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Upon their arrival in Boston, the students and chaperones boarded two coach buses, and immediately headed north to New Hampshire. That evening, Longyear Director•Curator Stephen Howard, gave the group a presentation titled, “Dis-illusion.” This talk focused on the revolutionary nature of Mrs. Eddy’s discovery and the value of visiting the sites where she was living when she was discovering and founding Christian Science.

The first stop on the visitors’ itinerary was the site of Mrs. Eddy’s birthplace in Bow, New Hampshire. Here, students learned about Mrs. Eddy’s childhood years and a bit about the farmhouse where she was raised.

Students observe the beauty of Bow, New Hampshire.

In North Groton, New Hampshire, students visited the house where Mrs. Eddy, then Mary Patterson, lived from 1855 to 1860. Students toured the remains of Daniel Patterson’s lumber mill.

Students study the remains of the lumber mill.

Students explored the surrounding neighborhood of North Groton. They visited the post office that Mrs. Eddy would have used; the site of the North Groton Community Church, where Mrs. Eddy occasionally led the congregation in prayer; and visited the one-room school house where Georgie Glover, Mrs. Eddy’s son, attended classes.

The group explored the Mary Baker Eddy Historic House in Rumney, New Hampshire, where Mrs. Eddy lived from 1860 to 1862. Here they read some of the poetry Mrs. Eddy, then Mary Patterson, wrote during this period and heard about her husband’s and son’s exploits in the Civil War. While in Rumney students and chaperones enjoyed a picnic lunch on the lawn.

The Junior Class headed south and attended a Wednesday evening testimony meeting at First Church of Christ, Scientist, Concord, New Hampshire. Mrs. Eddy paid for half the cost of this beautiful granite edifice which was dedicated in 1904.

Some students visited the historic house in Swampscott, Massachusetts, where Mrs. Eddy experienced the healing that led to her discovery of Christian Science. Here they used the Concordance to Mrs. Eddy’s published writings to learn what she herself said about her discovery.

Students work in the Resident Overseer apartment of the Swampscott Historic House to complete a research assignment.

Students had a first-hand look at the exterior restoration of the first house that Mrs. Eddy ever owned — the house on Broad Street in Lynn, Massachusetts. Students toured the inside of the house and saw the third floor attic room where Mrs. Eddy completed the first edition of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures.

After this experience, one student said, “I never really knew how much I didn’t know about Mary Baker Eddy. Coming here really helped me to expand my knowledge of her life, and of Christian Science as well. One thing I really loved about this trip was being in the room where Mrs. Eddy finished writing Science and Health… It inspired me to not just be a better student of Christian Science but also to be a better healer in the world… .”

A day-long visit to the Christian Science Center was also on the itinerary for these visitors. Students toured The Mother Church, visited the Mary Baker Eddy Library and the Mapparium, and participated in sessions presented by TMCYouth and other departments, including The Christian Science Monitor.

One student said, “I'm really grateful to the Mother Church… We learned a lot during the talks in the Sunday School, and I really liked the video about the different places where Christian Science is being practiced. It demonstrates, to me at least, God's presence in the world… .”

A few days later, on Sunday morning, all students had the opportunity to attend Sunday School or the church service at The Mother Church.

The trip came to a close following a talk titled “Christian Science and its Relation to Primitive Christianity,” presented by Kristy Christian of the Biblos Foundation, and held in the Longyear Museum Portrait Gallery.

At the end of the trip, students had an opportunity to reflect on the experience and share inspiration and gratitude gained while in New England. One student said, “I think if a lot more young people took this trip more of them would stay in Christian Science. And I’m very grateful we all had this opportunity to get so deep into [Christian Science] and see what it’s all about.”