First Church of Christ, Scientist, Bend, Oregon, had its beginning in April of 1915, when…

… a small group of friends began meeting in one another’s homes. Bend’s population at the time was approximately 1,500. The first annual business meeting of this informal group was held on January 12, 1917.

It soon became apparent that a location with more room was needed. Public services were first held in Sathers Hall, then in the Masonic building, and beginning in November of 1918, in a small, leased storefront building at 418 Bond Street.

On October 22, 1918, Central Oregon’s first Christian Science lecture was given by Dr. Walton Hubbard. The well attended lecture was held behind a large barn just outside of Redmond, since all public meeting places were closed due to the flu epidemic.

  In order to meet the needs of a growing congregation, in July of 1919, the land at 1151 NW 1st Street was purchased for building a new church. Building plans were accepted in October of 1922 at a cost not to exceed $3,000.

In July 1923, the first church service was held in the new building. The following summer it became free of debt and was dedicated. The church acquired its charter as a Christian Science Society in 1921 and in 1923, became recognized as a branch church of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts.

The Reading Room was in various locations until 1969 when it was moved to 913 NW Wall Street. In 1980, it was moved to 115 NW Minnesota Avenue and then in 2014 it was moved into the Sunday School building adjacent to the church.

The church buildings and property on 1st Street were sold in January of 2017. The current building was purchased in 2018, located at 1013 NE 10th Street in Bend, on the northwest corner of 10th Street and Greenwood Avenue.

From 2017 to 2020, services continued to be held in temporary locations in Bend, first at Central Oregon Collective and then Central Oregon Community College. In March of 2020, those locations were closed due to the pandemic, so we began holding our services via Zoom in April of 2020.

After extensive remodeling, a Certificate of Occupancy was issued in March of 2021 for our building on 10th Street. The Reading Room was re-established in the community and opened in May of 2021 at the same location. In-person services, including participants on Zoom, began on Sunday, July 18, 2021.