Spiritualism Demystified
by The Reverend Richard P. Schoeller, NST. • Huntington, NY

Did you know that on Long Island there are four National Spiritualist Churches? They hold services every Sunday. Depending upon where you live you can attend one of these services in Hauppauge, Patchogue, Smithtown or Massapequa.

So, what is a National Spiritualist Church? It is a church that has been chartered under the National Spiritualist Association of Churches (NSAC). It holds Sunday services each week to teach the Science, Philosophy and Religion of Spiritualism – a concept that many do not understand but is easy to explain.

Spiritualism is a Science because it investigates, analyzes and classifies facts and manifestations demonstrated from the spirit side of life. Spiritualism is a Philosophy because it studies the laws of nature both on the seen and unseen sides of life and bases its conclusions on present observed facts. Spiritualism is a Religion because it strives to understand and to comply with the Physical, Mental and Spiritual Laws of Nature, which are the laws of God.

The Religion of Spiritualism is a religion that believes in the continuity of life. Though it is true that all religions believe in some form of life after death, Spiritualism believes in the continuity of life as proven through mediumship.

Is mediumship a new word for you? Do you need to understand this term more clearly? Mediumship is a process whereby an individual is sensitive to the vibrations of those who have passed into the spirit world and is able to convey the messages received from those individuals. People such as John Edward or James Van Praagh have brought mediumship out to the masses through their television programs, but there are also Spiritualist churches right in your own neighborhood.

During the Sunday services there is a time for meditation and healing. At this time, the churches’ designated Student Healers and Commissioned Healers bring through healing to those who sit in the healing chairs. Then there is a sermon -- or an address given by the speaker for that Sunday, which is then followed by Spirit Greetings. This is the point in the service where the churches’ designated Student Mediums along with Certified Mediums are invited up to the platform to bring through messages from those who have passed into spirit.

On one particular Sunday, when it was my time to come to the platform to deliver Spirit Messages, Spirit moved me to come to a woman who was attending the service. I had never met this woman before and was bringing through a message from her mother. The mother told me to tell her daughter that though she had passed from cancer, she was feeling very good again. The effects of the cancer had left her, and she felt like a woman in the prime of her life. She wanted me to reassure her daughter that as she passed from this life into the next, her husband was the first one to greet her. The mother insisted I let her daughter know that she was alive and happy and that she was sitting around the table telling her sisters how proud she was of her daughter. She also made me aware that the “new blue dress” that her daughter picked out for her funeral was a beautiful dress and that she decided that she would wear it in the spirit world as well.

Following the service, the woman came up to me, though somewhat unable to speak due to the emotion she was feeling from the message she received. She confirmed the details of the message and thanked me for bringing through her mother to her and helping her to draw to a close the grief of the loss. To further demonstrate the Science, Philosophy and Religion of Spiritualism, I must point out that I had never met this woman before, yet she was able to confirm the details I gave her regarding her mother and the way in which she passed. This reinstates that we do not die -- life is eternal. All suffering and pain of illness prior to death are no longer with us in the next life.

This is just a simple overview of the Sunday Service. All are welcome to the Spiritualist church. The four Spiritualist Churches are: Summerland Church of Light, NSAC. Services are held at 10AM at 225 Wireless Boulevard – Suite 104, Hauppauge. The Temple of Metaphysical Science, NSAC. Services are held at 11AM at So. Ocean Avenue and Baker Street, Patchogue. A Sanctuary of Infinite Spirit, Inc., NSAC. Services are held at 11am in the Smithtown Masonic Temple, 34 River Road, Smithtown. Finally, the New Horizons Spiritualist Church. Services are held at 10AM at 280 Route 109, Farmingdale.

Richard P. Schoeller is an Ordained Minister, a National Spiritualist Teacher, a Certified Medium and a Commissioned Spiritualist Healer for Summerland Church of Light, NSAC, Hauppauge, NY.