A11-12

I have recently discovered I have not sufficiently understood the interworking and intended meanings of the 15 Sections in the above two articles in our Church Manual. I accordingly undertook a detailed study, working simply from our Leader's own words in the Manual, as any member or student can do. She obviously felt that any earnest member or student would be able to understand her intended meaning. The results of my study follow, stated informally.

Since all that our Leader has done in establishing her church and movement is a unity, it is not surprising to find that the provisions of Articles 11 and 12 are a unity in their interworking, not simply a series of stand alone By-Laws.

I discovered that Matt 18:15-17 is fundamentally important for a faithful and obedient following of the Article 11 and 12 provisions. Accordingly, I begin with a brief and informal commentary on these verses.

Commentary on Matt 18:15-17

"Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee,
go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone:"

"tell him his fault" -- in other words, if you feel he has thought or spoken or acted wrongly, tell him honestly and forthrightly the specifics of how he has done so.

If "that mind be in us which was also in Christ Jesus" (Manual 16:10), the result will be healing correction, and it may be either of the allegation or of the fault.

"if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. "

There is then no need to take it further. -- "Love is reflected in love."

"But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. "

So that there may be clarity and no ambiguity.

Notice that the purpose of this second meeting (or communication), is to once again state clearly the fault and to hear the response to it, in the presence of a witness(s), whether that response be correction of the allegation or correction of the fault or, (less desirable), holding to an error.

"And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: "

In the case of an Article 11 or 12 complaint, 'tell[ing] it unto the church' would signify taking it to the Board of Directors or to a branch church, whichever is applicable. This is the point at which Articles 11 and 12 come into effect.

An exception to this would be a complaint against the Board under Article 1 Section 9, in which case, if the Board neglect to hear, 'taking it to the church' would appear to signify taking it to the membership.

"but if he neglect to hear the church, "

Notice that this involves a third clear telling of the fault, and presumably a third opportunity for the accused brother (or sister) to respond to it.

In the context of Articles 11 and 12, the Board having taken the case through all the appropriate and required steps, including faithful adherence to these Matthew 18 verses,

"let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. "

Let there be separation from the Church.

Article 11 Complaints
Section 1
To be applicable, this section requires that
1. A member shall have departed from the Tenets, and
2. Shall have been found having the name without the life of a Christian Scientist.
3. A complaining member must be in good standing.
4. That member must be acting from Christian motives--in other words, to fulfill this requirement the complaining member's motives must be considered.
5. That member must make items 1 and 2 evident.
6. It is self-evident that items 1 & 2 can only be made evident by using our Leader's writings as criteria.
7. If other By-Laws bear on the case, the requirements of those By-Laws must also be met.
This includes Article11 Sections 2 and 4 (re Matt 18:15-17).

If these requirements are first met, the Board must try the case, and the complained of member be exonerated, put on probation, or excommunicated. There are only these three courses of action provided for. There is not a fourth course permitted of allowing a member's standing to be under a cloud of suspicion indefinitely.

The implication is that if there is not sufficient factual finding to justify probation or excommunication (with the accused member having been given the rights of due process -- that is, the requirements of all applicable By-Laws having been properly followed), then the member must be exonerated, and this expeditiously.

Section 2
1. This Section reveals that Matt 18:15-17 applies to all violations of any By-Laws or Rules set forth in the Manual. This would apply to the complaining member in Section 1 and to the Board as well in that section. It would apply to this Section, and to every other Section in Article 11 or 12, unless specific exception is applicable (see Section 4).

2. The words "who is found" indicate that it is not enough that a member be complained of or accused--there must be facts which show violation of By-Laws or Rules before discipline, probation, excommunication, or dropping from the roll of membership actions can be taken by the Board. This also applies to every Section in Article 11 and 12. It would appear clear that mere hearsay or allegation would not be sufficient to satisfy the words, "who is found."

3. The portion of the single sentence of the Section up to the semi-colon applies both to any member of the Church as well as to the Board of Directors (Matt 18:15-17 must be followed).

