Dedication: A Centennial Story

26. Influence and Inspiration (1918)

Mr. Orison “O.J.C.” Dutton, Board Chair and President of Third Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle, prepares for church building and operates a Christian Science Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Hospitality Club in the midst of world war and the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic. Takes place at a rented hall in the University National Bank Building at NE 45^th Street and University Way NE and at Dutton’s hospitality club at Fourth Avenue and Pine Street in downtown Seattle. Dr. H. Walton Hubbard gives up his successful medical practice to become a Christian Science practitioner, teacher, and lecturer, following the footsteps of Dr. Francis J. Fluno, Dr. Abraham A. Sulcer, and Dr. John M. Tutt. Christian Scientists work at emergency hospitals at Fort George Wright in Spokane, Washington, the Naval Training Station in Great Lakes, Illinois, Camp Mills Army base in Mineola, New York, Portsmouth Naval Yard in Portsmouth, Virginia. The Christian Science Monitor publishes an editorial opposed to bans on church services. The Des Moines, Iowa, public health committee speaks out in support of Christian Scientists at Camp Dodge. Mr. Harry P. Hitchcock goes to jail in Los Angeles. Ms. Maude M. Greene gains new insights in Mary Baker Eddy's spiritual definition of church. Catholic Rev. Edward J. O'Dea and Presbyterian Rev. Dr. Mark A. Matthews plan open-air church services. The Christian Science Sentinel publishes healings of Spanish flu and mortality rate statistics comparing Christian Science treatment and medical care. At Easter 1919, new Christian Science churches are dedicated in Rockford, Illinois, and Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Read draft chapter transcript with endnotes: PDF  

Image: Seattle Influenza Squad. Paul Dorpat collection

The book Dedication: Building the Seattle Branches of Mary Baker Eddy's Church, A Centennial Story by Cindy Peyser Safronoff is available on Amazon, through Powell's Books, or by special order through your favorite local book store.

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S2 E1: Pivotal Moment (1929)

Church members discuss the terms of their mortgage bonds as financial markets show signs of instability, at Third Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle. Includes a 50-year overview of the history of the Christian Science movement as presented in Season 1 (Part 1) of Dedication: A Centennial Story.

Image courtesy of Third Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle, Washington.

Season 2 is a review draft prior to publishing the book for Part 2: 1929 to 1979. The book of Part 1: 1889 to 1929 of Dedication: Building the Seattle Branches of Mary Baker Eddy's Church, A Centennial Story by Cindy Peyser Safronoff is available on Amazon, through Powell's Books, or by special order through your favorite local book store.

This independent project is supported by people like you! Please purchase the book and help support the ongoing project: 

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S2 E2: Call to Action (1929)

Mr. Walter G. Stanley floats a proposal for joint dedication, and the Board of Directors at Ninth Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle, makes a resolution.

Image: Empire Building. Paul Dorpat collection.

Season 2 is a review draft prior to publishing the book for Part 2: 1929 to 1979. The book of Part 1: 1889 to 1929 of Dedication: Building the Seattle Branches of Mary Baker Eddy's Church, A Centennial Story by Cindy Peyser Safronoff is available on Amazon, through Powell's Books, or by special order through your favorite local book store.

This independent project is supported by people like you! Please purchase the book and help support the ongoing project: 

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S2 E3: Joint Dedication Committee (1929)

Mr. Walter G. Stanley sends a telegram to the Board of Directors of The Mother Church in Boston about the conference of Christian Science churches in Seattle scheduled for Nov. 7, 1929, to discuss a proposal for a joint dedication committee. Takes place in the board room at Ninth Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle, in Lake Forest Park, and in the auditorium of Third Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle, in the University District.

Image: Auditorium of Third Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle. Photo by Cindy Safronoff.

Season 2 is a review draft prior to publishing the book for Part 2: 1929 to 1979. The book of Part 1: 1889 to 1929 of Dedication: Building the Seattle Branches of Mary Baker Eddy's Church, A Centennial Story by Cindy Peyser Safronoff is available on Amazon, through Powell's Books, or by special order through your favorite local book store.

This independent project is supported by people like you! Please purchase the book and help support the ongoing project: 

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S2 E4: Third Church Dedication (1929)

Mrs. Bessie Haviland makes plans for dedication services at Third Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle. Mrs. Florence Foster, Second Reader, makes the official dedication announcement at the three special services on Sunday, November 24, 1929.

Image: Stained glass window in Third Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle. Photo by Cindy Safronoff.

Season 2 is a review draft prior to publishing the book for Part 2: 1929 to 1979. The book of Part 1: 1889 to 1929 of Dedication: Building the Seattle Branches of Mary Baker Eddy's Church, A Centennial Story by Cindy Peyser Safronoff is available on Amazon, through Powell's Books, or by special order through your favorite local book store.

