Virginia S. Harris is a teacher and

practitioner Practitioner may refer to: *Health practitioner *Justice and public safety practitioner * Legal practitioner * Medical practitioner *Mental health professional or practitioner *Theatre practitioner Spiritual Practitioner * Solitary practitioner ...

The First Church of Christ, Scientist The First Church of Christ, Scientist is the administrative headquarters and mother church of the Church of Christ, Scientist, also known as the Christian Science church. Christian Science was founded in the 19th century in Lynn, Massachusetts ...

. She previously served as Publisher of The Writings of

Mary Baker Eddy Mary Baker Eddy (July 16, 1821 – December 3, 1910) was an American religious leader and author who founded The Church of Christ, Scientist, in New England in 1879. She also founded ''The Christian Science Monitor'', a Pulitzer Prize-winning se ...

, President and founding Trustee of The

Mary Baker Eddy Library The Mary Baker Eddy Library is a research library, museum, and repository for the papers of Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science. The library is located on the Christian Science Center, Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts, a ...

, and member and Chairman of The Christian Science Board of Directors between 1990 and 2004.

Biography

In her early career, Harris worked as a schoolteacher, television host, businesswoman, and child abuse prevention activist.Virginia Harris, CSB
The First Church of Christ, Scientist. Harris was involved in a near-fatal car crash, and attributed her recovery to Christian Science.Ashish Virmani
"Patients with a spiritual component heal more quickly: Virginia Harris"
DNA India. Feb 16, 2015. In 1979, she became a

listed in ''

The Christian Science Journal ''The Christian Science Journal'' is an official monthly publication of the Church of Christ, Scientist through the Christian Science Publishing Society, founded in 1883 by Mary Baker Eddy. Harris became Clerk of The Mother Church in March 1986. She traveled to

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

in mid-April 1989 with Jill Gooding, a member of the Board of Directors, to support the Christian Science community in the country. Christian Science had been illegal in Communist controlled East Germany since March 1951, but Gooding and Harris helped support a reversal of the ban in November 1989, a week before the

fall of the Berlin Wall The fall of the Berlin Wall (german: Mauerfall) on 9 November 1989, during the Peaceful Revolution, was a pivotal event in world history which marked the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the figurative Iron Curtain and one of the series of eve ...

. When Gooding retired from the Board in 1990, Harris replaced her there, then becoming Board Chair the next year, and serving on the Board in that position until 2004. While on the Board, Harris took steps to modernize the church and address some of the issues that troubled it. In 2002, Harris was instrumental in the establishment of The

and opening the archival collection of The Mother Church, including its large collection of 19th and early 20th century letters and artifacts, to scholars and the public for the first time.Sarah Gardner Cunningham. ''Encyclopedia of Women and Religion in North America''. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2006. pp. 745-746. Harris has spoken extensively on Christian Science and Mary Baker Eddy, and has encouraged cooperation with medical researchers. She was on the faculty of

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...

's semi-annual ''Spirituality & Healing in Medicine'' symposium from 1995–2002, speaking on Christian Science healing to hundreds of physicians, nurses, healthcare professionals, and clergy.Resources
Virginia Harris, C.S.B. She appeared in two exclusive interviews on ''

Larry King Live ''Larry King Live'' was an American television talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN from 1985 to 2010. It was the channel's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly. Mainly aired from CNN's Los Angeles ...

'', in 1999 and 2001, and has been interviewed by ''The Boston Globe'', ''The New York Times'', ''The Los Angeles Times'', NPR and many other media sources.

References

External links

link to Virginia Harris's talk at Harvard Medical School symposium, ''Spirituality & Healing in Medicine'' at this pageChristian Science MonitorVirginia Harris website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Virginia American Christian Scientists Harvard Medical School faculty