Jacob
says the faith has Christian roots, and some who attend call
themselves Christians.
However,
she said the faith believes Jesus Christ is not the messiah,
but a holy man who walked the earth. Also, they believe that
all people can be enlightened in the way that Christ was enlightened.
"That
sense of the Christ essence that is recognized in Jesus is
in all of us," she said.
She said,
"99.9 percent probably won't reach this ideal in their
lifetime, but the possibility is there."
The pastor said the religion also is not considered a cult
because its founder is not revered.
"We
believe he is a master teacher but not the master teacher,"
she said of Holmes. "We have created a spiritual community.
We do things that are religious."
In 1926,
Holmes published "The Science of Mind," which is
considered the textbook for the faith.
Holmes never intended his book to become a religion but wanted
his philosophy to be used to reach a deeper spirituality,
Jacob said.
"He
had great insights," she said. "Some would call
him a mystic."
Holmes died April 7, 1960, in Los Angeles.
Jacob said
she wants people to be in a "wondrous place of love,"
and prayer is the means to get there.
Prayer is
called spiritual mind treatment and has specific steps for
becoming what Jacob called divine or natural energy.
The first
step is to become still and recognize that God's presence
is everywhere, all of the time.
The second
step is to move the energy from the mind to feeling it in
the body.
The third
step is realizing that the prayer experience is being done
to feel wholeness.
The fourth
step is feeling gratitude for feeling God's presence. And
the last step is to let go of any outcome and not become attached
to a particular outcome.
There are
people, called practitioners, who are trained in these steps
to assist people.
"They
will speak the prayer for that individual," Jacob said.
Jacob, who
is lesbian and whose partner is a practitioner, said her church
welcomes everyone.
Most of
the people who attended the Sunday service were older than
50.
"No
one should feel excluded or left out in any way," she
said. "God doesn't discriminat
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