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Healings

The  previous annual reports, 2003 and 2004, are also available for download as PDF files in separate articles on this page.

	2006 Annual Report	This is the complete fruitage report that shows some of the results of this committee's work during 2005-2006. (You must have Adobe's free Acrobat Reader software to view the file. If you do not have Acrobat Reader, you can download it free from www.adobe.com.) Simply click on the image to bring up the report in a separate browser window.
	2006 Keynote Address	Keynote Address - Annual Meeting - Saturday, October 14, 2006 Christian Science Committee for Institutional Work in Texas Held at Seventh Church of Christ, Scientist, Houston, Texas Address by: Ann M. Van Tassel, C.S. Subject: A Pathway for All
	2005 Annual Report	This is the complete fruitage report that shows some of the results of this committee's work during 2004-2005. (You must have Adobe's free Acrobat Reader software to view the file. If you do not have Acrobat Reader, you can download it free from www.adobe.com.) Simply click on the image to bring up the report in a separate browser window.
	2005 Keynote Address	Keynote Address - Annual Meeting - Saturday, October 8, 2005 Christian Science Committee for Institutional Work in Texas Held at the First Church of Christ, Scientist, North Richland Hills, Texas Address by: Judge Al Alonso, San Antonio, Texas Subject: "I will come and heal him." Judge Alonso spoke substantially as follows: Matthew 5: 5-7 "And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him." Miscellaneous Writings by Mary Baker Eddy, p. 112:12-23: "The mental stages of crime, which seem to belong to the latter days, are strictly classified in metaphysics as some of the many features and forms of what is properly denominated, in extreme cases, moral idiocy. I visited in his cell the assassin of President Garfield, and found him in the mental state called moral idiocy. He had no sense of his crime; but regarded his act as one of simple justice, and himself as the victim. My few words touched him; he sank back in his chair, limp and pale; his flippancy had fled. The jailer thanked me, and said, "Other visitors have brought to him bouquets, but you have brought what will do him good." Our leader led by example, and we as institutional workers should follow her example. I have always been interested in public office. Ever since I was old enough to think about a career, I’ve wanted to serve other people. When I got out of law school I had two job offers, one as a prosecuting attorney and another as a poverty lawyer in a legal aid organization. I chose to serve the poor because I felt that work would do the most good for the most people. I ran twice for election as a county commissioner in Texas and lost both times, finishing as the runner-up. Not long after those elections I was given a copy of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy and within 30 days I quit drinking and I turned my life around becoming a student of Christian Science. Twelve years ago I ran for the office of state judge and was elected. I began presiding over criminal cases. I was surprised at the number of probationers who were testing positive for drugs. Most of the people arrested for criminal acts are high on drugs or alcohol. The majority of inmates in jails and prisons are drug abusers. I learned from a U. S. Justice Department study that the average addicted person commits 200 undetected crimes a year. I’m not alone in believing that incarceration, in and of itself, does not help people to turn their lives around, and in the long run doesn’t really protect the public. While I was a student for a master's degree at the National Judicial College, I did research to learn the current approaches to addressing the relationship between crime and drug addition. I learned about therapeutic justice drug courts, a non-adversarial team approach designed to heal drug addiction. The process involves giving those on probation weekly screens for drugs and sanctions for testing positive. A major component of the therapeutic justice approach is weekly attendance at Alcoholics Anonymous/Narcotics Anonymous (AA/NA) meetings, plus drug counseling. In the traditional criminal justice approach, a judge sentences someone to probation and will not see the person again unless he or she violates the rules of probation. In a drug court setting, the judge acts as a paternal or maternal figure, offering compassion and requiring discipline. The judge congratulates and encourages probationers when they’re in compliance (drug-free), and disciplines individuals with graduated sanctions when they’re in noncompliance. I have been a drug court judge for two years now. Last year our ten-member team received training by the National Drug Court Institute (NDCI). After each training session we heard testimonials from drug court graduates. Ninety percent of them spoke about the 12-step AA and NA programs. They talked about turning to a power greater than themselves that could change their lives. Virtually all of them think of this power as God, and according to the NDCI, spirituality is a major factor in recovery. I was deeply moved when I heard those people give their testimonies, and I knew right then that I was doing my Father's business in the drug courts. But I’ve felt it’s important to go beyond being a father figure in the role of a judge. So once a month, a Christian Science practitioner and I go to the county jail in San Antonio to conduct a Bible study based on the Ten Commandments. We always start our sessions with the truths found in the first chapter of Genesis: "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness . . . . So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." This account of creation ends with the powerful conclusion, "And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good." We apply the concepts in this account in our Bible study as we move through the Ten Commandments. We address one commandment in each study session. There are many new faces each month. In some sessions we have as many as 80 men attending. All of them are searching for the truth about themselves and are hoping to find a way to change their way of living. Each month many of them tell about healings they’re having, and after they are released from jail some of the men are coming to the local Christian Science Reading Room to study and buy literature. When these men come into the Reading Room for further study, we often refer them to a paragraph in Mary Baker Eddy’s book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: "When speaking of God's children, not the children of men, Jesus said, ‘The kingdom of God is within you;’ that is, Truth and Love reign in the real man, showing that man in God's image is unfallen and eternal. Jesus beheld in Science the perfect man, who appeared to him where sinning mortal man appears to mortals. In this perfect man the Saviour saw God's own likeness, and this correct view of man healed the sick. Thus Jesus taught that the kingdom of God is intact, universal, and that man is pure and holy. Man is not a material habitation for Soul; he is himself spiritual. Soul, being Spirit, is seen in nothing imperfect nor material" (p. 476). Some of these men have attended services our branch