Holmes did not consider his work to be a religion, but more of a philosophical study. He felt that a person of any religion could benefit from studying and applying the Science of Mind principles.
Religious Science views the universe as Consciousness, or Infinite Mind - expressing itself in and as all creation.This Consciousness is Omnipresent, Omniscient, and Omnipotent; God or Spirit or whatever name it is referred to is everywhere at all times and is the all-knowing intelligence and the one and only power.
Humans are centers of self-awareness within this Consciousness. The Bible statement that we were created “in the image and likeness of God” is taken literally. This Consciousness is the creating, maintaining, and sustaining Principle of all that there is, invisible and visible. Because we are It as us, our lives are created through the action of our own thoughts and we experience the dominant state of our own consciousness.
Consciousness is a combination of thought and feeling. This puts full responsibility for an individual’s life within him or her. As thought or deeply held beliefs are changed, the circumstances of the individual change. Without a change in consciousness there is no real change in experience and outer circumstance. Religious Science teaches that there is only one power, God or Consciousness. It works on a conscious (choosing) level and subjective or sometimes called subconscious (accepting and creating) level.
We Believe In God, The Living Spirit Almighty; One, Indestructible, Absolute And Self-Existent Cause. This One Manifests Itself In And Through All Creation But Is Not Absorbed By Its Creation. The Manifest Universe Is The Body Of God; It Is The Logical And Necessary Outcome Of The Infinite Self-Knowingness Of God.
Ernest Holmes “What We Believe”
We teach a specific way of thinking to align ourselves with the Creative Principle, or God, so as to have our consciousness be a way that the innate perfection, order, harmony, beauty, love, life, intelligence etc. of this Principle may be revealed in our experience or as the life of another for whom we may be doing this kind of thinking. It is not done to “change God”, but to change the thinking of the individual so as to allow the expression of the inner invisible good. There is nothing of pleading in it; it is a recognition of the Presence of God (or good) and an identifying with it. Then, there is a choice for the experience of good and an inner coming into the spirit of the good, a knowing of it already accomplished at the causative level and a gratefulness and then a release of concern as to how it shall take place.
We all have beliefs that do not serve us, as they are based on a false idea of who and what we are, and on the effects of those beliefs. We think of people as being ignorant of truth, but not as being sinners or bad. We think of forgiveness as not only not condemning another or oneself, but of now knowing a Truth that replaces an error so a person is literally a new being having a new experience.
Religious Science is wonderfully freeing as well as very demanding. Knowing that God really is present as every individual leads to a great respect for and care for all people.
We all have beliefs that do not serve us, as they are based on a false idea of who and what we are, and on the effects of those beliefs. We think of people as being ignorant of truth, but not as being sinners or bad. We think of forgiveness as not only not condemning another or oneself, but of now knowing a Truth that replaces an error so a person is literally a new being having a new experience.
Religious Science is wonderfully freeing as well as very demanding. Knowing that God really is present as every individual leads to a great respect for and care for all people.
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
President
Patty Powers, RScP
Secretary
Ed Graff
Vice-President
Marianne Cordova-Breen, RScP
Member
Glenn Jones
Treasurer
Lora Lopez
Member
Laney Roberts
CONGREGATION HISTORY
On Sunday, December 3, 1944 Pearl Lady Moore hosted our very first service – a Science of Mind study group. Her lecture was titled “You Tell the World – Don’t Let the World Tell You.” She had earned her Practitioner’s License just two months before. She became Rev. Moore on July 20, 1946. The first Board of Trustees meeting was February 2, 1947. At that meeting, they appointed a Church Librarian and voted to pay a pianist and a soloist $3.50 apiece each Sunday. At their second meeting they voted to pay Rev. Moore $100 per month. On December 12, 1949, we were granted Charter #21 and became the Pomona Valley First Church of Religious Science. This is the date we mark as our church’s birthday.
