User:FirsthandPOV-CCS

In an exchange over publication of trademarks in 2017, Wikimedia Foundation’s legal counsel wrote to the counsel of the Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston that “if there are specific inaccuracies that you have discovered, if you identify them to the volunteers, they may be able to help improve relevant articles.” As the COI representative for the Church, my contributions will be off the “main stage” on Talk pages, and I hope they will reflect the spirit of this resource and further Wikipedia’s purpose of providing fair, reliable, and verifiable information on the subjects it encompasses.

As a Christian Scientist, I can’t claim to be disinterested when it comes to my faith, but an honest “insider” perspective on any religious faith can help take into account the full range of significant sources on the denomination pro and con. Most Wikipedia articles on religious faiths reflect insights of members and scholars situated in those faith traditions as well as perspectives from outside the traditions. Given the conflicting portrayals of Christian Science that have been published across many decades, this is not a subject that is easy to get right. The same is true regarding portrayals of the church’s founder, Mary Baker Eddy. I understand the need for entries to be neutrally written and am deeply mindful of the need for balance and intellectual integrity. My aim won’t be to “tip the scales” but to provide Wikipedia editors with factual perspectives that neither idealize nor belittle.

I will be the sole representative speaking for the church organization on Wikipedia (English). While other members of my faith have edited Christian Science-related articles from time to time, I will be the only person using this account, and won’t have any other accounts. Respecting the integrity of the process, I won’t be encouraging other church members who may be Wikipedia users to edit these pages. As someone with a fascination for systems of self-organization (I love, for example, Meg Wheatley’s work), I appreciate Wikipedia as a remarkable community and extraordinary resource and hope that my comments on the Talk pages can at least in a small way add value to its readers.

Background I have written and edited extensively on issues pertaining to K-12 education in the United States, including authoring a book on spirituality in school leadership, writing a chapter in another book on the same topic, and co-authoring a book on leadership for equity in education. I worked at a university-based nonprofit, and more recently at a corporate foundation, both dedicated to advancing equity in public schools in the United States. I started my career as a high school English teacher after earning a BA and MA in English Literature. I’m currently working for The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston.