Here’s an image of the Church of Christ Scientist. This is based on a 1976 story of the Countryside Christ Church acquiring it on February 4, 1970. It was at Main and Jenkins.
AI has this history of the denomination:
The Church of Christ, Scientist, was founded in 1879 in Boston by Mary Baker Eddy to “reinstate primitive Christianity and its lost element of healing”. Based on her 1866 healing and 1875 book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, the denomination emphasizes healing through mental, spiritual, and prayer-based means, rather than medicine.
Key milestones in the history of the Church of Christ, Scientist include:
- Founding and Early Growth: Following her 1866 recovery from a severe injury, which she attributed to prayerful study of the Bible, Mary Baker Eddy developed the doctrines of Christian Science. She published the foundational text, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, in 1875.
- Establishment: In 1879, she and a small group of followers established the Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts.
- The Mother Church: In 1892, the church was reorganized as The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, known as “The Mother Church”.
- Expansion: The movement grew rapidly in the early 20th century, with congregations increasing from 7 in 1890 to over 1,200 by 1910.
- Structure: The church operates with a central Mother Church in Boston and various local “branch” churches worldwide.
- Key Beliefs: The church teaches that disease is a “mental error” and that sickness can be healed through spiritual understanding and prayer, as taught in their scriptures.
- Influence: Despite declining numbers in recent years, the church has influenced conversations around faith and health, and has maintained a presence in American society through its publications, such as The Christian Science Monitor.