At first we had no inmates and Tim and I began to pray to see that God was the only power there at that facility. I had been praying for one hour before the service in my car, also. Right away after we began to declare the Allness of God, an inmate came through the door all excited. He said he'd had a healing of diabetes. The last time he had attended our service was in Dec. and he had asked for prayer for the disease mentioned above. He had taken some literature that day and studied it [in solitary confinement] where he had been put because of some bad behavior. He said his weight had come out just like that, as he snapped his fingers. (He said he lost about 75 lbs) and the physician pronounced him well and said he no longer had the disease. Our regular inmate came in late because he had been at a meeting. Our service was very inspiring because of this testimony.

Reported May 2008, Christian Science Chaplain, Santa Barbara Committee

Activity in April was good. The prison is programming regularly with minimal interruptions from lockdowns. I continue to get new inmates and have seen more interest from new inmates desiring to read and listen to the [Christian Science Weekly] Bible Lesson. Half of my time this month was taken up assisting the Monterey Church with their lecture on April 23, 2008. I made a couple of trips to prepare and then guide the lecturer around the prison. Two lectures were given. The turnout was small this year. About 15 inmates attended. Significantly more signed up. Those that attended, however, were very receptive and there was a lot of good spiritual interchange between the lecturer and the inmates.

They were all real seekers and gained tremendously from their time spent at the lectures. They connected well with the spiritual ideas shared and there was definitely spiritual growth experienced by all. Each one took [Science and Health, with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy] with them and requested to meet with me and looked forward to the next time a lecture is held in the prison. The most gratifying aspect of the day was seeing the inmates express their understanding about God and their spirituality. An inmate in the first lecture was searching for healing of stress and discouragement he was facing with his legal situation in prison. Another inmate helped him see how he had to stop focusing on the human view with its problems and discords and get back to seeing himself as a child of God. This helped and the inmate thanked him for the spiritual insight.

Reported April 2008, Christian Science Chaplain, Monterey Bay Committee

Two years ago on my earlier visits to MCC, an inmate during my visits said that Christian Science was too hard for her to understand. Nevertheless, on my visits she would always sit near to listen to the readings of the Bible Lessons. On my first visit in December, she had approached me and asked for a full text Bible Lessons and I gratefully gave her one. Recently, she is present with her Bible and waits for my arrival on the floor. Now she is willing to understand the spiritual import of the Bible Lesson's message that will free her and give her peace.

Our existence-- the inmates' existence depended on the unbreakable bond between God and His creation, which includes man, made in His image and likeness. I have encouraged the inmates to study the Bible Lessons together whenever possible, so as to share spiritual support in lifting their thinking to a higher understanding.

Reported January 2008, Christian Science Chaplain, San Diego Committee