The Manual cannot be altered and the directors have complete authority beyond the directives of the Manual. The Sunday service consists of Christian Science hymns, silent prayer along with the Lord's prayer, a reading from the Bible followed by a reading from Science and Health. There is no sermon. Regular lectures are held in the church at lease once a year and each church has a reading room where members can read authorized Christian Science literature. A full time ministry is exercised by Christian Science Practitioners who have been trained in Christian Science healing methods.
Most churches have a weekly testimony meeting where people can speak of their healings.
At their peak in the 1930's there was some 3,000 churches worldwide. It is therefore quite a small sect, and increasingly so. The church produces a number of magazines. It runs a number of sanitariums, mental Institutions and retirement villages. Administration is handled from this church and it remains the center for the main conferences of the denomination.