Support this fundraiser
We three – Shirley Paulson (PhD), Helen Mathis (MA), and Linda Bargmann (CPA) – are the folks behind the new book, An Annotated Bibliography of Academic and Other Literature on Christian Science. We formed a Partnership called Scholarly Works on Christian Science, the creators of this GoFundMe.
We invite you to partner with us to help get this book into the hands of researchers and scholars who want to learn more about Christian Science and its history.
We need to raise $15,000 to cover the cost of printing and shipping up to 1,000 books to seminaries, important university libraries of religion, scholars of American religion, and ecumenical leaders.
With your donation, you too will become part of the story of how the Annotated Bibliography of Academic and Other Literature on Christian Science will be a “great service to future religious historians seeking to understand the status and role of The Church of Christ, Scientist on the American religious landscape” (Dr. Gordon Melton).
Dr. Tony Kireopoulos, the Associate General Secretary of the National Council of Churches USA, encourages people to support this fund “so that the promise inherent in the book’s publication will come to fruition through its distribution to all those who wish to have it in their personal and institutional libraries.” Click below to hear his encouragement to support this fund:
Why is this project so important? Picture this:
· After I [Shirley Paulson] gave a lecture on Christian Science in a class on feminism in America, the professor asked me if I could provide her with a list of resources for the students to do further research. Um…, I didn’t really have any list of resources on Christian Science in light of contemporary feminist studies.
· I [Shirley] gave a talk for a group of scholars who study New Religious Movements. The organizer asked me if I could help him find more information on the history of Christian Science after 1910. Um…, well, no, I didn’t.
· I [Shirley] represented The Mother Church with ecumenical leaders, and they frequently asked for more information on theological studies on Christian Science. Same story.
Dr. J. Gordon Melton, a distinguished scholar of New Religious Movements, finally persuaded us that the need for an annotated bibliography on Christian Science was truly imperative. It was apparent that Christian Science was one of the least understood contemporary religious communities in the United States, and the problem was largely of our own doing.
Gordon often reminded us: “Biographies on Mary Baker Eddy are plentiful, but the history of Christian Science is still obscure and difficult to track down. An annotated bibliography would enable scholars to find appropriate resources for their research, and this scholarly research would accomplish much toward a better understanding of this important religious movement.”
He also warned us that creating an annotated bibliography would be expensive, time-consuming, and a real labor of love. He was right, but we’re still convinced that it’s a good idea and that it will find the right support.
Three of us (Shirley, Linda, and Helen) have worked steadily on this project for the past five years, and now we are ready to publish and distribute this “indispensable . . . comprehensive guide to academic literature on Christian Science” – a description of our book by Dr. Mitzi Budde, an ecumenical colleague who is Head Librarian and Professor at Virginia Theological Seminary.
Now picture this:
· Just last month, a scholar landed a contract to write a book on Christian Science and its relationship to the Bible. This prominent publisher requires that the research must include a fair percentage of scholarship from those outside the Christian Science movement. Now this scholar can turn to the Annotated Bibliography to find a collection of the most current research (400 annotations) by both Christian Scientists and academics on the subject he is investigating.
· The Annotated Bibliography broadens the resources available to scholars. If they encounter some of the old myths and rumors about Christian Science, they will be able to find where they originated, learn what is true and what is fiction, consider the basis of the rebuttals, and have access to other research speaking to these myths.
· Christian Scientists who are engaged in ecumenical and interreligious activities can guide their conversation partners to the resources related to their special interests.
How you can become part of the story of the
Annotated Bibliography of Academic and other Literature on Christian Science
Now it’s time to welcome helpers like you, who have caught the vision of this important work. Let’s pull together to help the book make its final journey into the hands of researchers, scholars, and interested inquirers.
Your donation makes you a part of the story of how the Annotated Bibliography of Academic and Other Literature on Christian Science will have fulfilled “the promise inherent in the book’s publication [to] come to fruition through its distribution to all those who seek to have it in their personal and institutional library” (Dr. Tony Kireopoulos).
