About Us
Background

How can a Church live up to its tremendous potential?

That’s one of the questions that a small group of south Orange County Christian Scientists began to discuss at weekly informal gatherings in January 1994. Each of us was motivated by a remarkable encounter with spiritual healing and the rich blessings which flow from a God-centered life. We wanted to share the healing ministry of Christian Science with our neighbors and community.

Our discussions delved deeply into the nature of church, our Christian duty to love our neighbor, Mary Baker Eddy’s intentions in founding the Christian Science church, the role of the spirit in guiding us, and overcoming unnecessary traditions that hampered our work.

Six months later this group began holding informal Sunday morning church services and Wednesday evening meetings in a small storefront situated between the historic Mission San Juan Capistrano and the Amtrak railroad tracks. Originally called the Christian Science Activity Center, we also provided a Bible study/resource center and partnered with community agencies to help those in need in our area.

In February 2000, we began advertising in The Christian Science Journal as the Christian Science Society, San Juan Capistrano. This means that we are part of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts, a world-wide organization founded by Mary Baker Eddy in 1892. This affiliation enables us to extend the warm embrace and support of the world-wide Christian Science movement to our friends, neighbors, fellow churches and business owners in San Juan Capistrano.

We find that our individual growth in our understanding of God and ourselves as God’s children nurtures our church activities. Our regular workshops on spiritual issues applied to practical issues help to keep our focus on God and our mission.

In March 2005 we moved to our present, larger location in a comfortable office building, but still near the railroad tracks! We’ve recently enlarged our facility in the building to create more Sunday School rooms and activity spaces.

What we believe

Core Beliefs

Christian Scientists believe in one, infinite God who is All and all-good. They believe that God is not distant and unknowable, but that God is all-encompassing and always present, and that each individual is loved by God, cared for by Him, and made in God’s image—spiritual, not material.

Christian Scientists believe in the Bible and in Christ Jesus as the Son of God, or promised Messiah. And they believe that Jesus’ teachings and healing work expressed scientific Christianity, or the application of the laws of God—laws which are still practical and provable today, by anyone, anywhere. Christian Scientists consider the Commandments, as well as Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, to be central to their lives and practice of Christianity.

Above all, Christian Scientists believe in the saving, healing power of God’s love—that no one is beyond redemption, that no problem is too entrenched or overwhelming to be addressed and healed. In other words, Christian Scientists don’t believe that salvation occurs at some point in the future, but that the presence of God’s goodness can be experienced here and now—and by everyone.

One of the best ways to learn more about Christian Science is to explore the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures .

The Tenets of Christian Science, Science and Health, pages 496–497

( From http://christianscience.com/index.html , a website of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, Boston, Massachusetts)

Activities

To fulfill our purposes, we have several activities: Sunday church services, Wednesday meetings to share our spiritual growth, Sunday School, workshops, talks, community involvement, and charitable contributions.

Click here for more information about our services.
Youth

We value our younger members as much as anyone!  They join us for the beginning hymn at our Sunday service, and then join their Sunday School discussion and learning groups.  They are also welcome at our Wednesday meetings and other workshops.

Click here for more information about our Sunday School.
Second Sundays: Young Adult Discussion Group

We host an informal discussion group for young adults on the second Sunday of each month starting at 7:00 p.m. The meetings are open to anyone in the 20-something age range with a desire to gather with a peer group and explore a range of topical issues from the perspective of Bible-based spirituality and the teachings of Christian Science. Our goal is to create an atmosphere conducive to open, safe, and non-judgmental conversation.
Bookstore

Christian Science Reading Room - A Spiritual Discovery Center and More 

Open Mondays - Thursdays 10 am to 1 pm, before and after services and by appointment.  A spiritual resource center and bookstore where you may borrow or purchase books, magazines and videos on Christian Science and spiritual healing.  Also available are Bible references, items for children and Spanish language materials.

Community Outreach 

We contribute from our monthly financial collections to a local, national, or international group chosen by our congregation. We often invite representatives of these groups to speak to us so that we can learn of their work and support them with prayer.

We have tithed to the Boys and Girls Club of San Juan Capistrano , The Gang Prevention Task Force , Laura's House (a shelter for battered women), San Juan Capistrano Public Library, and Mainstream Recovery Group (a residential treatment center for recovering substance abusers.)

Some organizations have received ongoing support throughout the year, such as Family Assistance Ministries, which helps families in need in south Orange County. We also partner with CREER, a local group supporting Hispanic families, students, and education. We also regularly support Christian Science organizations that provide services in jails and public institutions, and that broadcast Christian Science talks in the media.

Lobby Art Gallery

Visit our lobby art gallery, which features photographs and artwork on a changing basis. Subjects include outreach activities, such as our project to build a house for a family Tijuana, and the photos and art of members visiting Vietnam, Mexico, and Africa.

Organization

We try our best to keep our organizational activity at a minimum so that we can concentrate on the real business of Church: healing! So we do our best to minimize bureaucracy and committees. The congregation itself makes all the basic policy decisions. We form teams for specific purposes when necessary. You may click on the references below to read our Bylaws, and the Guidelines for some of the teams that keep our activities and services going.

Bylaws
Host Guidelines
Management Team Guidelines
Readers' Helpful Hints
Sponsors' Guidelines

Click here if you are interested in becoming a member of our Society.

Tel: (949)443-2537        Email: admin@csinsanjuancapistrano.com

Call-in: (605) 475-6350 Access Code: 12111# 

Skype:  +9900827047040344 (room number 7040344)
Address: 31897 Del Obispo, Suite #120, San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675

Map and Directions

Copyright . Christian Science Society San Juan Capistrano. All rights reserved.
Web Hosting Companies