Religious Science Accents Positive : Congregation: The movement began in Los Angeles 63 years ago. The core of its teachings is a rejection of negative thinking. : Religious Science Accentuates the Positive

Come Wednesday morning at 11 a.m., chances are not many people are thinking about going to church.

But for two decades the Redondo Beach Church of Religious Science has been attracting worshipers at just that day and hour.

The informal service, consisting of prayers, lessons and a question-and-answer period, has been very well received, said Pastor Frank E. Richelieu shortly before 100 people assembled on a recent Wednesday.

The 1,861-member congregation is also unusual because of its growth and vitality. Begun in Los Angeles 63 years ago, the Religious Science movement has had spotty success in establishing thriving churches.

Rejecting religious dogma and negative thinking, the movement draws upon founder Ernest Holmes’ ideas on “spiritual mind healing,” the Bible for philosophical wisdom, and popular psychology for advice on health and prosperity. Unlike Christian Science, Religious Science does not discourage seeking medical treatment.

“I like the philosophy that you are not dependent on an outside source, but rather on yourself,” said Susan Hauser of Torrance, who owns a secretarial service.

Hauser is one of the members drawn by the Wednesday morning service.

Through those services, self-employed professionals, homemakers and workers with unusual hours have been introduced to the basic Religious Science teaching that everyone can tap into a divine essence within themselves to handle problems, prosper and care more for others.

Richelieu said he began the Wednesday services to give people a chance to ask questions and have greater access to him than is possible during more formal Sunday services.

Without traditional concepts of sin and the wrath of God lurking in the background, Richelieu said, the open-minded Religious Science churches offer a spiritual and social haven for “searchers” who frequent New Age bookstores, try meditation techniques and seek to be one with purported psychic energy sources.

At the core of his worship services, his cassette tapes, his 15-minute radio program heard daily on two stations and a cable television ministry are his teachings about the good life. A monthly newspaper reflecting that theme is sent to 10,000 people.

“I teach a positive, healthy approach to God,” he said. “A person can look within themselves and find this essence of God, can obtain self-appreciation without becoming self-centered.”

Religious Science, part of the broader metaphysical movement called New Thought, was launched by Holmes in Los Angeles in 1927 as an institute, not as a denomination. The magazine Science of Mind, still published, was the primary vehicle for disseminating his ideas.

Two church organizations were formed in the late 1940s: The United Church of Religious Science now has 168 affiliated churches and Religious Science International counts 99 churches. Some Religious Science churches are not affiliated with either body.

“We’re still new (as a church),” Richelieu said. “People tend to put us under (the category of) unusual religions. A lot of people like to hear what we teach, but they are still anchored in the traditional churches of their parents and grandparents.”

Richelieu’s church and the 3,000-member Huntington Beach Church of Religious Science are frequently cited as thriving congregations with varied activities for all age groups.

Richelieu is a past president of Religious Science International and Peggy Bassett, pastor of the Huntington Beach church, is the current president of the United Church network. Both ministers said their teachings are essentially the same, and that cordial relations exist between the two associations. Some adherents of Religious Science attend churches of either affiliation.

“People in Long Beach get up in the morning on Sunday to flip a coin to decide whether to go to Redondo Beach or Huntington Beach,” Bassett quipped.

Asked why their two congregations are standouts in the movement, Bassett said, “We’re more celebratory in our services than the average Religious Science church.”

Richelieu said some Religious Science churches are geared toward adults, whereas his congregation has youth groups and family-oriented programs.

His church this week participated in a drive by community residents to wear red ribbons around their wrists signifying support for a “drug-free America.” The congregation contributes to a Meals on Wheels program, an AIDS support group and a center for battered women and children. The church has also taken part in Red Cross blood drives and a walkathon to benefit medical research on Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Among the church members is a married couple who also maintain their membership in Stephen S. Wise Temple, a Reform Jewish congregation in Bel-Air. The wife, who did not want her name used, said she has a doctorate in psychology and finds Religious Science an antidote to the pessimism that pervaded her family life when she was a child.

“This is a do-it-yourself religion,” she said. “You are the only one who can connect with the spiritual presence inside. But you do have to keep coming back for your shot.”

Richelieu, 59, and his wife, Anita, who is associate pastor and teaches a Wednesday night class, last weekend led a marriage enrichment seminar on Santa Catalina Island.

The Richelieus began their Religious Science ministry by starting a congregation in Pacific Palisades that they called the Church of Truth. They left after five years to accept ministerial posts in 1962 at the Redondo Beach congregation, which was using a rented hall.

Today, the congregation meets in a 750-seat, high-domed sanctuary within a complex that includes classrooms and a bookstore. The church has gained 400 members over the last year and a half.

The church’s theme for October is “abundance.” Similar to other Religious Science teachers, Richelieu cites the Gospel of John where Jesus says he came to Earth so people could have life “and have it abundantly.” Richelieu added: “We’re not talking about more microwave ovens, but about an abundance of God’s love, an abundance of ideas.”

Nevertheless, it is not hard to hear in Richelieu’s words an echo of the slogan “Prosperity Is Your Divine Right,” once used by ex-Religious Science minister Terry Cole-Whittaker, who occasionally conducts a seminar at the church.

“Having a rich, plentiful life is your divine right,” Richelieu is quoted in a news release from a public relations firm retained by the church. “It should have no negative connotations. If something good is made available to us, we should enjoy it and be thankful for it.”

The teaching that “you really have unlimited opportunities” was appealing to Doug Stancliffe and his wife, Janet, who joined the church after going to the Wednesday morning services when both worked out of their home.

“I was raised in the advertising industry where you want to emphasize the positive things a product has to offer,” Doug Stancliffe said. “In that business, people do not want to be around people who have negative thoughts,” he said.