By Shana LiVIGNI

“Religious Science is a compilation, correlation and integration of the major religions of the world with a strong Christian bias,” local icon Reverend Beverly Craig explained. “The number one thing you can say about this church is: it is family.”

The Science of Mind is intensely practical because it teaches us how to use the Spiritual Principle for definite purposes, such as helping those who are sick, impoverished, or unhappy. Each one of us has the capacity to become a practitioner of this science, a demonstrator of its Principle, a conscious user of its Power, but the existence of Power is of no particular value to us until we use it. We must not only be conscious of Power, but we must be actively conscious of it.

This science is more than mental; it is also spiritual, since we live in a spiritual universe. The Science of Mind declares the Truth about this spiritual universe and it also declares the Truth about false belief, considering everything which is opposed to good as an accumulation of human thought, the collective negative suggestion of the race.

The Science of Mind is built on the theory that there is One Infinite Mind which of necessity includes all that is, whether it be the intelligence in man, the life in the animal, or the invisible Presence which is God. In it we learn to have a spiritual sense of things. This spiritual sense of things is what is meant by the Consciousness of Christ. To be able to discern the spiritual idea back to its physical symbol is to use the mind that Jesus used.

Scientific prayer is one of the most important concepts of the church, and includes five specific steps. Visualization is one of the five, claiming and knowing specifically what you want in your life, literally feeling what it would be like having it – whether it’s good health, a rewarding relationship, peace of mind, financial security or anything that is of great importance to you, knowing and trusting it is on its way and being thankful for its forthcoming arrival.

Rev. Craig is an ordained minister of United Church of Religious Science, and for over nine years was program director for International Youth & Family Ministries in the church’s home office. She now is senior minister of the La Crescenta Church of Religious Science. Prior to those assignments, she worked as an adult education teacher for 22 years in the areas of business education, nutrition, geriatrics and parent education in many California school districts including Mount San Antonio College, Tri-Community Adult School in Covina, Rio Hondo College in Whittier, Pomona Unified School District and Whittier Unified School District.

Tonight, Thursday, Nov. 5 at 7 p.m., the church is hosting Michel and Miriane, healers from France and ordained monks of Ron Roth’s Celebration of Life Ministries They  will be conducting healing sessions at Center for Spiritual Living La Crescenta. Suggested donation is $10. The Center for Spiritual Living is also hosting a spiritual movie night at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 6. There will be a special viewing of Greg Braden’s, “Walking Between the Worlds,” part one. Part two will be shown on Friday, Nov. 13.

Thanksgiving service will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 23.

The Center for Spiritual Living is located at 4845 Dunsmore Ave. in La Crescenta. For further information on upcoming events and prayer requests, call the Center’s office at (818) 249-1045 or visit www.lccrs.org.