Malinda Cramer | |
|---|---|
 Malinda Elliott Cramer in an 1890 photo | |
| Born | Malinda Elliott (1844-06-12)June 12, 1844 Greensboro, Indiana, United States |
| Died | August 2, 1906(1906-08-02) (aged 62) San Francisco, California, United States |
| Occupation(s) | Minister,author |
| Years active | 1887–1906 |
| Employer | Home College |
| Known for | Founder of the Divine Science movement |
| Spouse | Charles L. Cramer |
| Children | 1 |
Malinda Elliott Cramer (June 12, 1844 – August 2, 1906) was a founder of theChurch of Divine Science,faith healer, and an important figure in the earlyNew Thought movement.
Cramer was born inGreensboro, Indiana, the daughter of Obediah and Mary Hinshaw Elliott. Hoping to alleviate a persistent health problem, she moved toSan Francisco, California, in 1872, where she met Charles Lake Cramer, a photographer; they wed that year.[1] Despite the move, health problems continued to plague her.
In 1885, perhaps under the impetus ofChristian ScientistMiranda Rice,[2] Cramer had what she described as a divine revelation after an "hour of earnest meditation and prayerful seeking"[3] and a “realization of the oneness of Life, [and] a gleam of its Truth flashed across my mental vision.”[4] She reported being healed of her health problems within the following two years.[5]
In 1887, she began to practice faith-healing herself. In October 1888, Cramer inauguratedHarmony, a monthly journal.[6] In May 1888, she and her husband opened what would become theHome College of Divine Science.[5] The term "Divine Science" was not coined by Cramer, but had been used earlier byMary Baker Eddy, founder ofChristian Science, as well as by Wilberforce Juvenal Colville, who had published a book by that title that year.
In 1892, Cramer founded the International Divine Science Association, a forerunner of theInternational New Thought Alliance which would interconnect the variousNew Thought centers. In 1893, she helped open the second Divine Science College inOakland and undertook several cross-country missionary trips.[7]
Between 1893 and 1898, Cramer trainedNona L. Brooks,[8] ordaining her as a minister in the Church of Divine Science on December 1, 1898. Brooks returned to Denver with sisters Fannie Brooks James and Alethea Brooks Small, forming a church there[9] that would eventually become the home church of the denomination.[10]
Cramer died August 2, 1906, inSan Francisco, due to a recurrence of her tuberculosis as a result of the aftermath of the greatSan Francisco earthquake.[11]
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