BURBANK CHURCH OFFERS PEACE PATH.Byline: Holly J. Andres Daily News Staff Writer If churches had mottos, ``home sweet home'' would be appropriate for Burbank's Church of Religious Science. ``People actually say something like that. They say that they feel like they've come home after they've been to our church,'' said the Rev. Marlene Morris. ``The people who visit us are curious about us. Sometimes they come here as their last resort in finding a spiritual home. They feel that they don't fit in or feel comfortable in the traditional churches that they have tried, but they do with us.'' The Religious Science Church was founded in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. in 1927 by a believer in the New Thought movement of the late 1800s, Ernest Holmes. ``Religious Science is an organization that teaches science of mind'' explained the senior pastor of the 55-year old Burbank church. Science of mind is defined by the group as the interrelationship in·ter·re·late tr. & intr.v. in·ter·re·lat·ed, in·ter·re·lat·ing, in·ter·re·lates To place in or come into mutual relationship. in between the ``laws of science The laws of science are various established scientific laws, or physical laws as they are sometimes called, that are considered universal and invariable facts of the physical world. Laws of science may, however, be disproved if new facts or evidence arise to contradict them. , the opinions of philosophy and the revelations of religion.'' The practical use of this statement is applied to the everyday needs and hopes of members of Religious Science. ``Our founder said that there is a common thread of truth in all religions. We use those common truths without the dogma DOGMA, civil law. This word is used in the first chapter, first section, of the second Novel, and signifies an ordinance of the senate. See also Dig. 27, 1, 6. and all the rituals that traditional churches use,'' said the spiritual leader to more than 400 members. Morris said that a typical service has some of the familiar parts that traditional houses of worship use. One part is her sermon. Morris prefers the word talk because the other word has negative connotations for her. She gets her inspiration for her talks from news events or life's everyday joys and struggles. Music plays a role. But a Religious Science churchgoer is more likely to hear a top 40 song or other inspirational music performed with contemporary instruments than an old hymn played to organ music. The Rev. Roger Aldi, Morris' husband, reads ``the word,'' which is an inspirational thought culled from eclectic e·clec·tic adj. 1. Selecting or employing individual elements from a variety of sources, systems, or styles: an eclectic taste in music; an eclectic approach to managing the economy. 2. sources: the Bible, the Koran or other spiritual writings from around the world. Prayers offered by practitioners - lay people who have been trained to lead prayers - and congregational con·gre·ga·tion·al adj. 1. Of or relating to a congregation. 2. Congregational Of or relating to Congregationalism or Congregationalists. Adj. 1. singing round out the service. A key point in Religious Science is that believers can change their lives around by changing their mind-set. Each person controls his destiny. Life's ups and downs ups and downs pl.n. Alternating periods of good and bad fortune or spirits. ups and downs Noun, pl alternating periods of good and bad luck or high and low spirits are brought about by the way an individual views and reacts to the world. ``We believe that things are done to us as we believe. If there are negatives in our life, we are being negative in our thinking. If we want a difference in our life, we endeavor to change our mind. Our life will then change correspondently,'' Morris said. An unusual element to aid in changing one's outlook on life is the church's labyrinth labyrinth (lăb`ərĭnth), intricate building of chambers and passages, often constructed so as to perplex and confuse a person inside. , which is available to church members and also the community at large. A meditation tool, or as Morris explained, ``a walking prayer,'' the labyrinth is a circular pathway that people walk along, barefooted bare·foot also bare·foot·ed adv. & adj. With nothing on the feet: walking barefoot in the grass; a barefoot boy. Adj. 1. , while they quiet their mind. Labyrinths Not to be confused with Labyrinth. Labyrinths (1962) is a collection of short stories and essays by Jorge Luis Borges. It includes Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius, The Garden of Forking Paths, and The Library of Babel are found in many religions. The Gothic cathedral in Chartres, France, has one laid out in patterned stone. Other labyrinths are found outdoors. Indoor labyrinths may be a carpet with the design woven in or made out of canvas with the design painted on. Burbank's is made of canvas and covers the downstairs floor of the church. Not a maze, which has a choice of many paths to follow and dead ends, the church's ``winding road'' is used to focus on spiritual thoughts or to help reveal answers to troubling questions of the walker's. Walking the circular path may offer a temporary experience of tranquillity, but Morris offers a hopeful mission statement to her congregation and the community: ``I believe this church to be, most of all, a safe place where people come together to play, to pray and to practice a spirituality that makes God relevant to their daily lives. ``We learn to love Spirit and one another. We believe that the God of creation is an indwelling indwelling /in·dwell·ing/ (in´dwel-ing) pertaining to a catheter or other tube left within an organ or body passage for drainage, to maintain patency, or for the administration of drugs or nutrients. presence and that we express that Spirit most abundantly when we follow our actual church motto: See the good, be the best and treat life with love.'' Sunday services at 9:15 and 11 a.m. Call for labyrinth hours. Burbank Church of Religious Science, 260 N. Pass Ave., Burbank, (818) 848-4158. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO The Rev. Roger Aldi and the Rev. Marlene Morris of the Burbank Church of Religious Science sit in the church's meditation labyrinth. John McCoy John McCoy may refer to:
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