Any church is only as good as the people in it, no matter what the building, and like most 'churches' we Spiritualists started in the ordinary houses of local people and grew, just like the early Christians of the New Testament, the 'house-church' was all they knew.

Religion is a word that has come to mean many things, so before we refer to Spiritualism as a 'religion' just think for a moment what that word means to YOU.

Is it the service you attended in a building from the past?

Is it the ‘Establishment’ of your rebellious youth?

Or perhaps a faceless entity that informs us what to think?

Is it a dictator telling us what to believe blindly?

No, as adults we make a choice to put the ‘knee jerk’ reactions aside, and see beyond the memories and / or ‘brain-washing’ of the past.

Spiritualism is a relatively ‘new’ thing, yet it is as old as time itself. We, like all the rest of world, base our understanding - notice I don’t say ‘beliefs’ here - on reason and common sense, together with the very important PROOF which we all need to receive in a personal way through the Church Service. [Clairvoyance]

Political reasons obliged Spiritualism as a growing 'Movement' to become a registered legal body, mostly to prevent persecution; thereafter Spiritualists were openly and legally able to practise their religion.

Persecution although not common, did happen as recently as 1944 when the famous medium Helen Duncan was tried in London under the Witchcraft act of 1735 and the Vagrancy Act of 1824, which had not been changed to cope with modern circumstances. 

Helen Duncan was giving information to help those men killed in the war to pass on comfort to their loved ones, that they had survived and were in the 'Summerland', but not knowing that some information was classified by the War Office she soon ran int trouble with the authorities.

She had to be stopped!

So in the only was they knew how they put her in prison!

We must thank the intervention of such public figures as Sir Winston Churchill that the whole mess did not turn out a lot worse, but sadly Helen died not long after, some people think as a result of the trauma and the resulting changes to her life.

Because of all this political upheaval SPIRITUALISM together with the Church of England are the only two religions to be LEGAL in the United Kingdoms.

All others, yes, ALL OTHERS practice only in the status of ‘GRACE AND FAVOUR’.

Think about that for a moment or two ... or more!

Religion, like sex and politics, was considered in the past to be unsuitable subjects to be discussed at the dinner table! However sex and politics as discussion subjects have won many times over, in the race to be awarded notice, that religion has never achieved.

I wonder why that is?

Could it be that our spirits are far more closer to our hearts than the other subjects?  Or are we ashamed?

End.