How did Scholarly Works on Christian Science start?
Dr. Shirley Paulson found two remarkable Christian Science colleagues—Linda Bargmann and Helen Mathis—who agreed this need for an annotated bibliography was real; and our efforts to create such a bibliography would spring from our love for CS. We met weekly for a while, deciding how to find all the resources we would annotate. Linda has one of the world’s most extensive personal libraries on Mary Baker Eddy, and her resources proved invaluable for the many hard-to-find books we needed to read. Helen’s scholarly experience with teaching and writing was also essential for all the reading and writing that lay ahead of us.
Then came the huge boxes of books that Linda loaned to us, as she schlepped them back and forth to our various meeting places. That, plus numerous treks to libraries, online research, and our reading of many hundreds of books and articles, kept us busy. Linda’s research extended from her own vast library to conversations with The Mary Baker Eddy Library and other scholars with specialty backgrounds. Helen and Shirley kept the focus on reading and annotating.
Shirley, Linda and Helen were delighted to find help from several other experts who joined in the reading and annotating. Many thanks to Bonnie Abiko, Richard Davenport, Alan Galt, Mike Hamilton, Barry Huff, Susan Humble, Susie Jostyn, Julia Lunn, Bill Marquand, Madelon Maupin, Skip McNeil, Mark Montgomery, Carolyn Petersen, Stan Scott, and Phil Smith!
By around the middle of 2020, we realized the end just might be in sight, in time to coincide with marking the bicentennial of the birth of Mary Baker Eddy (July 16, 2021). Little did we know how much more work still lay ahead, with the creation of cross references, categorization, standardizing abbreviations, formatting, and creating of indexes. Happily, Sher Orpen stepped up to the plate to help with that, and Alan Galt, Jean Perkins and Christine Negley contributed their highly skilled editing expertise.
We want to thank everyone so much for your donation at any level! (Note: tips to GoFundMe do not reduce the fees paid by Scholarly Works on Christian Science.)
We’ll keep you posted on our success on reaching our project goal and getting this book published!
We invite you to partner with us to help get this book into the hands of researchers and scholars who want to learn more about Christian Science and its history.
We need to raise $15,000 to cover the cost of printing and shipping up to 1,000 books to seminaries, important university libraries of religion, scholars of American religion, and ecumenical leaders.
With your donation, you too will become part of the story of how the Annotated Bibliography of Academic and Other Literature on Christian Science will be a “great service to future religious historians seeking to understand the status and role of The Church of Christ, Scientist on the American religious landscape” (Dr. Gordon Melton).
Dr. Tony Kireopoulos, the Associate General Secretary of the National Council of Churches USA, encourages people to support this fund “so that the promise inherent in the book’s publication will come to fruition through its distribution to all those who wish to have it in their personal and institutional libraries.” Click below to hear his encouragement to support this fund:
Why is this project so important? Picture this:
· After I [Shirley Paulson] gave a lecture on Christian Science in a class on feminism in America, the professor asked me if I could provide her with a list of resources for the students to do further research. Um…, I didn’t really have any list of resources on Christian Science in light of contemporary feminist studies.
· I [Shirley] gave a talk for a group of scholars who study New Religious Movements. The organizer asked me if I could help him find more information on the history of Christian Science after 1910. Um…, well, no, I didn’t.
· I [Shirley] represented The Mother Church with ecumenical leaders, and they frequently asked for more information on theological studies on Christian Science. Same story.
Dr. J. Gordon Melton, a distinguished scholar of New Religious Movements, finally persuaded us that the need for an annotated bibliography on Christian Science was truly imperative. It was apparent that Christian Science was one of the least understood contemporary religious communities in the United States, and the problem was largely of our own doing.
