Nona L. Brooks
Encyclopedia
Nona Lovell Brooks described as a "prophet of modern mystical Christianity", was a leader in the New Thought
movement and a founder of the Church of Divine Science.
, the youngest daughter of Chauncey and Lavinia Brooks. At a fairly early age, her family moved just outside Charleston, West Virginia
, where Brooks graduated from the Charleston Female Academy. Due to the collapse of her father's salt mining business, the family moved again, this time to Pueblo, Colorado
where he entered the metal mining business, He died shortly after the move, when Brooks was 19.
In 1890, with the aim of becoming a teacher, Brooks enrolled at Pueblo Normal School, which was followed by a one year stay at Wellesley College.
In 1887, encouraged by her sister, Althea Brooks Small, Nona Brooks attended classes taught by Kate Bingham, proponent of the New Thought philosophy. While attending these classes, Brooks "found herself healed of a persistent throat infection" and shortly thereafter Brooks and Small began to heal others.
as a minister in the Church of Divine Science and founded the Denver Divine Science College. Shortly thereafter, she inaugurated the Divine Science Church of Denver, holding its initial service on January 1, 1899 at the Plymouth Hotel in Denver, in the process becoming the first woman pastor in Denver.
In 1902, Brooks founded Fulfillment
, a Divine Science periodical. During this period, she also served on several Denver civic boards, including the Colorado State Prison Board.
After World War I
Brooks succeeded her sister Fannie James as head of the College and in 1922 Brooks aligned the growing Church of Divine Science with the International New Thought Alliance
. In the early 1930s she moved to Australia, where she established several Divine Science organizations, returning to Chicago in 1935 and then back to Denver in 1938.
Nona L. Brooks died March 14, 1945 in Denver, Colorado.
Nona was described by many who knew her as warm, gentle, and "motherly", but with "a strength that came from conviction".
New Thought
New Thought promotes the ideas that "Infinite Intelligence" or "God" is ubiquitous, spirit is the totality of real things, true human selfhood is divine, divine thought is a force for good, sickness originates in the mind, and "right thinking" has a healing effect.Although New Thought is neither...
movement and a founder of the Church of Divine Science.
Biography
Brooks was born on March 22, 1861 in Louisville, KentuckyLouisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, the youngest daughter of Chauncey and Lavinia Brooks. At a fairly early age, her family moved just outside Charleston, West Virginia
Charleston, West Virginia
Charleston is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is located at the confluence of the Elk and Kanawha Rivers in Kanawha County. As of the 2010 census, it has a population of 51,400, and its metropolitan area 304,214. It is the county seat of Kanawha County.Early...
, where Brooks graduated from the Charleston Female Academy. Due to the collapse of her father's salt mining business, the family moved again, this time to Pueblo, Colorado
Pueblo, Colorado
Pueblo is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Pueblo County, Colorado, United States. The population was 106,595 in 2010 census, making it the 246th most populous city in the United States....
where he entered the metal mining business, He died shortly after the move, when Brooks was 19.
In 1890, with the aim of becoming a teacher, Brooks enrolled at Pueblo Normal School, which was followed by a one year stay at Wellesley College.
In 1887, encouraged by her sister, Althea Brooks Small, Nona Brooks attended classes taught by Kate Bingham, proponent of the New Thought philosophy. While attending these classes, Brooks "found herself healed of a persistent throat infection" and shortly thereafter Brooks and Small began to heal others.
Divine Science
In December 1898, Brooks was ordained by Malinda CramerMalinda Cramer
Malinda Elliott Cramer was a founder of the Church of Divine Science, a healer, and an important figure in the early New Thought movement.- Biography :...
as a minister in the Church of Divine Science and founded the Denver Divine Science College. Shortly thereafter, she inaugurated the Divine Science Church of Denver, holding its initial service on January 1, 1899 at the Plymouth Hotel in Denver, in the process becoming the first woman pastor in Denver.
In 1902, Brooks founded Fulfillment
Fulfillment
Fulfilment or fulfillment may refer to:* Fulfillment house, a type of company that specializes in order fulfillment* Order fulfillment, the activities performed once an order is received...
, a Divine Science periodical. During this period, she also served on several Denver civic boards, including the Colorado State Prison Board.
After World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
Brooks succeeded her sister Fannie James as head of the College and in 1922 Brooks aligned the growing Church of Divine Science with the International New Thought Alliance
International New Thought Alliance
The International New Thought Alliance is an umbrella organization for New Thought adherents "dedicated to serving the New Thought Movement’s various branches, organizations and individuals".- History :...
. In the early 1930s she moved to Australia, where she established several Divine Science organizations, returning to Chicago in 1935 and then back to Denver in 1938.
Nona L. Brooks died March 14, 1945 in Denver, Colorado.
Nona was described by many who knew her as warm, gentle, and "motherly", but with "a strength that came from conviction".
Further reading
- Colorado Prison Association (1908) Biennial Report.
- Cornerstone Books, Nona Brooks, accessed May 2008.
- Deane, Hazel (2006) Powerful is the Light, Kessinger Publishing, ISBN 978-1428609204.
- First Divine Science Church of Denver, "Centennial", accessed May 2008.
- Gale Publishing Group, "Nona Lovell Brooks" in Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology, 5th ed. Gale Group, 2001. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2008., accessed May 2008
- Gale Publishing Group, "Nona Lovell Brooks" in Religious Leaders of America, 2nd ed. Gale Group, 1999. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2008., accessed May 2008.
- Satter, Beryl (2001) Each Mind a Kingdom: American Women, Sexual Purity, and the New Thought Movement, 1875-1920, University of California Press, ISBN 978-0520229273.
- Shepherd, Thomas (2004) Friends in High Places, iUniverse, Inc., ISBN 978-0595325344.