In the 1880s, the then-new denomination Christian Science first became known to Indianapolis through its healing ministry. The denomination, which began in Boston in 1879, reflected this emphasis: to “reinstate primitive Christianity and its lost element of healing.” Christian Scientists approach such healing not as a rare or inexplicable occurrence based on faith alone but as a normal part of Christian life that can be understood, studied, and practiced by all. Those who enter the public ministry of Christian Science healing—a ministry of individual prayer—are known as Christian Science practitioners.
In Indianapolis, a small group began studying and meeting for worship together after several residents turned to a visiting Christian Science practitioner, Dr. Silas Sawyer of Milwaukee, for help through prayer and were seemingly healed. Sawyer had studied with the denomination’s founder, Mary Baker Eddy. Another Eddy student, John P. Filbert of Nebraska, taught three classes on Christian Science in Indianapolis in the same period, and one of his students, Frederick LaRue, became the first Christian Science practitioner in the city, while one of those healed under Sawyer ministrations, Anna B. Dorland, later traveled to Boston herself to study with Eddy. Dorland returned to become the first authorized teacher of Christian Science in Indiana and in 1889 helped organize a group that became formally established as First Church of Christ, Scientist, Indianapolis, in 1897. For a time in the early 20th century, the congregation met in the .
As the church’s membership in Indianapolis grew, a second congregation in the city was organized in August 1903. By the early 21st century, the Christian Science community in Indianapolis numbered four congregations with a fifth group in nearby Carmel, down from eight in the 1960s. Adherents came from all socioeconomic levels. Each branch church maintained a public Christian Science Reading Room. In addition to Sunday worship, each branch church generally held Wednesday evening meetings that included a period for testimonies of healing from those in the congregation. Thirteen full-time Christian Science practitioners had offices in or near the city.
*Note: This entry is from the original print edition of the Encyclopedia of Indianapolis (1994). We are currently seeking an individual with knowledge of this topic to update this entry.
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