Section 3
Section 3 specifies two conditions ("unjustly aggrieve or vilify" and "not live in Christian fellowship with") for which a member "shall either withdraw from the Church, or be excommunicated. It appears clear that the Section 2 requirements regarding the Matthew Code and for factual finding would apply.

aggrieve--to oppress or wrong grievously; to injure by injustice

Section 4
This Section is very explicit -- "No church discipline shall ensue until the requirement according to the Scriptures, in Matthew 18:15-17, have been strictly obeyed, unless a By-Law governing the case provides for immediate action."

There are only three By-Laws in the Manual providing for immediate action which could satisfy this exception in Section 4 -- 1. Article 1 Section 9 paragraph 2 involving an officer of The Mother Church failing "to fulfill all the obligations of his office." 2. Article 11 Section 7 Working against the Cause, and 3. Article 11 Section 12 Special offense. These three sections are quoted in full below, following the Article 12 discussion.

This means that in all other Article 11 and 12 sections (13 other sections), it is necessary that the requirements of Matt 18:15-17 be strictly obeyed.

Also, even where the word "immediately" applies, careful examination of the three sections reveals that the requirement for immediate (expeditious?) action does not preclude the need for scrupulous establishment of the true facts of the case in question.

Section 5
Indicates that the Board "has power to discipline, place on probation, remove from membership, or to excommunicate members of The Mother Church," also that only the Board will be present "at meetings for the examination of complaints against Church members," and only they will vote on such cases.

This would appear to mean that it is not a function of the Board of Education to hold or be present at such meetings or examinations.

Obviously, the provisions of any other Article 11 or 12 sections, as well as any other guidance from the writings of our Leader, that apply, must be met. In other words, this is not a stand alone empowerment for the Board to discipline in any way or circumstances it sees fit.

excommunicate -- to cut off from communion with a church

Section 6
1. This section provides procedural detail for all complaints with two exceptions -- a) where the member belongs to a branch church, and b) where the complaint is for mental malpractice (apparently covered by Section 7). In the case of a branch church member, such case is apparently to be handled by the branch church, with the apparent exception of Article 12 provisions for Board handling of cases involving practitioners and teachers. (See also Section 13 re branch church handling.)

2. "...within ten days thereafter, the Clerk of the Church shall address a letter of inquiry to the member complained of as to the validity of the charge."
This is a procedural provision for
a) expeditious resolution , and
b) clear identification of the charge(s),
since "the member complained of" cannot speak to "the validity of the charge" if he/she hasn't been told what the charge is.

Further provisions of the section come into play only when the foregoing requirements have been fulfilled.

3. Since there is a separate Article XII for teachers, does this mean these procedural provisions would not apply to teachers? Is there anything in Article 12 Section 1 or 2 that would indicate that these procedural provisions would not apply to teachers? No. In addition, why would our Leader intend that any of the rights of members of The Mother Church be denied to teachers? Could she have intended that a teacher be a lesser or inferior category of membership? To ask this question is to reveal the ludicrousness of the concept. To say this, however, does not conflict in any way with the fact that those who accept the privilege of teaching, also accept the responsibilities which go with the privilege. But those responsibilities, of course, are responsibilities of faithfulness to our Leader, and to the Christ, and to divine Science.

Section 7
1. We might call this the mental malpractice section.

2. To be applicable, this section specifies that "If a member shall, mentally or otherwise

a) "persist in working against the interests of another member,
b) "or the interests of our Pastor Emeritus and the accomplishment of what she understands is advantageous to this Church and to the Cause of Christian Science,
c) "or shall influence others so to act,..."

To determine what "our Pastor Emeritus ... understands is advantageous to this Church and to the Cause of Christian Science," it would appear we must go to her writings. She has given us this guidance in her Miscellany, p.120: "Those who look for me ... elsewhere than in my writings, lose me instead of find me." We find there that her, and our, ultimate criterion is the Christ.

3. " upon her [Pastor Emeritus] complaint or the complaint of a member for her or for himself, it shall be the duty of the Board of Directors immediately to call a meeting, and drop forever the name of the member guilty of this offense..."

