Nona Lovell Brooks (March 22, 1861 – March 14, 1945), described as a "prophet of modern mystical Christianity", was a leader in the

New Thought The New Thought movement (also Higher Thought) is a spiritual movement that coalesced in the United States in the early 19th century. New Thought was seen by its adherents as succeeding "ancient thought", accumulated wisdom and philosophy from ...

movement and a founder of the

Church of Divine Science The Church of Divine Science is a religious movement within the wider New Thought movement. The group was formalized in San Francisco in the 1880s under Malinda Cramer. "In March 1888 Cramer and her husband Frank chartered the 'Home College of Sp ...

Biography

Brooks was born on March 22, 1861 in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

, the youngest daughter of Chauncey and Lavinia Brooks. At a fairly early age, her family moved just outside

Charleston, West Virginia Charleston is the capital and List of cities in West Virginia, most populous city of West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Elk River (West Virginia), Elk and Kanawha River, Kanawha rivers, the city had a population of 48,864 at the 20 ...

,''Religious Leaders of America''. where Brooks graduated from the Charleston Female Academy. Due to the collapse of her father's salt mining business, the family moved again, this time to

Pueblo, Colorado Pueblo () is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality that is the county seat and the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality of Pueblo County, Colorado, Pueblo County, Colorado ...

where he entered the metal mining business. He died shortly after the move, when Brooks was 19. In 1890, with the aim of becoming a teacher, Brooks enrolled at Pueblo Normal School, which was followed by a one-year stay at

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a private women's liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henry and Pauline Durant as a female seminary, it is a member of the original Seven Sisters Colleges, an unofficial g ...

. In 1887, encouraged by her sister, Althea Brooks Small, Nona Brooks attended classes taught by

Kate Bingham Dame Catherine Elizabeth Bingham (born 19 October 1965), known as Kate Bingham, is a British venture capitalist. She is a managing partner at a venture capital firm, SV Health Investors. In 2020, Bingham chaired the UK Government's Vaccine T ...

, proponent of the New Thought philosophy. While attending these classes, Brooks "found herself healed of a persistent throat infection" and shortly thereafter Brooks and Small began to heal others.

Divine Science

In December 1898, Brooks was ordained by

Malinda Cramer Malinda Elliott Cramer (February 12, 1844 – August 2, 1906) was a founder of the Church of Divine Science, a healer, and an important figure in the early New Thought movement. Biography Cramer was born in Greensboro, Indiana, the daught ...

as a minister in the Church of Divine Science and founded the Denver Divine Science College. Shortly thereafter, she inaugurated the Divine Science Church of Denver, holding its initial service on January 1, 1899 at the Plymouth Hotel in Denver, in the process becoming the first woman pastor in Denver. In 1902, Brooks founded ''Fulfillment'', a Divine Science periodical. During this period, she also served on several Denver civic boards, including the Colorado State Prison Board. After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Brooks succeeded her sister

Fannie James The New Thought movement (also Higher Thought) is a spiritual movement that coalesced in the United States in the early 19th century. New Thought was seen by its adherents as succeeding "ancient thought", accumulated wisdom and philosophy from ...

as head of the college and in 1922 Brooks aligned the growing Church of Divine Science with the

International New Thought Alliance The International New Thought Alliance (INTA) is an umbrella organization for New Thought adherents "dedicated to serving the New Thought Movement’s various branches, organizations and individuals".

. In the early 1930s she moved to Australia, where she established several Divine Science organizations, returning to Chicago in 1935 and then back to Denver in 1938. Fairmount Cemetery, Nona L

Nona L. Brooks died March 14, 1945 in Denver, Colorado, and is buried at

Fairmount Cemetery (Denver, Colorado) Fairmount Cemetery in Denver, Colorado, was founded in 1890 and is Denver's second oldest operating cemetery after Riverside Cemetery. It was designed by German landscape architect Reinhard Schuetze. The cemetery was patterned after Mount Aubu ...

with her family. Nona was described by many who knew her as warm, gentle, and "motherly", but with "a strength that came from conviction".Shepherd, p. 109.

Bibliography

Brooks was the author of: *
Mysteries
' (1924) *''The Prayer that Never Fails'' *''Short Lessons in Divine Science'' *''What is Real and What Illusion?'' *''The Training of Children: Based upon the Practical Principles of Life'' *''Studies of Health'' *''The Kingdom of Law''. Several of her sermons were collected in ''Into the Light of Healing''.

Biography

Divine Science

Bibliography

References

Further reading