Izzy’s Boston travel log for TMC Annual Meeting
This past week I was granted an amazing opportunity to attend the Annual Meeting in person at The Mother Church in Boston!
Izzy sharing the joy of the living church with Cindy on a Facetime video call
I left Seattle Thursday May 30th and arrived in Boston in the evening. Once I arrived I checked in to my hotel and met up with a group of Principia College students and got dinner. On Friday I explored Boston and later attended events for youth and young adults. Friday night I attended dinner then partook in a walking tour of Boston and the significant locations where Mrs. Eddy spent her time. After this gorgeous tour I attended a meet and greet where we all played games and listened to music.
Saturday morning started off with breakfast and was followed by discussion groups on applying Christian Science to your life and world issues. There were so many discussion groups that I was able to choose from! After a few discussion groups I ate lunch then attended a meeting that discussed the overview of the Annual Meeting weekend. After this meeting there was another meeting that discussed getting involved with churches locally and globally. During this meeting I was able to make a connection between the outreach project here in Seattle and what we were discussing!
Saturday started off with a talk about a support fair for online services that included demos of online products. After this we all ate dinner, attended hymn sing, and attended an ice cream social outside of The Mother Church. Sunday started off with a church service followed by an inspirational meeting discussing the joy in the living church. After this there were two open houses we could choose to visit. The first was Mary Baker Eddy's Library open house and the second was the Journal Sentinel open house. After this there was another church service. In the evening I attended dinner with the Albert Baker Fund at Fogo De Chao. The restaurant was incredible and served endless amounts of amazing food!
After a packed weekend it was then time for the Annual Meeting on Monday! It was amazing to attend this meeting in person. I have attended the meeting online in previous years but I grew a greater appreciation for both The Mother Church and Christian Science through attending in person. After The Annual Meeting I was conversing with fellow Christian Scientists when something truly amazing occurred! As I was talking a woman came up to me that recognized me. This woman's name was Agita Arista. Agita lives in Concord Massachusetts and has moved here from out of the country. Agita is a Christian Science Reading Room librarian in Massachusetts. Agita said she recognized me from blog posts from THIS outreach project here in Seattle! It was amazing to see the work being done is paying off and we really are making strides in the outreach work we do. This was a very valuable experience for me because I loved getting to know Agita and having the opportunity to further explain the outreach project.
Besides this amazing encounter, my favorite part about this trip was being surrounded with like minded people and being in awe of the beauty and significance of The Mother Church and Boston itself. I am beyond grateful for the opportunity to attend this meeting in person and look forward to attending in person in the years to come!