Greater World Newsletter out now

Issue 83 of GW newsletter arrived today. Not sure if they put it on their website too and can't check via Kindle. But post version is free of charge on application. Beautiful pics and some interesting pieces in it.
www.greaterworld.co.uk

I've looked at their site.

Do you know much about them, Peter? Some of the things they say seem strange to me: "You've lived countless lives before", and the apparent idea that they're bringing light to all forms of life: do they really mean that they're helping the grass evolve?

I can't quite fathom their acceptance of "Jesus the Christ" either. Do they accept him as Divine, in the traditional Christian Trinitarian sense?

Jim

Not sure quite what they believe in Christologically Jim but to all intents their meetings are the same as regular Spiritualist ones with hymns message and evidence. Their service book is very good for weddings and funerals. Leslie will know more I suspect, church he obliges has GW roots.

Thanks, Peter.

What say ye, Leslie?

Jim

Winnie Moyes who founded GW was what we'd maybe call a 'confirmed spinster' today. A lady of robust ill health who lived to a grand old age. Did a lot for womens' social services via GW charity. Hostels for working gels and the like. All long gone as times changed.
I've tried with Zodiac messages but find them a tad platitudinous, sort of thing our headmaster gave us in school assemblies prior to morning hymn.
Very popular with the Gypsy community some GW churches for weddings and Christenings.

No GW members on here?

I looked at the website. It is a little clunky and the links are not all working for me this morning. The only newsletter I can see is from last year.

I guess Ursula Roberts and Harry Edwards might have called themselves Christian Spiritualists if they were alive today.

I enjoy CS services on the rare occasions I see them. I believe that Christ lived and was a great teacher and healer. I am not sure that I believe the version of Trinity that we were taught as Catholics but that does not really matter.

I really enjoyed Annie Besant's Esoteric Christianity though each time I read it I get something different from it.

Interesting that it is the Greater World that has suffered the biggest drop in membership and church numbers of all the Spiritualist organisations. After the rejection of ACD's Christ Principle they quickly became a very large organisation with a significant number of both churches and members.

Its been quite a remarkable decline leaving them with a minimal number of churches.

Interestingly the centre I am involved with was formed from the amalgamation of two existing organisations. One of tehse was the Greter World Spiritualist Church affiliated to the GWS. Its founder and Grand President, Rosina Tingey, actually had an article published in their newspaper about her radio appearance on the ABC. When the amalgamation was arranged she had moved away from the Christian Spiritualist approach and the newly amalgamated body formed as a non denomenational rational Spiritualist centre following the 7 Principles.

As a result of entirely seperate events we became the owners of aa aprt of that bodies library when an earlier committee disposed of it. Included were two copies of Findleys Rock of Truth one annotated by Rosa and a seperate one which had been owned by the leader who oversaw the final amalgamation. It is a book that clearly influenced the decision to follow the rational path of Spiritualism.

Admin wrote:Interesting that it is the Greater World that has suffered the biggest drop in membership and church numbers of all the Spiritualist organisations. After the rejection of ACD's Christ Principle they quickly became a very large organisation with a significant number of both churches and members.

What was ACD's Christ Principle, Jim?

Nearly was 8th SNU principle but ACD lost heart then passed.
It's third and final Corinthians principle.... in summary.
HTH

My local Church is affiliated to GW, it was one of the wishes of the 'Founder' who, having renovated an old stable that he owned (with the help of fund raising) then donated the completed property...

Our Church hall is adorned with a picture of 'Zodiac' and we also display some traditional 'Christian' photos, together with a cross. Divine Services (those on a Sunday) include singing of hymns, the Lords Prayer and Bible readings. Though the latter is more often than not the reading of an inspirational poem, lesson received from a guide (as in reading from one of white eagles books) etc..

Other than the latter, these days the Church does try to be 'none denominational', that said, as very few people who attend (including some of the committee members) do not even know who Zodiac is... So, some months ago whilst chairing my 'Bible Reading' was a talk on who he was, and how the GW adopted him etc.. etc..

Our President, continues the 'affiliation' with the GW by sending the odd article and photo to them for possible publication, but in general expresses the same line of thought that is predominant amongst the rest of us - that of us being independent'.

In one of those books, which every so often a serious researcher need to delve, Geoffrey Nelson gave the numbers involved in Spiritualism. he reckoned that just after its founding GWS had 350 churches and 8,000 members rising in 7 years to 580 churches and 20,000 members. No figures are currently avaialable for the GWS but I would guess its a fraction of that. Conversely the SNU is currently not far below that start and peaked in membership in the 1980's.

Just imagine how many could be SNU members if it had a revolution that did away with the NEC.

Under a thousand overall attenders at GW including the four churches they own plus HQ Jim. A few more if you count poppers in. SNU attendances are much lower this five years past and individual memberships [ex Class B] now into three figures.
Where SNU has lost members who still adhere that has been to either Progressives or Independents many just pack it in altogether disillusioned.
There's a decreasing number of denominational* Spiritualists in England possibly fifteen thousand all told. Active regulars and office holders around two thousand. Regular one stop shop congregants eight thousand then a floating population of five thousand churned between a decreasing number of church meetings and bodies who also attend other denominations before after or even during their dalliance with spiritualism. Those numbers for English spiritualism with all denominations advertised meetings combined. Desk based research so allow twenty percent either way.
No figures for Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland considered.
*GW plus Corinthians plus SNU plus United Spiritualists plus Progressives plus Independents. Taking an average number for meeting attendance as twenty-three.
During the stage medium and BMS season between September and Easter more people attend Stage medium shows and Psychic fair related gigs than attend Spiritualist churches by an estimated ratio of three to one. No figures for interactors with Psychic TV channels and phone or online services but going by the numbers of those in the maret then demand must be off the scale.

Are the Corinthians now numerically bigger than the GW's, Peter?

(Still can't get a fix on what the GW's believe about JC).


Jim