Letters of dismissal and recommendation

For many years it has been customary for a member of a Christian church who wishes to withdraw his or her membership and perhaps join another church, to ask for and receive a letter of dismissal and recommendation from the pastor or governing body of the church of which the individual has been a member. Such letters often include an account of the person’s participation in the church, his or her Christian character, and a statement that membership in the church will terminate at such point as the individual is received into membership in the new church. Elements of the letters were sometimes left out or modified, such as when, for example, an individual’s personal righteousness or piety was lacking, or when a pastor or church council did not approve of the new church the person wanted to join.

The collections of the Mary Baker Eddy Library contain a number of such letters of dismissal and recommendation (or references to them) written by Christian pastors or other church officials on behalf of persons who were studying Christian Science who wished to join the Church of Christ (Scientist). Most of the elements of such letters mentioned above can be found in these examples. But since Christian Science tended to be controversial among pastors of more orthodox Christian churches, some of the letters reflect suspicion and disapproval of Christian Science. But all the letters at the least show the individual’s commitment to activity in the Christian Science church and willingness to sever former ecclesiastical ties.

After the Church of Christ (Scientist) was reorganized in 1892 as The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts, it’s Manual required applicants who had been members of churches of other denominations to sever those connections before applying for Mother Church membership (see Church Manual, pages 34, 115, 117, and 118). Those applying have been instructed at various times over the years to accomplish the severance by asking the former church for a letter of dismissal, and in cases where the former church was unwilling to issue one, to clearly state in a letter to the former church that the applicant no longer regards himself or herself to be a member of that church. The historical record indicates that in most cases, the applicant has not been required to forward a letter of dismissal to The Mother Church but to simply state that the applicant has severed “in writing,” his or her membership in the former church.