Divine Faith Spiritualist Church was a Spiritualist Church in Rochester that operated for about 3 years during the 1940s. The Church was founded by Rev. James McNiell, who was assisted by Rev. Frances Adam of Divine Inspiration. Divine Faith Spiritualist Church was chartered with the General Assembly of Spiritualists.
Roc City Spiritualist
Monday, January 30, 2023
Divine Faith Spiritualist Church
Divine Faith Spiritualist Church was a Spiritualist Church in Rochester that operated for about 3 years during the 1940s. The Church was founded by Rev. James McNiell, who was assisted by Rev. Frances Adam of Divine Inspiration. Divine Faith Spiritualist Church was chartered with the General Assembly of Spiritualists.
Monday, October 3, 2022
Rev. Delvon Herrick: Trumpet Medium & Spiritualist Missionary
Rev. Delvon Herrick was born in Jamestown New York, August 24 1859. His mother was a practicing Spiritualist, and encouraged his spiritual development. At age 17 Herrick began to experience Trance Mediumship, and also began to practice automatic writing. Eventually developing the ability to manifest several forms of physical mediumship, particularly Trumpet Mediumship, which he became widely known for.
At the age of 27, Herrick delivered his first public lecture in Jackson, Michigan and from there began a life time of touring churches, camps, and conventions demonstrating mediumship and preaching the message of Spiritualism.
Although born in New York State, Rev. Herrick was a prominent member of the Spiritualist community in Ohio. He served as one of the founding members of the Ohio State Spiritualist Association which was founded in 1897, and also as a trustee of Brady Spiritualist Camp in Ohio.
In 1907 Rev Herrick oversaw the construction of the first Spiritualist Church in Ohio, known as the Ashtabula Spiritualist Temple.
An article from the Sunflower states,
"The first Spiritualist Temple of Ashtabula, which has been in course of construction during the past summer at the corner of Main and Kinsman streets, was formerly dedicated on Sunday and the local society, which has always been at a disadvantage through lack of a meeting place of its own, is proud in the possession of the new house of worship, and especially so because of the fact that it is the first church ever built in the state of Ohio especially for use of Spiritualists." "Rev. D. A. Herrick conducted the formal christening ceremony and named the new edifice."
In 1913 Rev. Herrick was called to be Pastor of Plymouth Spiritualist Church in Rochester, New York. He succeeded the Rev. Helen Russegue, who was Pastor for one year after Rev. Benjamin Austin stepped down from the pulpit to serve in California.
It was under Rev. Herrick that the name of Plymouth Spiritualist Church was legally changed to Plymouth Spiritualist Church. Until 1914 the Church's legal name was officially the First Spiritual Church of Rochester, however, it was always referred to unofficially as "Plymouth Church" or "Plymouth Spiritualist Church".
The name was legally changed and the Church was formally chartered to the General Assembly of Spiritualists, then the New York State Auxiliary to the National Spiritualist Association. It remained chartered with the General Assembly until the 1930s when the General Assembly of Spiritualists disassociated with the National Spiritualist Association.
It was also during this time Rev. Herrick had the special opportunity to attend a séance with Mrs. Emily French, one of Rochester's greatest Spiritualist Mediums and one of the best Physical Mediums in the history of the Spiritualist Movement.
Similar to his predecessor Rev. Herrick was called to California where he served for years as a board member and President of the California State Spiritualist Association.
Rev. Herrick spent the rest of his life traveling throughout the state of California, giving lectures in Spiritualist Churches and demonstrations of Mediumship. He was a regular visitor of Harmony Grove Spiritualist Association where he offered classes, lectures, and demonstrations of Mediumship.
He passed into Spirit on January 14, 1938 after a lifetime of service.
Wednesday, September 28, 2022
Clarissa Street Spiritualist Church: A Center of African American Spiritualism
One of the earliest African-American neighborhoods in Rochester, New York was located on High Street later known as Clarissa Street.
In 1830 Rev. Thomas James, who found sanctuary in Rochester after escaping from slavery founded the Memorial African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, then located on Favor Street (now on Clarissa Street).
This Church was an early center for the Underground Railroad, and was also where Frederick Douglass first edited and printed his abolitionist Newspaper, The North Star, in the church basement. In the 1920s Clarissa Street was once known as Rochester's Broadway, a popular neighborhood that became famous for it's Jazz Music and various Clubs.
Clarissa Street Spiritualist Church actually seems to refer to two different congregations: Second Spiritualist Alliance Church and Good Will Spiritualist Church. Both congregations are referred to as Clarissa Street Spiritualist Church and it seems fairly likely that these different names all refer to the same congregation, albeit at different times.
