History of the Center for Spiritual Living, Redding
Empowering individuals to live an abundant spirit-connected life through sacred service, community, and spiritual principles
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When James Golden, the pastor of the Redding Church of Religious Science, straps on a parachute and jumps out of an airplane, his jump is nothing short of a leap of faith. It is a leap he made about 100 times in the six years since he took up skydiving, and he uses the experience to illustrate a key point in his Sunday teachings: You have to take charge of your life.
You put yourself in your own hands, and it is analogous to what we do with our own lives. You have to take charge and if something goes wrong, you have to take care of it. In skydiving, if something goes wrong, you cannot call AAA.
Developing positive, spiritual attitudes of self-confidence and self-determination are significant parts of the lives of Golden and his wife Andrea, a fellow minister. The attitude has manifested itself in the development of the church.
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About the Book
This is not an ordinary book . . . it exists through grace. By the time I found the metaphysical teaching called Science of Mind in 1989, the local church had grown from a few people in a living room to about 175. Still meeting in an array of hotel ballrooms and clubs, the principles for successful living shared every Sunday were already deeply held beliefs in my life, so it immediately felt like home. One weekend we invited the elders of the church over to discuss church history and what a rich history it was. An afternoon with Bill and Win Siefert, Bruce and Dorothy Johnson, Marilyn and Joe Vondracek, Bob and Dorothy Huntoon, Harry and Frances Bleile, and Rev. James and Rev. Andrea Golden was magical.
How many ministers have taken their congregation skydiving? White water rafting? On wilderness treks? How many change lives through deep introspection at family retreats in rustic cabins deep in the woods? How many invite congregants and friends to pound thousands of nails for an old fashioned barn raising to build a sanctuary? Whether the name was the Science of Mind Center, Church of Religious Science, Spiritual Enrichment Center, or Center for Spiritual Living, over the years we all learned to jump into life in one new way or another. The list of events by year presented in the appendix creates a picture of a community that loves to laugh and play together, always mindful of doing their spiritual practices. What a life! What a community! What a history!
Rev. Mary E. Mitchell
About the Author
Rev. Mary Mitchell has been a member of the Center for Spiritual Living, Redding since 1989. Her passion for writing led her to interview many of the original members of the Center in the early 1990s and save many of the historical documents used to create this manuscript. She received her practitioner license in 1993, minister license in 2003, and was ordained in 2008. Rev. Mary and Rev. Sue MillerBorn served as interim co-pastors during the Center’s search for a new senior minister, who was hired in April 2014. Rev. Mary and Rev. Sue now both happily serve the Center as Assistant Ministers.