Class Action Againnst the SNU

Interesting idea from the forum create by the people who were ejected from Dalby Rd Church by the SNU
http://www.voy.com/81766/17988.html

Do Spiritualist church congregations usually own their own building? Or are they more like parishes of a larger ecclesiatical body?

Jim

They may own it if the can - funds allowing.

In the main, many may form informal groups for promotional ventures, but remain independent and flexible.

Much more problematical Jim,

Both in the UK and in the USA there were two reasons to put the congregations ownership within the Trust set up by the National organisation

1. To ensure that the efforts to create a place to celebrate Spiritualism could not be over run by New Age Groups.

2. For Insurance reasons to provide cheap and national coverage.

Sadly this places the National Organisation in a place of control, thus those who created the congregations could be removed by the National Organisation.

Now the argument on Dalby Rd is a dissenter was friends with the District Council of the SNU (Spiritualist National Union of the UK). When the Church by unanimous vote excluded them the District Council took control of the church ejecting the committee, then the members, then selling the building because membership collapsed, to swell trust funds. My understanding is that in the Uk there may now be 100 churches under SNU control out of the 400 so the trust funds could, if the economy improves, be improved substantially, to create a paid Ministry even.

My understanding is this is not the first time it has happened, nor the last but at times, as in Bristol, they do not always win. What we see is in total alignment with the behaviour of the NEC over Psychic news, a National Spiritualist organisation without any ethics or moral behaviour.

Oh well thank God we are independent I would, on current behaviour, join none of the National or International Organisations until they learn to listen, once again, to Spirit.

Life will always be a trade-off, I suppose. In unity there is strength, 'tis said. Yet the strength of the union can always be used to the detriment of the constituent unit(s).

We like to hope that Spiritualism would be different: but the problems seem ingrained in human nature. I've seen this in mainstream churches, Freemasonry, political organizations. . . my country is celebrating the 150th anniversary of a war that was fought largely over the same issue.

Jim