This independent project is supported by people like you! Please purchase the book and help support the ongoing project: 

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To learn more about this ground-breaking project, visit CindySafronoff.com or Facebook: @DedicationCentennialStory

S2 E5: To Arouse United Interest (1929)

A mass meeting, called by the new joint dedication committee, is held at Fourth Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle, downtown. Area Christian Scientists contribute to the building fund for the newly completed Sixth church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle, in West Seattle at SW Lander Street and 42nd Avenue SW, which was designed by Mr. Gerald C. Field and built by Mr. Neil McDonald. 

Image: Sixth Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle.

Season 2 is a review draft prior to publishing the book for Part 2: 1929 to 1979. The book of Part 1: 1889 to 1929 of Dedication: Building the Seattle Branches of Mary Baker Eddy's Church, A Centennial Story by Cindy Peyser Safronoff is available on Amazon, through Powell's Books, or by special order through your favorite local book store.

This independent project is supported by people like you! Please purchase the book and help support the ongoing project: 

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To learn more about this ground-breaking project, visit CindySafronoff.com or Facebook: @DedicationCentennialStory

 

S2 E6: Tenth Church Dedication (1929)

Mrs. Ruth Marthaler announces the dedication of Tenth Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle, in Seahurst Park, on Sunday, December 8, 1929, after Mrs. Laura E. Ellis reads a telegram sent to the Board of Directors of The Mother Church in Boston.

Image: Tenth Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle (original), around 1929. Used with permission from First Church of Christ, Scientist, Burien, WA.

Season 2 of "Dedication: A Centennial Story" is a review draft prior to publishing the book for Part 2: 1929 to 1979. The book of Part 1: 1889 to 1929 of Dedication: Building the Seattle Branches of Mary Baker Eddy's Church, A Centennial Story by Cindy Peyser Safronoff is available on Amazon, through Powell's Books, or by special order through your favorite local book store.

This independent project is supported by people like you! Please purchase the book and help support the ongoing project: 

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To learn more about this ground-breaking project, visit CindySafronoff.com or Facebook: @DedicationCentennialStory

 

S2 E7: Radiocasts (1930)

Mr. Edwin Kirk Piper hears a K.O.M.O. radio broadcast of the Sunday evening service of First Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle. US President Herbert Hoover gives a state of the union address to Congress on December 2, 1930.

Season 2 of "Dedication: A Centennial Story" is a review draft prior to publishing the book for Part 2: 1929 to 1979. The book of Part 1: 1889 to 1929 of Dedication: Building the Seattle Branches of Mary Baker Eddy's Church, A Centennial Story by Cindy Peyser Safronoff is available on Amazon, through Powell's Books, or by special order through your favorite local book store.

This independent project is supported by people like you! Please purchase the book and help support the ongoing project: 

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S2 E8: Eagleson Hall (1930)

Mr. Herbert T. Condon, Dean of Students at University of Washington, invites the college student Christian Scientists to move their meetings off campus to Eagleson Hall, the University YMCA in the U-District at 15th Ave NE and NE 42nd Street in Seattle in the fall of 1930.

Image: Eagleson Hall (in 2022). Photo by Cindy Safronoff.

Season 2 of "Dedication: A Centennial Story" is a review draft prior to publishing the book for Part 2: 1929 to 1979. The book of Part 1: 1889 to 1929 of Dedication: Building the Seattle Branches of Mary Baker Eddy's Church, A Centennial Story by Cindy Peyser Safronoff is available on Amazon, through Powell's Books, or by special order through your favorite local book store.

This independent project is supported by people like you! Please purchase the book and help support the ongoing project: 

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To learn more about this ground-breaking project, visit CindySafronoff.com or Facebook: @DedicationCentennialStory

 

S2 E9: Standing Rules (1931)

Mrs. Rice, Secretary of the Joint Dedication Committee, sends the standing rules to the local Boards of Directors for their approval in early 1931. The board at Fourth Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle, considers a statement from the Christian Science Board of Directors in Boston in the Christian Science Sentinel about joint dedication. Includes mention of joint dedication in New York and Los Angeles, and background on early joint dedication in Chicago done with the approval of Rev. Mary Baker Eddy.

Image: Fifth Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle.

Season 2 of "Dedication: A Centennial Story" is a review draft prior to publishing the book for Part 2: 1929 to 1979. The book of Part 1: 1889 to 1929 of Dedication: Building the Seattle Branches of Mary Baker Eddy's Church, A Centennial Story by Cindy Peyser Safronoff is available on Amazon, through Powell's Books, or by special order through your favorite local book store.

