Why do we call ourselves a Christian Spiritualist Church?
This is a question that has come up from time to time over the years. The answer is simple. As an organisation you need to display an identity to the people who are looking for something because they want to know a bit about you before they step through the doors.
Christian
We identify broadly as Christian because we are an organisation focused on healing and Jesus Christ is the Master mostly associated with healing. The Spiritual book associated with Jesus Christ is the Bible, so we try to follow the examples of love, wisdom and healing set out in the Bible, with the Bible being interpreted as a Spiritual book rather than purely history or a set of rules.
Spiritualist
We are Spiritualist because we recognise that we’re more than this physical body and there is something more than the physical world we currently inhabit. We also believe that each of us has an individual journey on the Earth to progress our Spirit, the essence of who we really are, which is eternal and constantly evolving.
Progression
We recognise that when the first steps of a journey of spiritual growth and enlightenment are undertaken, people need more freedom to explore what other Masters, and other interpretations of God can offer them, so we embrace many philosophies and practices that are termed spiritual to support people in their learning and development, all of which is also healing on a deep soul level.
Titles
Unfortunately titles are necessary to tell people a bit about you when they don’t know you very well but might want to get to know you, but it can become contentious when people want everyone to adopt their interpretation of what it means to own that title. Christians over the centuries have found it so, and it has resulted in many different denominations of Christianity, but they are still all titled Christian. The same thing seems to happen with Spiritualism, as there are now divisions over that interpretation as well.
Christian Spiritualist
We understand that there are other organisations and individuals that also identify as Christian Spiritualist and stick closely to their own chosen interpretation of what it means to be a Christian Spiritualist, and we respect without question their right to choose how they express themselves within that definition. We very much appreciate it when they respect our right to identify as Christian Spiritualist and express ourselves according to our interpretation of what it means, as thankfully they mostly do.
Church
As a physical Church organisation we have a responsibility to everyone in the local community. Of course not all of those people classify themselves as Christian Spiritualist but they are all welcome to attend any of the events we organise at the church without having their belief system questioned or judged. We offer a variety of experiences to support people with their wellbeing, including workshops, a number of healing practices and spiritual development however that may work for them as individuals, as well as providing support through our friendly church community.
Speakers at the Church
The Church is a forum for ideas and demonstrations that further our understanding. As long as our guest speakers don’t violate our Constitution such as spreading hate or intolerance or outwardly deny Christ, then we welcome their input.
