science. It is only the bugle-call to thought and action, in the higher range of infinite goodness” (Mary Baker Eddy, Rudimental Divine Science, p. 2).
    
  • How important it is to respond to this bugle-call and let what we have learned in Christian Science impel us to be more active “in the higher range of infinite goodness,” which takes away the sins of the world.
    

Being above the smoke of conflict into light and liberty

II Cor 3: 17 Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty 

Being above the smoke of conflict is our divine right.
Material sense limits us, makes us feel stuck, makes things seem more complicated and time-consuming, tempts us to believe in a deteriorating body, and has blinded us to the beauty and intelligence of God’s creation.

But material sense can only produce suggestions of the above.  Limitations, stuckness, complexities, deterioration, and blindness are not things that can stand alone. Human codes, scholastic theology, material medicine and hygiene ( belief in germs) All are a negation of Spirit and Spirit’s creation—reality
Infinite ideas, beauty, harmony, health, energy, clarity, and vision - these are the evidence of God - created by God, the infinite Mind and Mind’s infinite manifestations - self-perpetuating, eternal, ever new.

Material sense NEEDS someone or something to give it life.  Fear is simply a thought with nowhere to go. It latches onto similar beliefs in hopes of having a life.  As fears find one another, they seem to build momentum.

From Science and Health:

Material sense lifts its voice with the arrogance of reality and says:

I am wholly dishonest, and no man knoweth it. I can cheat, lie, commit adultery, rob, murder, and I elude detection by smooth-tongued villainy. Animal in propensity, deceitful in sentiment, fraudulent in purpose, I mean to make my short span of life one gala day. What a nice thing is sin! How sin succeeds, where the good purpose waits! The world is my kingdom. I am enthroned in the gorgeousness of matter. But a touch, an accident, the law of God, may at any moment annihilate my peace, for all my fancied joys are fatal. (Science and Health, p. 252:16–30)

Yes - those spin-offs of material sense are temporal and quite fragile, dependent on something other than themselves to exist.  They characteristically expire.
But sometimes not before they flare up.  Fear can enlarge the serpent of a lie to a red dragon!  Yet, the nearer a false belief approaches truth - as if it looks like the false belief is the truth- the riper it is for destruction. (See SH 97:13)

Don’t be afraid.  Keep going through that mirage that is full of bluster and ego!  As the sin of the material senses continues to grow, their mistaken premise grows more and more obvious - until the supremacy of God, Spirit dominates all matter, destroying all mortal belief and revealing what has always been undisturbed, perfect, and pure.

The truth of God’s omnipresence stands.  God has built a higher platform of human rights, and He has built it on higher claims.  (SH 226:14).

Spirit opposes the material senses with no apology because Spirit recognizes no thing but itself.  Mortal mind doesn’t even register - because it is not real.

Again from Science and Health:

Spirit says:
I am Spirit. Man, whose senses are spiritual, is my likeness. He reflects the infinite understanding, for I am Infinity. The beauty of holiness, the perfection of being, imperishable glory — all are Mine, for I am God. I give immortality to man, for I am Truth. I include and impart all bliss, for I am Love. I give life, without beginning and without end, for I am Life. I am supreme and give all, for I am Mind. I am the substance of all, because I AM THAT I AM.(Science and Health, p. 252:16–8)

Man is tributary to God, Spirit, and to nothing else. God’s being is infinity, freedom, harmony, and boundless bliss. “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”
(Science and Health, p. 481:2–5)

So for all those standing up - saying
Here I am –as healers, practitioners, nurses, and Class-taught students, church members, remember these”benefits” of your commitment: the good is already at hand.  What we can do as an Association flows into the healing momentum, leavening world thought today.   This is an example of how that happens:
Two speakers at The Mother Church Annual Meeting given years ago shows the healing impact of those on the frontlines then and inspires us today ( See   (See https://sentinel.christianscience.com/shared/view/2nyoxv6upr0?s=copylink.):
“Certainly every Christian Scientist, enlisted for service in this greatest and holiest of causes, thrills at the privilege that is his today and every day. His is the joyous task of proving that the healing Christ is here, and that the light of Truth not only banishes the darkness of disease and sin, but can nullify all the hypnotic suggestions of the carnal mind, which seem to be working such mischief among the sons of men. The battle cry of the Christian Science soldier may well be this glorious declaration from the Revelation of St. John: "Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down." And our beloved Leader says in Science and Health (p. 568,) "Love sends forth her primal and everlasting strain."  
Another speaker said in part:
As followers of our beloved Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, who walked in the light of Christ, and as members of this Church, which is founded on the rock, Christ, we have before us today a duty beyond what we have ever faced.
Today there is a definite call to every member of this Church to consecrate himself anew in thought and deed, that he may mentally and actively do his part in freeing mankind from the tyranny of human will.  

That was in June, 1942.  World War 2 ended three months later on September 2, 1942.