The word "immediately" hinges on the word "guilty."

a) If the complaint is lodged by the Pastor Emeritus or at her request, it can be taken that the guilt is already sufficiently established, and the Board can act immediately. This conclusion is reinforced by the final sentence of Section 9.

b) In the case of other complaints than those originating with the Pastor Emeritus, guilt must be established by the Board in accordance with other applicable Article 11 sections, prior to the word "immediately" taking effect. In other words, urgency does not trump factuality.

Section 8
The first sentence re "treat[ing] the author of our textbook disrespectfully and cruelly" can still apply, even though she is no longer with us in person. Finding of the fact would be subject to applicable Article 11 sections. This qualification also applies to Sections 9 through 12.

Section 9
Three special provisions re hypnotism and complaints of mental malpractice.

Section 10
Special provision re "publish[ing]. or caus[ing] to be published, an article that is false or unjust, hence injurious, to Christian Science or to its Leader."

Section 11
Special provision re "break[ing]the rules of its Tenets [#6] as to unjust and unmerciful conduct." It appears this section is no longer operable, since it explicitly requires the complaint of the Pastor Emeritus; however, the spirit of the By-Law is instructive.

Section 12
Special provision re "represent[ing] falsely to or of the Leader and Pastor Emeritus." -- This is the third of the three "immediate" sections.

Section 13
Each branch "shall separately and independently discipline its own members..."

Article 11 Sections, and other requirements, which apply to all other Article 11 and 12 Sections
1. Sections 2, 4, & 6 of Article 11 apply to all other Article 11 or 12 sections, unless exception is made.

2. In addition, the following also apply to all discipline actions of the Board-- a) the 6th Tenet promises regarding the mind of Christ, the Golden Rule, and being merciful, just and pure, b) Article 8 Section 1 re not judging, condemning, counseling, influencing or being influenced erroneously, c) Article 24 Section 5 requiring wisdom and brotherly love. That is, The Board of Directors, in applying Article 11 and 12 By-Laws must be obedient to these three sets of requirements applicable to all actions of all members of The Mother Church, including the individual members of the Board of Directors, and therefore the Board of Directors itself.

Article 12 Teachers
Section 1
"For sufficient reasons it may be decided
that a teacher has so strayed
as not to be fit for the work of ... a teacher of Christian Science."
The above constitute three categories of fact which must be established in accordance with all applicable Article 11 sections.

In addition, it is surely self-evident that to determine whether a teacher has strayed, his/her conduct must be measured against the criterion of fidelity to our Leader and to the Christ, as found in the Bible and her writings.

Section 2
"If a member of this Church is found trying to practice or teach Christian Science contrary to the statement thereof in the textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,..."
The above category of fact must be established in accordance with applicable Article 11 sections.

"...it shall be the duty of the Board of Directors
to admonish that member
according to Article XI, Sect. 4"

Note -- although only Section 2 of Article 12 refers back to Matt 18:15-17, both sections of this Article require obedience to Matt 18:15-17 because of Article 11 Section 4 applying to all Church discipline, and both Section 1 and Section 2 of Article 12 certainly involve discipline.

Immediate
There are only three Sections in the Manual requiring immediate action.

1. Man 28:17-22 (to ;) Article 1 Section 9 paragraph 2
"If an officer fails to fulfil all the obligations of his office, the Board of Directors shall immediately call a meeting and notify this officer either to resign his place or to perform his office faithfully; "

2. Man 52:20 Article 11 Section 7
"Working Against the Cause. SECT. 7. If a member of this Church shall, mentally or otherwise, persist in working against the interests of another member, or the interests of our Pastor Emeritus and the accomplishment of what she understands is advantageous to this Church and to the Cause of Christian Science, or shall influence others thus to act, upon her complaint or the complaint of a member for her or for himself, it shall be the duty of the Board of Directors immediately to call a meeting, and drop forever the name of the member guilty of this offense from the roll of Church membership."

3. Man 54:19 Article 11 Section 12
"Special Offense. SECT. 12. If a member of this Church, either by word or work, represents falsely to or of the Leader and Pastor Emeritus, said member shall immediately be disciplined, and a second similar offense shall remove his or her name from membership in The Mother Church. "

Paul Kautz
paul@duncansbeemers.com