The earliest listing for the Clarissa Street Spiritualist Church was in 1929, which first met as the Second Spiritualist Alliance Church. The Second Spiritualist Alliance Church was listed together with the First Spiritualist Alliance Church, however Second Alliance was specifically advertised as "Colored." Both groups were lead by a woman named Rev. Ina Woodward and the congregation met at the Gibson Hotel on Clarissa Street.
In 1937 Good Will Spiritualist Church was listed in the Democrat and Chronical to have chartered with the National Colored Spiritualist Association of Churches. The Church was mentioned to not have a Pastor at the time, but was supervised by a Thomas Jackson and a Mrs. Martha Gee conducting services.
There is unfortunately very little information recorded about these individuals, however we can see from church listings in newspapers that most were active within the Rochester Spiritualist community, visiting and serving in various churches and congregations.
It seems likely that the Clarissa Street Spiritualist Church congregation began during the first wave of segregation of Spiritualist Churches in the 1920s (Second Spiritualist Alliance) and was most likely re-chartered as Good Will Spiritualist Church due to the second segregationist policy that was adopted by the National Spiritualist Association in the 1930s.
Following this line of thought, the lack of documentation into the 1930s is most likely due to the fact that the General Assembly of Spiritualists broke from the National Spiritualist Association over the subject of segregation, and the Clarissa Street Spiritualist congregation most likely joined those Churches that were already well established and open and affirming of African Americans.
Although I couldn't find very much information about the Spiritualist congregation at Clarissa Street, I did manage to find some of the sermons that were given on Sunday Services: "Class Fellowship", "From Whence Cometh Thou", "Is Spiritualism A Religion?", "Light", "Who Was The First Mother?" (Mothers Day Service).
Wednesday, February 9, 2022
William Cooper Nell
Thursday, January 27, 2022
Dr. Charles Frederick Farlin
Tuesday, December 14, 2021
Rochester H. Rogers
He wrote in the foreword to the book, "This little volume, written by a busy man for busy men, makes no claim to scientific infallibility. It is simply an honest statement of facts, as my wife an I have seen them, aided by many, too numerous to mention, who, like ourselves, have sought and found a factual foundation for the essentials in the Faith of our Fathers. If it replaces despondency with hope in any single home, it will serve its purpose."
A few weeks after his son Nathaniel passed away unexpectedly from an unnamed illness in 1945, the famous medium and a leader of the General Assembly of Spiritualist Churches, Arthur Ford, came to visit several local Spiritualist Churches in Rochester.
Rogers wrote that his wife attended a service lead by Ford at the Open Door Spiritualist Church at the Hotel Seneca where she received several evidential messages from their son Nathaniel through Arthur Ford. A few days later Rogers attended with his wife, and the Rev. Dorothy Maxwell delivered several detailed evidential messages to the couple from their son. These messages marked a turning point for Rogers and he began to earnestly study Spiritualism, and reexamine his personal faith in a new light.
Rodgers mused philosophically in the book that although he and his wife still continued to attend services at the Episcopal Church they were raised with, their faith was only strengthened by their association with Spiritualism.
With a new understanding of faith in Spirit, Rogers and his wife began to regularly attended seances at the Anderson Park Spiritualist Mission, and other private Spiritualist Circles in Rochester. They also set out to travel during the summer months regularly visiting several Spiritualist Camps including Lily Dale, New York, Freeville, New York, Chesterfield, Indiana, and Silver Belle, Pennsylvania. While at the Spiritualist Camps Rogers witnessed several different forms of mediumship, including many forms of physical phenomena such as Trumpet Mediumship, Slate Writing, and even Materialization.
He ends his short work comparing the spiritual gifts mentioned in the Bible with the spiritual phenomena of Spiritualism. Reassuring readers that Doubt and Skepticism are to be expected when learning about Spiritualism for the first time, pointing out that the Apostle Thomas "like most of us, had to hear, see, or feel to believe," and that the reader will one day "find your family and friends waiting to meet you - young, vibrant, and humorous as ever."
Monday, July 5, 2021
George & Zaida Kates
George Kates was born in Wilmington Delaware on July 6, 1845. His parents were Methodist until he was about ten years old. His Father became interested in Spiritualism, and his parents soon embraced Spiritualism. Allowing Kates to investigate the writings and phenomena of Spiritualism. In 1863 on his eighteenth birthday he enlisted in the Union Army of the Civil War in ranks, and then served in the commissary department until the end of the war.
