Memories.............

Sunday 1^st May saw me taking the service of Coatbridge Spiritualist Church.  This church first opened its doors just after the war and has services on a Sunday at 6.30pm and Tuesdays at 7.30pm.  Their address is 135 Sunnyside Road, Coatbridge.

On Tuesday evening I had a very enjoyable time with the development group at the Larkfield Spiritualist Church in Blantyre.  There is a lot of talent in that group.

Then on Wednesday it was The Eternal Light Spiritualist Centre.  Francis and Patricia-Anne Murphy run this church and the services are on a Wednesday evening at 7.30pm in The Citadel, Ayr.

As I was early for the church I took a look around Ayr harbour and the magical memories I had of this place when I was young, do not correspond with the area around Ayr harbour these days.  I have memories of the smell of the fish as the fishing boats unloaded their catch and then the chanting of the auctioneers selling the fish.  Now the fishing fleet has moved a few miles north to Troon.  I used to enjoy walking around the harbour basin, looking to see what parts of the world the cargo ships had come from.  Now one cannot get into the basin because of security and health and safety rules.  Probably the most exciting memory was going with my grandfather and uncle to fish out at the end of the harbour near the lighthouse.  I am not sure if one gets out as far as that these days.  Nothing ever stays the same and to progress we have to move on but we can still have the memories of the past to look back on.    

“How long should I wait before a private sitting with a medium - a week – a month?” is a question, constantly asked. 
There is no set time but I believe a general rule of thumb is to wait around six months after the passing of a loved-one.  Wait till at least part of the pain has gone and your grief is less severe before making that appointment.  But that in no way means that you should not visit a Spiritualist Church during that time.  Attend our services and get an insight into our religion and how mediumship works.  . 
“Hymns sung in Spiritualist churches, are they the same as those sung in orthodox churches?  This question was asked by both Adam and Marie
We do have hymns that are specially written for the Spiritualist movement but Spiritualism also uses hymns of the Christian faith.  In some instances there have been adaptations of the words.  The SNU has a hymn book containing over 400 hymns and also a mini hymn book containg 60 hymns in large print - and can be ordered from their web site.