Why I decided to join “Compass the City”
By Bella Sison
I'm from Virginia, and I will be starting my junior year of college in the fall. When I was making plans for the summer, I had hoped to be involved somehow with Christian Science, since it is so important to me and I wanted a chance to gain a greater sense of spiritual community. I considered applying for an internship at The Mother Church, but ultimately decided not to apply because these internships run for the full summer and I also valued being able to spend part of my summer at home with my family.
In early March, there was another program that I was planning to apply for, but this fell through at the last minute. I was disappointed about this, but I prayed to know that God had my future planned out and would be guiding me to the activities that were right for me.
On that same night, I received an email from Cindy Safronoff about a Christian Science Monitor outreach program in Seattle. I had never heard about anything like this before, and I had never been to Seattle, but I felt that this was the answer I had been waiting for from God. I read more about the opportunity, prayed about it, and discussed it with my family. I was also able to call Cindy to hear more about the program. Through all of this, I felt that I was being led to join this program. It also worked out perfectly because I would be able to work with the program for the first half of the summer and spend the second half at home with my family working on a different internship I had already accepted. When I received an official job offer from Cindy, I was happy to accept!
As a part of this program, I hoped to make a difference in the Seattle community. I truly believe that this program - both this year and last year - has made an impact on the community. We give out hundreds of copies of the Monitor every week; this means that there are hundreds of opportunities for workers and customers in all types of businesses to encounter an uplifting news source that might make a difference in their life. The gift subscriptions also make a huge difference. We have talked to business owners who received subscriptions last year, and they were excited to have them! This is a huge impact because the Monitor is present to impact workers and customers throughout the year. Even when businesses do not accept copies or subscriptions, we are still able to make a positive impact by introducing them to the Monitor in a friendly way so that they may be more open the next time they encounter it!
On a personal level, I also hoped to grow by learning about Christian Science work in a different area. I come from a small town in Virginia where we drive forty-five minutes each week to get to a Christian Science church. Being able to visit several churches around the Seattle area has been so exciting for me! As of now, we have attended services at Third Church Seattle (where we are housed for work), First Church Seattle, First Church Bothell (where the literature distribution is housed), and First Church Burien, along with visiting other reading rooms. Each of these churches has been so welcoming and loving, and it has been a blessing to meet so many Christian Scientists from different places and backgrounds. I'm so grateful that we've been able to make these connections as we work around the city, and it has definitely fulfilled my wish to engage with more Christian Scientists!