In 1865 he moved to Cincinnati Ohio and served as secretary of a local Spiritualist Society, serving as an editor for a Lyceum Newspaper. He also wrote for the Banner of Light, and for local newspapers.
Zaida Brown (Kates) was born in Philadelphia to a Methodist family. She frequently experienced spiritual phenomena as a child, specifically clairvoyance, but did not understand the nature of her gifts. At age 15 she began to develop her mediumship and study Spiritualism, better understanding her gifts. She began to hold seances in her home among her circle of friends, making her well known among her community as a medium.In 1882 her parents moved to Decatur Georgia. Her parents were very supportive of her gifts and embraced Spiritualism, her mother also being a trance medium. At their farm home n, people went to her her give trance lectures through her guides on the philosophy of Spiritualism.She first appeared publicly at a Public Hall in Atlanta Georgia on March 31 1883. During the same year she moved with her parents to Atlanta where their home served as a center for the local Spiritualist community.
In 1887 George Kates and Zaida Brown were married at Lookout Mountain Spiritualist Camp. The couple were married by Rev. Dr. Samuel Watson, President of the Southern Spiritualist Association.
The couple acted as Spiritualist missionaries, traveling to different Spiritualist Camps and communities across the country, from New England to California, throughout the South, and other states such as Kansas and Colorado.
The couple were very vocal supporters of various causes, George Kates wrote several editorials against Capital Punishment, advocating Prison Reform and speaking against the culture of the day that he felt that promoted violence. Zaida was an advocate for public Temperance, speaking out against the corrupting influences of alcohol but also promoting a need for better public access to clean water and healthcare.
In 1896 plans were taken by Rochester Spiritualists towards creating a Spiritualist Church. George and Zaida Kates were requested by the Rochester Spiritualist community to assist in the project. In 1897 George Kates became one of the founding members of the First Spiritual Church, chartered with the National Spiritualist Association as a lay society.
Kates and Zaida held services in an Odd Fellows Hall (Temple) on North Clinton, with George delivering lectures and Zaida giving demonstrations of Mediumship as well as. Zaida also organized a Children's Lyceum, and acted as the music director.
For several years George and Zaida Kates were responsible for holding anniversary celebrations of Spiritualism in Rochester each March, with notable guests such a Peebles, Scott, Wallis. These were held in Corinthian Hall.
In 1905 Zaida and George moved to Washington, DC, and served the congregation of the First Spiritualist Church of Washington DC. Eventually starting their own congregation, Unity Spiritualist Church. Zaida also earned her credentials as a chiropractor, and opened her own practice as Dr. Zaida Brown Kates.
In 1911 Zaida worked to produce a thorough revision of the Spiritualist Hymnal; editing older versions and compiling new songs into a format and version that is the foundation for the current hymnal used in most Spiritualist Churches today.
In 1916 George published his masterpiece work titled The Philosophy of Spiritualism, which remains one of the most concise and well developed pieces of Spiritualist philosophy. Touching on all the main principles of Spiritualism, the text remains an important source for understanding Spiritualism as a religion and philosophy.
After years of public ministry George passed away, and Zaida continued to serve as a Spiritualist Minister, Medium, and Healer for another two decades. In 1927 Zaida stepped down as minister of Unity Spiritualist Church, and continued to hold Message Circles every Tuesday evening in her home, and also gave private consultations as a Medium. She passed away in 1930 after a lifetime of dedicating her life to teaching Spiritualism and helping others.
Sunday, June 20, 2021
Psychic Friends: Rochester's Spiritualist Readers
Thursday, March 11, 2021
Sir Oliver Lodge Visits Rochester
The book was a major success and was incredibly popular among Spiritualists, however it was met with some criticism as some felt that the descriptions of the spirit world were too simplistic and not spiritual enough, such as a remark delivered by the spirit of Raymond who stated that he and other soldiers that had passed into spirit were enjoying whiskey and cigars in the spirit world.
Tuesday, March 9, 2021
Rev. Robert Macdonald
Wednesday, February 24, 2021
Rochester's Mystic Tea Room
Divine Faith Spiritualist Church
Divine Faith Spiritualist Church was a Spiritualist Church in Rochester that operated for about 3 years during the 1940s. The Church was fo...
-
Rev. Robert Macdonald was born in Glasgow, Scotland. A Spiritualist at an early age, he served in the Scottish Spiritualist Churches from ag...
-
In 1893 several prominent Spiritualists met in Chicago to form the National Spiritualist Association. The leaders hoped that by forming an...