This independent project is supported by people like you! Please purchase the book and help support the ongoing project: 

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To learn more about this ground-breaking project, visit CindySafronoff.com or Facebook: @DedicationCentennialStory

S2 E10: Ushering (1931)

Mr. Ross Perry Williams, head usher at Third Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle, orchestrates the Sunday collections in 1931 to help pay for construction of the new Publishing House building for the Christian Science Publishing Society in Boston. Mr. Byron B. Haviland, Washington Committee on Publication, presides over a mass meeting of Seattle church members at First Church to discuss the latest Boston building project.

Image: auditorium floor plan from Guide for Ushers. Courtesy of Third Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle.

Season 2 of "Dedication: A Centennial Story" is a review draft prior to publishing the book for Part 2: 1929 to 1979. The book of Part 1: 1889 to 1929 of Dedication: Building the Seattle Branches of Mary Baker Eddy's Church, A Centennial Story by Cindy Peyser Safronoff is available on Amazon, through Powell's Books, or by special order through your favorite local book store.

This independent project is supported by people like you! Please purchase the book and help support the ongoing project: 

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To learn more about this ground-breaking project, visit CindySafronoff.com or Facebook: @DedicationCentennialStory

S2 E11: Washington Bicentennial (1932)

Mrs. Elizabeth H. Ferree proposes hanging an American flag behind the readers on February 22, 1932, George Washington's 200th birthday, at Fourth Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle. The Christian Science Board of Directors announce a special church service and lesson sermon for the Washington Centennial: "Love for God and Man, The Universal Ideal." President Herbert Hoover urges Americans to commune with "the spiritual springs of patriotism," and telegraphs a signal to unfurl flags at the opening of the George Washington Memorial Bridge in Seattle. Mr. Albert Eaton Lombard, Committee on Publication, gives a commencement address called "Looking Upward" at the University of Washington in front of a huge American flag. Third Church of Christ, Scientist, Dallas, Texas, builds a new church. Eleventh Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle, acquires a building site. Mrs. Hawley at Fourth Church and Eleventh Church write to Boston about using the national anthem at church services. 

Season 2 of "Dedication: A Centennial Story" is a review draft prior to publishing the book for Part 2: 1929 to 1979. The book of Part 1: 1889 to 1929 of Dedication: Building the Seattle Branches of Mary Baker Eddy's Church, A Centennial Story by Cindy Peyser Safronoff is available on Amazon, through Powell's Books, or by special order through your favorite local book store.

This independent project is supported by people like you! Please purchase the book and help support the ongoing project: 

1. Rate and review the book and podcast!
2. Help crowd-fund this continuing project.
3. Tell your friends. "Like," share, post, forward, message.

To learn more about this ground-breaking project, visit CindySafronoff.com or Facebook: @DedicationCentennialStory

S2 E12: New Hymnal (1932)

Mr. William Rathvon shares how important music was to Mary Baker Eddy. The workers at Kingsport Press hum and sing while manufacturing the new Christian Science hymnals in 1932. Church members hold hymns sings. Mr. Bicknell Young is guest soloist at Seventh Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle. Mr. Elbert LeRoy Bellows is hired as the new soloist at Fourth Church. Mr. Arch N. Torbitt hires an unskilled worker to help with maintenance at Third Church through the Man-A-Block Plan. Mr. Charles E. Heitman sings praises of those who supported the new Christian Science Publishing House in Boston at the 1933 Annual Meeting of The Mother Church.

Image of church auditorium courtesy of Third Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle.

Season 2 of "Dedication: A Centennial Story" is a review draft prior to publishing the book for Part 2: 1929 to 1979. The book of Part 1: 1889 to 1929 of Dedication: Building the Seattle Branches of Mary Baker Eddy's Church, A Centennial Story by Cindy Peyser Safronoff is available on Amazon, through Powell's Books, or by special order through your favorite local book store.

This independent project is supported by people like you! Please purchase the book and help support the ongoing project: 

1. Rate and review the book and podcast!
2. Help crowd-fund this continuing project.
3. Tell your friends. "Like," share, post, forward, message.

To learn more about this ground-breaking project, visit CindySafronoff.com or Facebook: @DedicationCentennialStory

S2 E13: Making History (1933)

Miss Eileen Ruth Gormley writes a historical sketch for Third Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle, in 1933. Mrs. Harriett M. Armstrong writes the history of First Church, Ms. Adela S. Hawley for Fourth Church, and a committee of three for the newly formed Eleventh Church. Judge Clifford P. Smith expands the archival collections at The Mother Church in Boston. Rev. Dr. Lyman P. Powell uses the archives to write a biography on Rev. Mary Baker Eddy. Christian Science teachers Smith, Irving C Tomlinson, Julia M. Johnston, and E. Mary Ramsay also publish books on Christian Science history, as does photographer Richard Southall Grant. Christian Science church members collect loose issues of Christian Science Journals, Sentinels, and Monitor Weekly into bound volumes. The Christian Science Monitor's 25th anniversary is celebrated at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair, as is the influence of Mary Baker Eddy as an author. Seattle Christian Scientists hold their own Monitor exhibition, and publish a full-page advertisement about Seattle's development in the "Progress Edition." 