Gordon often reminded us: “Biographies on Mary Baker Eddy are plentiful, but the history of Christian Science is still obscure and difficult to track down. An annotated bibliography would enable scholars to find appropriate resources for their research, and this scholarly research would accomplish much toward a better understanding of this important religious movement.”
He also warned us that creating an annotated bibliography would be expensive, time-consuming, and a real labor of love. He was right, but we’re still convinced that it’s a good idea and that it will find the right support.
Three of us (Shirley, Linda, and Helen) have worked steadily on this project for the past five years, and now we are ready to publish and distribute this “indispensable . . . comprehensive guide to academic literature on Christian Science” – a description of our book by Dr. Mitzi Budde, an ecumenical colleague who is Head Librarian and Professor at Virginia Theological Seminary.
Now picture this:
· Just last month, a scholar landed a contract to write a book on Christian Science and its relationship to the Bible. This prominent publisher requires that the research must include a fair percentage of scholarship from those outside the Christian Science movement. Now this scholar can turn to the Annotated Bibliography to find a collection of the most current research (400 annotations) by both Christian Scientists and academics on the subject he is investigating.
· The Annotated Bibliography broadens the resources available to scholars. If they encounter some of the old myths and rumors about Christian Science, they will be able to find where they originated, learn what is true and what is fiction, consider the basis of the rebuttals, and have access to other research speaking to these myths.
· Christian Scientists who are engaged in ecumenical and interreligious activities can guide their conversation partners to the resources related to their special interests.
How you can become part of the story of the
Annotated Bibliography of Academic and other Literature on Christian Science
Now it’s time to welcome helpers like you, who have caught the vision of this important work. Let’s pull together to help the book make its final journey into the hands of researchers, scholars, and interested inquirers.
Your donation makes you a part of the story of how the Annotated Bibliography of Academic and Other Literature on Christian Science will have fulfilled “the promise inherent in the book’s publication [to] come to fruition through its distribution to all those who seek to have it in their personal and institutional library” (Dr. Tony Kireopoulos).
How did Scholarly Works on Christian Science start?
Dr. Shirley Paulson found two remarkable Christian Science colleagues—Linda Bargmann and Helen Mathis—who agreed this need for an annotated bibliography was real; and our efforts to create such a bibliography would spring from our love for CS. We met weekly for a while, deciding how to find all the resources we would annotate. Linda has one of the world’s most extensive personal libraries on Mary Baker Eddy, and her resources proved invaluable for the many hard-to-find books we needed to read. Helen’s scholarly experience with teaching and writing was also essential for all the reading and writing that lay ahead of us.
Then came the huge boxes of books that Linda loaned to us, as she schlepped them back and forth to our various meeting places. That, plus numerous treks to libraries, online research, and our reading of many hundreds of books and articles, kept us busy. Linda’s research extended from her own vast library to conversations with The Mary Baker Eddy Library and other scholars with specialty backgrounds. Helen and Shirley kept the focus on reading and annotating.
Shirley, Linda and Helen were delighted to find help from several other experts who joined in the reading and annotating. Many thanks to Bonnie Abiko, Richard Davenport, Alan Galt, Mike Hamilton, Barry Huff, Susan Humble, Susie Jostyn, Julia Lunn, Bill Marquand, Madelon Maupin, Skip McNeil, Mark Montgomery, Carolyn Petersen, Stan Scott, and Phil Smith!
By around the middle of 2020, we realized the end just might be in sight, in time to coincide with marking the bicentennial of the birth of Mary Baker Eddy (July 16, 2021). Little did we know how much more work still lay ahead, with the creation of cross references, categorization, standardizing abbreviations, formatting, and creating of indexes. Happily, Sher Orpen stepped up to the plate to help with that, and Alan Galt, Jean Perkins and Christine Negley contributed their highly skilled editing expertise.
We want to thank everyone so much for your donation at any level! (Note: tips to GoFundMe do not reduce the fees paid by Scholarly Works on Christian Science.)
We’ll keep you posted on our success on reaching our project goal and getting this book published!