Debbie Purcell lives on the small island of Guam out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean , so she likes to travel. About 15 years ago, she discovered Science of Mind. Feeling a need for some spiritual nourishment, she and some of her friends started a study group in May 2000. From 10-15 people attend their meetings. All are either from Guam or different areas of the US. Each year some of them come to Asilomar where they have met Rev. David Bruner of San Jose. They tithe to his church and in return receive sermon tapes.

Guam is a lush, tropical island with tourism as its main source of income. It is only 15 miles wide and 35 miles long with a population of 125, 000. It is a cultural melting pot and that brings a varied look at spiritual traditions. In addition to the Catholic Church, the Asian traditions are well represented. There is a Buddhist temple and many Christian churches in different languages, such as Korean, Chinese, Thai and Japanese. The cost of living there is high, equivalent to Hawaii . There are the usual problems of homelessness, drug abuse, and gang-related problems, along with corruption in the local government. Two years ago, a typhoon destroyed the homes of more than four thousand people, and their own library of books and sermon tapes, but they have been replaced, and life has returned to normal.

Their group meets weekly for most of the year, listening to tapes from different ministers and utilizing the SOM textbook and magazine. They do a Community service project each quarter, such as volunteering or picking up trash. They also tithe to different organizations, either locally or globally.

Debbie’s personal vision is “to help create a culture of unity on this planet, utilizing the power of the universe.” Their group has not done any visioning, but is open to it. Debbie feels that the group is losing some momentum as she is having difficulty getting someone to share the responsibility of keeping things going.

Their wish list includes study materials and sermon tapes.