By Bruce Barton
 Photo by Monique Schoenfeld, Town Crier |
The Baylight Church of Religious Science is returning next month to Los Altos, the place of its founding.
The church, which emphasizes an open-minded, self-empowerment spin on traditional Christian beliefs, will begin holding services at the Los Altos Masonic Lodge, 146 Main St. Church members also will be moving to new office space at 885 N. San Antonio Road in Los Altos.
“We’re also excited about returning just in time for the Easter season,” said the Rev. Maxine Kaye, Baylight pastor for the past 10 years.
The church is moving after the Palo Alto office building it leased for the past seven years was scheduled for demolition. The church’s first service will be Palm Sunday, 10 a.m., April 8. A Good Friday service is scheduled for 7 p.m., April 13 and an Easter Sunday service is planned for April 15.
Kaye emphasized that the “science” in the church’s name has nothing to do with L. Ron Hubbard’s Scientology. The basis for the church’s philosophy dates back to the 1920s, when Dr. Ernest Holmes developed a “practical spirituality which he chose to make available to all people seeking it,” she said.
This viewpoint, expressed in Holmes’ study, “The Science of the Mind,” relates to a belief in “a spiritual universe ruled by a creative intelligence which operates in a pattern of law and life that we can all rely on,” according to a Baylight pamphlet.
Holmes detailed “the nature of our relationship with this Infinite Source, how it operates in our life and how we can direct our thoughts and beliefs to produce the experiences we desire,” according to church information.
“We come to understand that spiritual laws respond to our thinking … this is why your life will benefit immediately and directly from the mental exercise of replacing worry and fear with positive and optimistic thoughts of love.”
Baylight’s vision statement, Kaye said, is “Embracing spirit, inspiring lives and involving the community in harmonious, joyful living.”
“We have a philosophy of self-responsibility,” Kaye said. “We make a difference for ourselves. There’s no dogma - it’s living constructively, living affirmatively.”
The science reference in the religion, she said, refers to “measureable results. When you change your thinking, you change your life.”
Though most of the 80-90 members of the congregation believe in Jesus Christ, “our approach to Jesus is not focusing on the cross, but in providing eternal life,” Kaye said. Heaven and hell are not seen as places, she said, but as states of consciousness.
Baylight, which started as the Los Altos Church of Religious Science, was first chartered in 1982 at the Masonic Lodge.
In addition to the services, the church has a “Fun-Day School” at 10:30 a.m., every Sunday, for children. Classes for adults are also offered during the week.
For more information about BayLight Church of Religious Science, call 858-0550. Beginning next month, the new telephone number is 917-0505. The new office space is located at 885 N. San Aantonio Road, Suite M. The church’s Web site and e-mail addresss are: Baylight@aol.com and www.baylight.org.
