Sunday 16 July 2017

My Diary … An Opportunity Missed … Male v Female … Manchester Arena Attack by Minister David R Bruton … A Great Imbalance Within Spiritualism by Tracy Norton … Stop Worrying and Quit Going Over The Past by Mathew John Morris.



                                                       My Diary…….
May…


7th –   Always a pleasure to serve Perth Spiritualist Church SNU.

8th – A short journey over the hill to Saltcoats Spiritualist Church…

14th – Coatbridge Spiritualist Church which opened its doors for the first time in         the 1940’s 


25th –Over to the east coast to a good turnout at Arbroath Spiritualist Church SNU.

30th - Kilmarnock Free Spirit.   –

June

4th - Stirling Spiritualist Church SNU

6th – Neilson Spiritualist Church.

7th - “Understanding Your Psychic Abilities” at the Glasgow Association (SNU)

14th – “Philosophy Evening” at the Glasgow Association.


21st - Our Spiritual Experiences and Discussion at the Glasgow Association SNU







                                                     An Opportunity Missed.


What a great opportunity the nation had to put our Second Principle – “The Brotherhood of Man” into action a few days after the Grenfell tower block inferno, but it was missed.  Pomp and tradition blotted out The Brotherhood of Man.  Four days after the inferno took lives, scarred people for life and hundreds lost all they possessed, less than three miles away the Trooping of the Colour took place.  As one group marvelled at the extravagant parade others were still walking about in a daze as the life they had known came to an end.  In my mind, how callous that was.  It would have been different if the tragedy had been a terrorist attack, then the parade should definitely have gone ahead. 

Other countries have shown more concern for the victims of such tragedies. Russia observed a national day of mourning in memory of at least 177 killed in three separate disasters within days of each other - a mine explosion, a nursing home fire and a plane crash.  Kyrgyzstan announced a national day of mourning after the tiny Central Asian state's worst air disasters. Italy – earthquake victims.  Australia – bushfires.  Chile - mining disasters.  In the UK, we held a minute’s silence and got on with the show.

We are living in an age of despair Internationally, Nationally and at a local level.  So many feel worthless, not part of society.  Had this parade been cancelled it would have let all society know that their calamity was important to everyone in the land.  Our 2nd Principle the Brotherhood of Man surely means more than we are all part of the universal creative force, one large human family in God. Spiritualists try to understand the needs of others and aim to help all people materially, emotionally, and spiritually.  And can I add – “Actions Speak Louder Than Words.”.

One last comment on the matter…  I wonder what God and the Spirit world think the decision the country took?




                                                         Male v Female


Ever service I have taken in twenty-five years there has always been more women than men in the congregation.  If men made up 33% of those in front of me I felt it was a good average.  The other week at the Glasgow Association I was not the medium, but I noticed here was an equal number of men and women in the church.  The following week the ladies were ahead only by one.  Good to see more gentlemen taking an interest in our religion.





                                                Manchester Arena Attack 

On behalf of Spiritualists everywhere let us unite to send our thoughts, prayers and healing to the victims of this latest senseless atrocity, their families and friends whose lives have being changed, perhaps forever. As the events of last evening unfold and we try to come to terms with yet another example of the effects of terrorism in our society, any effort to target innocent people going about their lives and enjoying a concert can never be justified by any misguided belief or doctrine.

The people of Manchester and the wider community will be hurting as they see their diverse and inclusive community rocked by an act of hatred which has killed and maimed many innocent victims. Let us demonstrate that these acts will never succeed by redoubling our efforts to demonstrate tolerance, understanding, compassion and peace in our world. Once again, the emergency services have worked tirelessly to help people and we remember them and their efforts also in our thoughts.

The Brotherhood of Man, our second principle seems at times like this to be even harder to achieve in a world considered by some to be broken, slipping almost from our grasp when we need it most. Our resolve to create a peaceful inclusive world should be predicated on our own efforts, actions and the teachings of God and the spirit world and this should in no way be shaken or weakened by the acts of intolerance perpetrated by others.

Minister David R Bruton 
23rd May 2017



                                           A Great Imbalance Within Spiritualism 


I am beginning to feel that there is a great imbalance within spiritualism - I was always taught that the work of mediums is to comfort the bereaved and be of service to mankind - when I first started working as a medium many years ago, our Spiritualist Churches were full of people seeking hope and the strength to go forward following the loss of someone special. I felt as if I was making a difference to people, and that the work I did was helping me and others. Nowadays, our Churches are just filled with people who want to be mediums themselves, who often sit in judgement of the medium working from the Rostrum, and have no need of any kind of comfort from the presence of our spirit friends and helpers. If this imbalance continues, with the emphasis being on teaching and unfoldment of mediumship there will soon be no point to congregating in a Church to deliver spiritual truths. 
As we are all aware, imbalance is not desirable, and I think this is being seen with spiritualism and is becoming apparent within our churches. Unfortunately, Churches are trying to attract people for the wrong reasons - by offering teaching to become mediums - however, in the long term what is this going to achieve for spiritualism the religion? Surely it has to be considered, that not everyone can become a medium? What would be the point of that? Balance is needed, Churches need to attract people to them for the true purpose of our religion, which is not to make everyone into a medium, after a 6-week course, but for people to become more spiritually aware, for the bereaved to be comforted and welcomed so that their own souls, once touched by the spirit can begin to unfold, not as a medium, but as a spirit, a spirit who is here to learn from life’s experiences. 

There must be some consistency and balance if Spiritualism is to regain its true purpose and if numbers are falling within our Churches perhaps that is an indication that our religion is not what it used to be, when people flocked to sit in congregations to discover spiritual truths for themselves. One of our great Spirit Guides Silver Birch stated: Life is always a polarity. If there were no darkness there would be no light. If there were no trouble there could never be any peace. If the sun always shone you would not appreciate it. Perhaps it would serve us all better to remember these Spiritual truths. 

Tracy Norton.




                                     Stop Worrying and Quit Going Over The Past
 
                            
Almost 95% of psychics will say to you during a reading "stop worrying " and " quit going over the past " ... Well isn't that easy to say ...and also completely false , sometimes the past keeps coming up because its time to look at it and for healing to take place , ignoring It will only slow your progress in life ... Sometimes we have to go over and over something's until we come to a new understanding of the matter heal the situation from within before we can truly let it go and move on with our life if things keep coming ... Look at them and reach for enlightenment.

Mathew John Morris.