Image: Bound volumes of weekly magazine section of The Christian Science Monitor

Season 2 of "Dedication: A Centennial Story" is a review draft prior to publishing the book for Part 2: 1929 to 1979. The book of Part 1: 1889 to 1929 of Dedication: Building the Seattle Branches of Mary Baker Eddy's Church, A Centennial Story by Cindy Peyser Safronoff is available on Amazon, through Powell's Books, or by special order through your favorite local book store.

This independent project is supported by people like you! Please purchase the book and help support the ongoing project: 

1. Rate and review the book and podcast!
2. Help crowd-fund this continuing project.
3. Tell your friends. "Like," share, post, forward, message.

To learn more about this ground-breaking project, visit CindySafronoff.com or Facebook: @DedicationCentennialStory

S2 E14: Inspirational Meetings (1934)

Mr. Orison "O.J.C" Dutton, board chair, with a united board, proposes inspirational meetings for the members of Third Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle, after another request for financial support for the Christian Science Publishing House in Boston was published March 24, 1934, in the Christian Science Sentinel. 

Season 2 of "Dedication: A Centennial Story" is a review draft prior to publishing the book for Part 2: 1929 to 1979. The book of Part 1: 1889 to 1929 of Dedication: Building the Seattle Branches of Mary Baker Eddy's Church, A Centennial Story by Cindy Peyser Safronoff is available on Amazon, through Powell's Books, or by special order through your favorite local book store.

This independent project is supported by people like you! Please purchase the book and help support the ongoing project: 

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S2 E15: Fort Lewis Activity (1934)

Board members from Seventh Church do their own private investigation of the Fort Lewis Christian Science Activity after a statewide conference of Christian Science churches on May 29, 1934, was held to decide whether to renovate the building or shut it down. Meanwhile, events in Germany under its new Chancellor, Adolf Hitler, raised concerns about the oppression of Christian Science in Germany and the possibility of another war.

Image: Christian Science Welfare Building at Fort Lewis, Washington. From Christian Science War Time Activities by Christian Science Publishing Society.

Season 2 of "Dedication: A Centennial Story" is a review draft prior to publishing the book for Part 2: 1929 to 1979. The book of Part 1: 1889 to 1929 of Dedication: Building the Seattle Branches of Mary Baker Eddy's Church, A Centennial Story by Cindy Peyser Safronoff is available on Amazon, through Powell's Books, or by special order through your favorite local book store.

This independent project is supported by people like you! Please purchase the book and help support the ongoing project: 

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S2 E16: Anderson Hall (1935)

Mrs. Agnes Healy Anderson hosts a tea party on July 17, 1935, at the Sunset Club in Seattle for Eleanor Thomason, a Principia College sophomore who lives in Anderson Hall on the new Principia College campus in Elsah, Illinois, one of many Christian Science schools with campuses by 1935, including one in Seattle, Open Vista School, near Tenth Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle.

Photo: Anderson Hall, Principia College. (032371_01_19_College Anderson Dormitory Exterior 1934. Courtesy of the Principia Archives, Principia College, Elsah, Illinois.)

Season 2 of "Dedication: A Centennial Story" is a review draft for Part 2: 1929 to 1979. The book of Part 1: 1889 to 1929 of Dedication: Building the Seattle Branches of Mary Baker Eddy's Church, A Centennial Story by Cindy Peyser Safronoff is available on Amazon, through Powell's Books, or by special order through your favorite local book store.

This independent project is supported by people like you! Please purchase the book and help support the ongoing project: 

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S2 E17: Coat Room (1936)

Mr. Roy Olmstead, notorious locally as "King of the Bootleggers" and nationally for his wiretapping case in the US Supreme Court, applies for membership at Fourth Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle in the Spring of 1936, after years of effort by the Christian Science church to support laws prohibiting sale of alcohol including the 18th Amendment to the US Constitution and prison ministry work by Christian Scientists like Mrs. Margaret M. Walker at McNeil Island Federal Penitentiary, the Alcatraz of the Pacific Northwest. Mr. Norvall E. Mallahan, Mayor of the City of Bothell, recounts his healing of the desire for alcohol after a visit to a Christian Science Reading Room.

Season 2 of "Dedication: A Centennial Story" is a review draft for Part 2: 1929 to 1979. The book of Part 1: 1889 to 1929 of Dedication: Building the Seattle Branches of Mary Baker Eddy's Church, A Centennial Story by Cindy Peyser Safronoff is available on Amazon, through Powell's Books, or by special order through your favorite local book store.

This independent project is supported by people like you! Please purchase the book and help support the ongoing project: 

1. Rate and review the book and podcast!
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