[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 458 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.Con.Res.458
                                    Agreed to September 25, 2002        

                      One Hundred Seventh Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

         Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
          the twenty-third day of January, two thousand and two


                          Concurrent Resolution

Whereas the Mary Baker Eddy Library for the Betterment of Humanity will 
  officially open on September 29, 2002, in Boston, Massachusetts, 
  thereby making available to the public the Mary Baker Eddy 
  Collections, one of the largest collections of primary source 
  material by and about an American woman;

Whereas the namesake of the Library, Mary Baker Eddy, achieved 
  international prominence during her lifetime (1821-1910) as the 
  founder of Christian Science and was the first woman in the United 
  States to found and lead a religion that became an international 
  movement with members in 139 countries;

Whereas historians compare Mary Baker Eddy to nineteenth-century women 
  reformers like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, who took 
  leadership roles at a time when women infrequently did so;

Whereas Mary Baker Eddy founded and served as the pastor of her own 
  church, the First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, and 
  established a publishing organization that produces numerous 
  publications, including ``The Christian Science Monitor'', an 
  international daily newspaper that has won seven Pulitizer Prizes;

Whereas in recognition of the numerous achievements of Mary Baker Eddy, 
  the Women's National Hall of Fame inducted her into its membership in 
  1995 for having made ``an indelible mark on society, religion, and 
  journalism'';

Whereas the Mary Baker Eddy Library, a facility of 81,000 square feet, 
  provides a place for people to come together to explore ideas and 
  offers on-site and online educational experiences, programs, and 
  exhibits;

Whereas the Mary Baker Eddy Collections consist of more than 100,000 
  documents, artifacts, photographs, and other media that chronicle the 
  development of Mary Baker Eddy's ideas and offer an unequalled 
  resource to scholars in women's history and mind-body medicine;

Whereas the Library's initiative to make the previously unpublished 
  materials in the Mary Baker Eddy Collections available to the public 
  is exemplary of, and in full accord with, the intent of the 
  provisions of title 17, United States Code, relating to the 
  publication of previously unpublished materials; and

Whereas the Mary Baker Eddy Library will establish an Institute for the 
  Rediscovery and Preservation of the History of Women in Seneca Falls, 
  New York, the birthplace of the first Women's Rights Convention, in 
  order to showcase new research on the forgotten histories of women 
  and offer educational programs for students: Now, therefore, be it

    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That the Congress recognizes and commends--
        (1) Mary Baker Eddy for her outstanding achievements and 
    contributions, particularly her contributions to the advancement of 
    women's rights as a public figure and role model in the early 
    stages of the women's rights movement; and
        (2) the Mary Baker Eddy Library for the Betterment of Humanity, 
    which will open to the public on September 29, 2002.
  Attest:

                                 Clerk of the House of Representatives.

  Attest:

                                               Secretary of the Senate.