New Places & New Faces

This weekend I made only my second ever visit to New York City. Last time I went with my wife and we both thoroughly enjoyed the feel of the city, as well as all the usual “sights”. This time I was there to visit the Spiritualist Church of New York City and although equally enjoyable with my previous visit, it was very different. I was able to see another side of the city and also to make some wonderful new friends. I stayed in West Village and thus discovered a side to the city that I never knew existed. It truly is like a village where I was and this morning as I sat at a pavement café to eat breakfast in bright sunshine, with leafy trees around me, I felt truly blessed

The church is relatively new, having only been in existence for around five years but they have a growing congregation and many enthusiastic workers for the church and for Spirit. They also meet in the most beautiful of buildings; it is The Swedenborg Church right in the heart of Manhattan. The church was refurbished not long ago and is beautiful to behold, as well as possessing the most wonderful atmosphere in which to work with Spirit. Swedenborg features prominently in the annals of Spiritualism, for he was a medium in addition to his many other accomplishments – scientist, philosopher, engineer, etc. He described during a dinner party in Gothenburg, Sweden, the fire that was busy destroying that country’s capital city which was more than one hundred miles distant. He was able to describe in detail the progress of the fire and the buildings destroyed. Later one of the dinner guests, I think it was Franz Kafka, went to Stockholm and discovered that everything took place exactly as Swedenborg had described. He was the spirit that inspired our own pioneer, the seer Andrew Jackson Davis, to write “The Great Harmonia,” a learned set of volumes, to write which was quite beyond the normal ability of Davis who received but four or five years of formal education. In one of his philosophical writings Swedenborg described wisdom as follows – “Love is the life of the world, Wisdom is the light in which love sees.”

There were many younger people in the congregation and it was a real joy and pleasure to feel their vibrant energy which made linking with loved ones in the spiritual world an even greater pleasure than usual. Unless all Spiritualist churches are able to attract more young people, it is difficult to see how the religion can survive, let alone grow and fulfil the role spirit intended for it. That is to bring conviction to all people that life is eternal, we are spirit here and now, should live our lives in the knowledge of the world that is to come and be assured our loved ones can communicate with us to bring us comfort and joy. The philosophy of Spiritualism could and should transform the world by transforming individual thinking and opening people’s minds to the power and beauty of the spirit within them. This can only be achieved if all involved work hard in the service of the Spirit, forget self, prepare themselves thoroughly for their role as mediums, speakers, healers and administrators and follow the dictates of the spirit, rather than those of the ego. For too long now, the development of mediumistic gifts has been shallow and those who should know better have been willing for the sake of having someone to serve their platforms each week, to accept the services of mediums clearly not yet ready to work before the public. Many bemoan the passing of the mediums of earlier years who gave such detailed and convincing evidence from the spiritual world but the reason there are so many fewer such mediums today is precisely what I have just described.

I pray that new spiritual centres, like the one I visited in Manhattan will be brave enough to reverse this trend and bring the world to life once again with the light and power of the spirit working through gifted and fully developed mediums who are dedicated to following the path of spiritual service. I thank my new friends in New York for their generous welcome and look forward to watching their progress over the coming years.