Tallahassee’s First Church of Christ, Scientist, commonly known as Christian Science

Front of Church

Reading Room

1922 Church Blueprints

designed by Lloyd Greer

of Valdosta, GA

Newspaper Clipping of

members applying for

state charter in 1908

1961 Tallahassee Democrat

photo of the front

of the Church

1975 Florida Anthropology

Association essay examining

beliefs and practices of CS

church members in Tallahassee

Tallahassee Democrat article on the Tallahassee First Church of Christ, Scientist Centennial, October 2008

By John L. Crow, Spring 2016

Christian Science is an American-born religious tradition that originated in Boston, Massachusetts in the 1870s.The religion grew from the healing claims of one woman to an international organization. The founder of the tradition was Mary Baker Eddy. In February of 1866, in Lynn, Massachusetts, Eddy fell on the ice and seriously injured her spine. Yet, only after a few days, she found herself healed, she claimed, by reading the Bible and trusting in God. The healing appeared miraculous to both her neighbor and Eddy. Shortly after she began the process “searching the Scriptures” to understand how “Mind-healing” cured her. Eddy wrote essays, issued pamphlets, and practiced healing. In 1875 she published Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, which, along with the Bible, became the foundational textbook for the movement.

The cornerstone of Christian Science is that the cause of illness is not physical but based on an error of belief. Eddy writes in Science and Health, “Therefore the only reality of sin, sickness, or death is the awful fact that unrealities seem real to human, erring belief, until God strips off their disguise” (472: 25-29). Eddy adds, “The physical healing of Christian Science results now, as in Jesus’ time, from the operation of divine Principle, before which sin and disease lose their reality in human consciousness and disappear as naturally and as necessarily as darkness gives place to light and sin to reformation. Now, as then, these mighty works are not supernatural, but supremely natural” (xi). Based on this spiritual understanding of God, Christian Scientists frequently reject conventional medical practices and, instead, turn to God in prayer to heal illness and other conditions.

After being founded in Boston in 1879, the Church began to spread throughout the United States, reaching Florida in the late 1890s. Some of the earliest Tallahassee lectures about Christian Science took place in 1903 with regular services were being offered in a variety of locations by 1905. All throughout this period many lectures came to Tallahassee to inform the general public about the teachings of Christian Science resulting in a growth in the membership within Tallahassee. Local members also attempted to educate the public about Eddy’s teachings by giving lectures and publishing explanations in newspapers. For instance, in The True Democrat, May 1905, were two full- page spreads which explained various aspects of Christian Science, including its beliefs, history, and relation to the Bible.

This early phase of explanation and community buildings was necessary to attract new members and build a congregation large enough to apply to the State of Florida for a non-profit religious organization charter. This had already taken place in 1905 in Pensacola, but it was not until 1908 that the members in Tallahassee were in a position to apply. In the April 24, 1908 edition of the True Democrat, founding members of the First Church of Christ, Scientist, Tallahassee, published their intent to apply for a charter. Thereafter, there is a continuously running advertisement of weekly worship services, although the venue changes from time to time. While the congregation had a charter and a corporate identity, they had no church building of their own. Instead they had to rent and use various spaces throughout Tallahassee.

In the early 1920s, the membership hired Lloyd Greer, a renowned architect based in Valdosta, Georgia, to design their new church building. Construction was begun in 1923 on North Adams Street, the same place the church is located today. The building was built of brick and stucco, and the front of the building has multiple columns, designed to match the cornice style. Inside, the sanctuary is rectangular with the front door opening directly across from the front, central altar. The pews radiate out from the front center in the form of an arc, placed at a specified distance from the altar (see blueprints). The church building was completed and dedicated in 1924.

The church continued to expand over the decades, adding a Sunday school to the north side of the building, a Reading Room building out front and other properties not adjacent to the church itself. One important property was acquired in the 1950s. It was called the Gramling house and was located next to the church and was acquired in August of 1950 to be used as a Sunday school for $45,000, which is equivalent to about $1,240,000 as calculated by the GDP per capita method. In the late 1960s, the current Sunday school building replaced the Gramling house. A Reading room building was also constructed during that same period adjacent to the church. Another property the church acquired was the “Greene-Lewis” House located at 535 W. College Avenue. This property was built in 1916 and designed by Foster C. Gilmore. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. It was first owned by E. Peck Greene, a chemist, but sold to the Lewis family in 1928. The Lewis’ owned a bank and were practicing Christian Scientists. With the death of Clara Lewis, the house was placed in trust and is today owned and by the Asher Student Foundation. However, as part of this arrangement, a scholarship was put in place to house a Christian Science female student attending Florida State University. 

In 1974, while earning her master’s degree, Arlene Fradkin conducted interviews with Tallahassee Christian Science Church Members and published a short essay in the "Florida Anthropologist" entitled, “Christian Science: A Religion and a Way of Life.” In the essay, Fradkin describes the doctrines of the Christian Science church and the worship habits of the church members. She notes that the congregation numbers around 200 members. While the majority of the essay focuses on the teachings of the church and the way members work to implement them in their lives, she also notes that the state has instituted legal protections and exemptions for church members including the ability to opt out of certain required vaccinations for schools and travel, established provisions for certified members to practice healing in a religious context, and not medical, and for children to be able to opt out of certain science courses taught in school (121). Nevertheless, much like the newspaper article in the True Democrat, Fradkin’s essay is mostly general information supplied for the overall education of the public.

In 2008 the church celebrated its centennial anniversary to great fanfare. The Tallahassee Democrat featured an article about it on the front page of the religion section of the paper. The church also published a short pamphlet containing its history and numerous accounts of healings by members since its founding. First Church of Christ, Scientist, Tallahassee, has been a constant and reliable participant in Tallahassee’s religious community. They have services on Wednesday evening at 7:30, and Sunday morning at 10:30 to which all are welcome. The reading room is open during the week Tuesday through Saturday, inviting all who enter to learn about Christian Science healing, Mary Baker Eddy, and the worldwide church.