Fifth Church of Christ, Scientist

Fifth Church of Christ, Scientist at 1238 31st Street NW is a Christian Science congregation in Georgetown’s 31st Street residential neighborhood, serving the Georgetown and Washington Christian Science community with the Sunday services, the Wednesday testimony meetings, and the Reading Room that provides the Christian Science literature and the space for the individual study that the Christian Science practice uses as the foundation of the spiritual healing work. The 31st Street address at 1238 NW, in the Georgetown residential neighborhood between M Street and the canal level, provides the church with the specific Georgetown residential neighborhood character that the Christian Science congregation has occupied since the establishment of the Georgetown congregation.

The Christian Science tradition, which Mary Baker Eddy founded in Boston in 1866 following her experience of healing from an injury through the study of the Bible, understands the spiritual healing of the physical and the mental condition as the primary expression of the Christian life and the specific contribution of the Christian Science movement to the Christian tradition. The Sunday service at Fifth Church includes the lesson-sermon from the Christian Science Quarterly, which is the same lesson delivered in Christian Science churches globally on each Sunday, and the Wednesday testimony meeting where the congregation shares accounts of the healing that the Christian Science practice has produced.

The Reading Room at Fifth Church of Christ, Scientist provides the Georgetown community with the space for the individual study of the Bible and the Christian Science literature, including the works of Mary Baker Eddy.

Services are held on Sunday and Wednesday. The Fifth Church of Christ, Scientist at 1238 31st Street NW maintains the Reading Room as the specific resource for the individual who wants to explore the Christian Science tradition through the primary sources: the King James Bible and the works of Mary Baker Eddy, particularly Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, are the central texts that the Christian Science Reading Room provides in the accessible space. The Georgetown visitor and the Washington resident who is curious about the Christian Science tradition can use the Reading Room for the personal investigation without the formal membership commitment.

The church’s Georgetown residential neighborhood location on the 31st Street between the canal level and the M Street provides the congregation with the specific Georgetown neighborhood setting that the historic Georgetown congregation has occupied. Sunday services are at 10:30am and Wednesday testimony meetings are at 7:30pm. Fifth Church of Christ, Scientist at 1238 31st Street NW Georgetown holds Sunday services at 10:30am and Wednesday testimony meetings at 7:30pm. The Reading Room at the 31st Street church is available to the Georgetown community for the individual study of the Christian Science literature during regular hours. The church’s Georgetown residential neighborhood setting on 31st Street NW serves the congregation and the wider Washington Christian Science community.