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Westberg Elected New Christian Science Monitor Publisher


From Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>
Date Thu, 07 Aug 2003 07:56:18 -0700

The Christian Science Board of Directors appoints a new publisher of The
Christian Science Monitor

August 7, 2003

THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

FOR RELEASE:  AUGUST 5, 2003 11:30 A.M.

Contact:  Peter Osterlund
Office phone:  617-450-3195
Mobile phone: 859-891-6104

The Christian Science Board of Directors has elected M. Victor Westberg of
Los Altos, California to be a Director.  Mr. Westberg succeeds John L.
Selover, who passed away August 1, as a member of the five-person Board and
as Manager of The Christian Science Publishing Society, which publishes The
Christian Science Monitor.

"John expanded the Monitor's reach, increased its visibility, and
established a new standard of excellence," said Virginia Harris, the Board's
chairman.  "These are big shoes to fill, and Vic has the experience,
dedication, and spiritual strength to fill them."

Mr. Westberg, who flew combat missions for the US Navy during the Korean
War, started a wholesale distribution company that eventually became one of
the leading toy distributors in the state of California.  He then left the
business world, donating the company to its employees, to become a full-time
Christian Science practitioner - the term commonly used to describe a
professional who utilizes the teachings of Christian Science to heal
individuals through prayer.

Westberg has since spent much of his time in his native California, holding
a variety of positions in service to the well-being of humanity - serving as
a prison chaplain, a co-founder of a school and home for the mentally
disabled, and an advisor to Christian Science organizations for university
students in the San Francisco Bay Area.  From 1985 through 1992, Westberg
was Committee on Publication for Northern California.  From 1992 through
1998, he held the position, Manager, Committees on Publication, which
oversees those functions for The First Church of Christ, Scientist,
throughout the world.

Since then, Westberg has served as assistant manager of The Christian
Science Publishing Society and as President of the Church's Board of
Education, which selects and trains Christian Science practitioners to be
teachers of Christian Science. In both roles, Westberg worked with, and
reported to, Mr. Selover.

"The founder of this newspaper, Mary Baker Eddy, said that the Monitor's
mission was 'To injure no man, but to bless all mankind,'" said Westberg.
"John greatly enhanced this newspaper's ability to make good on that
mandate, and I look forward to building on his legacy."

The Christian Science Monitor was founded in 1908 by Mary Baker Eddy, author
of the pioneering work on spirituality and healing, Science and Health with
Key to the Scriptures, and Founder of The Church of Christ, Scientist.	In
the ensuing decades, the Monitor has built a peerless reputation for
fairness and impartiality, and won virtually every major journalistic award,
including seven Pulitzer Prizes.  It has eight domestic and ten foreign
bureaus - more than all but a handful of newspapers in the world.  It is
also one of the few remaining major media outlets not owned by a
conglomerate.  Its Web site, csmonitor.com, receives over three million
unique visitors each month.

The Christian Science Board of Directors was established by Mrs. Eddy not
only to manage the day-to-day operations of The First Church of Christ,
Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts, but also to oversee the publication of
her writings, and to support the practice of Christian Science throughout
the world.  Christian Science is a proven system of healing based on prayer
that can be practiced by anyone, regardless of faith tradition, to heal
physical conditions, financial troubles, relationship problems - indeed, any
challenge of the human condition.  Its most in-depth explanation can be
found in Science and Health.

As Manager of The Christian Science Publishing Society, Westberg will also
oversee the publication of the Christian Science religious magazines - The
Christian Science Journal, a monthly, the Christian Science Sentinel, a
weekly, The Christian Science Quarterly, and The Christian Science Herald,
printed monthly in four languages, and quarterly in nine other languages.

Westberg graduated from San Jose State University, where he studied
economics and marketing.

-End- 


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