Church of Christ, Scientist after their release, and one is now a member of a church in a nearby city and is serving on the State Institutional Committee. In one of Jesus’ parables the people ask, "When saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?” The he (“the King” or Christ) answers, “Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me" (see Matt. 25). As a judge I can practice the teachings of Christian Science by being compassionate and loving to “these my brethren,” and by seeing each one as God originally made them—in their true spiritual identity, addicted to nothing but God’s love Our branch church is strongly committed to the work being done by our state institutional committee, which allows Christian Scientists to take their ministry into the prisons and institutions in order to help and heal others. As we present the healing method that is found in the Bible, along with Mary Baker Eddy's rediscovery of this method in Science and Health, these searchers, who, like the Bible’s "prodigal son," seem to have lost their way, find that the Father-Mother God is waiting to lovingly receive all sons and daughters back into the fold. They all have a right to hear the father’s words to the prodigal’s brother: "Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine." (Luke 15:31) One inmate who attended the Bible studies was healed of infected gums in two months, just from the study of Science and Health. He told the group about his healing and said that it was the prayer and study alone that healed him. Another was healed of drug addiction withdrawal symptoms by a practitioner’s prayer-based treatment. He, too, was completely well within two months, has been paroled, and is now holding down a good job. Legislators have told me that the public supports the building of prisons and jails, but to do not support rehabilitative programs. Drug courts save taxpayer dollars and save lives. Drug courts work in the healing of addiction we must spread the word so that legislators understand. With over 35 years experience in the criminal justice field, I have never seen a program as effective as therapeutic justice. And as a Christian Scientist, I see the wonderful healing effects of prayer and spiritual awakening on people’s lives. While before I was frustrated at the traditional approach to criminal justice, now I look forward going to work. This is my passion and my mission.
	Christian Science Lecturer Speaks at Juvenile Facility in Austin	On Friday night, February 20, 2004, Dave Stevens presented a lecture/workshop at the Gardner-Betts Juvenile Facility in Austin, Texas. This facility is for young people from ages 11 through 17 who are there for very short periods of time, generally while they are awaiting trial or sentencing. The day-to-day activities of the children in this facility are very structured. Some in the facility were not given the choice to attend this evening event because they had not earned the privilege of staying up past 6:30 p.m. This workshop was scheduled for 7 p.m. One guard estimated that about 50% of those who were offered the opportunity had chosen to come. Contrary to some expectations, having the boys and girls together during this time did not result in any “acting up,” and no one had to be removed. As soon as the children were seated, each was given a copy of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures (by Mary Baker Eddy) and Dave told them that they would be using this book during the workshop. (Several guards wanted copies of it to use, too.) He told everyone that the book was written 128 years ago, and while it might be an “old” book, it has helped many people since it was written, and does so even today. Dave had them open to the preface and read the very first line of the book. He asked them, “What does ‘sustaining’ mean? What is ‘infinite’? Who wants blessings?” They all responded to that, murmuring that they wanted blessings. As Dave read the definition of God, one boy quietly read along out loud. They loved the idea that God is their Father-Mother and they are the children of a loving parent. Also, the idea that God is infinite so they are never alone seemed to be a relief to them. Dave brought up the idea that they could lean on God — not friends who may make bad choices, not things that would not support them in life — but God who is infinite. God as Mind opened up the thought that knowledge — good and intelligent thoughts — are inherent to them. Dave spoke to them about their spiritual heredity, and that as a child of God they had God’s qualities. They understood that they looked like their parents, but when they thought about looking like God because He is their parent, they weren’t sure what this meant about their looks! Dave asked them to think of how they would look as one of the synonyms for God, such as Love or Truth. This really gave them some ideas to think about. One girl asked about the Bible and Adam and Eve, and the discussion turned to marriage. Dave told everyone that Mary Baker Eddy had a whole chapter on marriage in this book, and they were all eager to find it! Books opened to indexes, people flipped pages, and one boy called out, “It’s on page 56.” They all opened to that chapter. Dave had them read one specific citation. At one point, when one boy couldn’t find a page and said it was not in his book, the officer sitting in a chair by him offered his book to the boy, which was opened to that page. A boy sitting next to this boy helped him as well. Dave talked about the meaning of selflessness and unselfish acts, this being one evidence of this behavior. At the end of the talk Dave said these books were available for them to have through Chaplin Bruce. Many seemed to want to keep the books. Enough English and Spanish editions of Science and Health were provided for everyone who attended along with a few extra for sharing. When asked what one thing they learned this evening, a boy in the front row said, “God is my Mother.” One girl that had shared many thoughts during the workshop was the last one to leave. Dave asked her who she was. She said her name, then Dave said, “And a Child of God.” She liked that. Several guards were very appreciative of the workshop and the ideas shared, not only for the children, but for themselves as well. They shared how they try to be optimistic and positive when working with these young people. One said he felt that while these seeds could become flowers, they still needed to be watered in order to grow. This seemed like a good comment about the spiritual “water” shared during this inspiring evening.
	2004 Annual Report	This is the complete fruitage report that highlights this committee's work during 2003-2004. (You must have Adobe's free Acrobat Reader software to view the file. If you do not have Acrobat Reader, you can download it free from www.adobe.com.) Simply click on the image to bring up the report in a separate browser window.
	2003 Annual Report	This is the complete fruitage report that shows some of the results of this committee's work during 2002-2003. (You must have Adobe's free Acrobat Reader software to view the file. If you do not have Acrobat Reader, you can download it free from www.adobe.com.) Simply click on the image to bring up the report in a separate browser window.

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