Kendall Bryson became our minister in 1951. Rev. Bryson was a former radio announcer and New York stage actor, and it didn’t take long for his skills and ministerial spirit to bear fruit in the congregation. Our current sanctuary was officially dedicated on Sunday, November 22, 1959. Dr. Ernest Holmes was the featured speaker. In October 1960 construction began on the Sunday School and Junior Church assembly building. Our fellowship hall - Holmes Hall - was built in 1964.
In 1981, Dr. Alex Alacchi came to Claremont from the Las Vegas church. 1984 saw the arrival of Rev. Rick Toth as an Assistant Minister, and under their joint leadership our church had its greatest period of growth since Rev. Bryson. We added our chapel to the existing Junior Church classrooms in 1986
Kendall Bryson became our minister in 1951. Rev. Bryson was a former radio announcer and New York stage actor, and it didn’t take long for his skills and ministerial spirit to bear fruit in the congregation. Our current sanctuary was officially dedicated on Sunday, November 22, 1959. Dr. Ernest Holmes was the featured speaker. In October 1960 construction began on the Sunday School and Junior Church assembly building. Our fellowship hall - Holmes Hall - was built in 1964.
In 1981, Dr. Alex Alacchi came to Claremont from the Las Vegas church. 1984 saw the arrival of Rev. Rick Toth as an Assistant Minister, and under their joint leadership our church had its greatest period of growth since Rev. Bryson. We added our chapel to the existing Junior Church classrooms in 1986
Dr. Patt Perkins came to Claremont as a member in 1996. She became our Associate Minister in August of 1999, rising to Senior Minister in October of 1999. Bolstered by Rev. Perkins’ vision and the exceptional commitment of our members, our congregation’s successes include one of the first commercial buildings in Pomona Valley to install solar power panels, sponsorship of the Character Champions youth development program, licensing of twenty-two active Practitioners, and major renovations and improvements to our Fellowship Hall kitchen, bookstore, and library space.
Rev. Greg Dorst JD, CAS came to Claremont in 2014. His talks combined real world issues with solutions centered around his vast knowledge of the Science of Mind along with traditional religious and philosophical views. His experience as a business leader while employed as the CEO of the non-profit Cedar House Life Change Center as well as his legal background, brought a unique spiritual flavor to his lessons concerning spiritual direction and transformation.
Rev. Tracy Earlywine became a Practitioner 2000 and received her Master's Degree and ministerial license from The Holmes Institute in 2011. Before becoming a minister, Rev. Tracy logged over thirty years in hospitality management and training. Rev. Tracy describes herself as a teaching minister. In her own words, “I seek to recognize Love and Law in everyday life, to reach the deep silence of Spirit and the mystical heights of transformation. I live life with delight and a deep commitment to empowering others to live their lives more abundantly.”
Rev. Greg Dorst JD, CAS came to Claremont in 2014. His talks combined real world issues with solutions centered around his vast knowledge of the Science of Mind along with traditional religious and philosophical views. His experience as a business leader while employed as the CEO of the non-profit Cedar House Life Change Center as well as his legal background, brought a unique spiritual flavor to his lessons concerning spiritual direction and transformation.
Rev. Tracy Earlywine became a Practitioner 2000 and received her Master's Degree and ministerial license from The Holmes Institute in 2011. Before becoming a minister, Rev. Tracy logged over thirty years in hospitality management and training. Rev. Tracy describes herself as a teaching minister. In her own words, “I seek to recognize Love and Law in everyday life, to reach the deep silence of Spirit and the mystical heights of transformation. I live life with delight and a deep commitment to empowering others to live their lives more abundantly.”
CLAREMONT CENTER FOR SPIRITUAL LIVING
509 S. College Avenue
Claremont, California 91711
SUNDAY SERVICE: 10:30 - 11:30 a.m.
OFFICE HOURS: Tues - Thurs 9:00 a.m to 2:00 p.m. & Fri 9:00 to 11:00
PHONE: 909.624.3549 (with 24-Hour Prayer Request Line)
E-MAIL: admin@claremontcsl.org
PRAYER E-MAIL: prayer@claremontcsl.org
