Central Spiritualist Church of Rochester

In the late 1920's there was some discord among the Spiritualists of Rochester regarding the successive leadership of Plymouth Spiritualist Church. The transition of successive Pastors was always a complicated one, and with several differing opinions and views on what direction Plymouth should be lead there was tension among the Spiritualists.

 In 1927 the highly qualified Rev. Walter Foss of Chicago was voted to be brought in to solve some of the issues the Spiritualists of Plymouth were dealing with. Born in Toronto, Canada, Rev. Foss was a former Presbyterian Minister who converted to Spiritualism. He was trained in Philosophy, Natural Sciences, and Mathematics at the University of Manitoba, and was a graduate of the Auburn Theological Seminary. He was in charge of the Educational Center of the Illinois State Spiritualist Association, and was the Pastor of Central Spiritualist Church in Chicago.

Part's of Rev. Foss's plan were recorded in an interview with the Democrat and Chronicle, which included "constructive education work for both children and adults" of the congregation, which included both biblical education as well as education in Spiritualist principles and phenomena. Rev. Foss also emphasized the need to focus on cooperation within the community rather than competition.

Rev. Foss served as a very popular minister with the Rochester public and with most of the congregation of Plymouth, however there were still those that were not satisfied with Rev. Foss's plans for Plymouth, and tensions still existed within the Church.

In June 1929 Rev. Foss stepped down as Pastor of Plymouth Spiritualist Church, and ended his membership with the Church. He had recently been elected to a position within the Lily Dale Assembly and dedicated much of his time and focus to this. However, a few months later in September Rev. Foss announced that he would be opening a new Church in Rochester, which he hoped would offer him an opportunity to advance the philosophy of Spiritualism.

He named his church Central Spiritualist Church, after his previous congregation in Chicago. A large amount of the congregation of Plymouth Spiritualist Church renounced their membership and joined the Central Spiritualist Church of Rochester, the recorded amount given in a Democrat and Chronicle article was some 62 people.

Central Spiritualist Church quickly became an enormously popular church due to the charisma of Rev. Foss, his outreach programs in education, enthusiastic speakers, and the support of a large portion of the Spiritualist community of Rochester. Unfortunately within less than a year Rev. Foss suddenly passed away at age 52.

After the death of Rev. Foss the leadership of Central Spiritualist Church was lead by another very popular minister, the British Spiritualist Rev. Alexander McIvor-Tyndal. Rev. Alexander was an Educator trained in Natural Sciences and Psychology, he was also known for his skills as a talented Palm Reader, and had a deep understanding of Psychic and Esoteric phenomena. His enthusiastic lectures and demonstrations of Mediumship allowed Central Spiritualist Church in a very short amount of time to flourish and become one of the most popular and active Spiritualist Churches in Rochester's history.

With a natural charisma and personal charm Rev. Alexander was able to engage the public in very interesting ways, while he was extremely well versed in Spiritualist philosophy, he also incorporated his knowledge of Psychology and Eastern Philosophy, such as Hinduism and Buddhism, into his lectures.

Rev. Alexander was also a very adamant about emphasizing Healing in Central Spiritualist Church, vocally expressing this sentiment at a State Convention held at Plymouth Spiritualist Church, that he felt Spiritual Healing was being neglected in Spiritualist Churches.

Rev. Alexander was granted a leave of absence by the Board of Trustees of Central Spiritualist Church to tour on a lecture circuit throughout the United States, his wife, Rev. C. Laura McIvor Tyndall, assumed temporary duties as Pastor of the Church.

Upon his return Rev. Alexander stepped down from the pulpit of Central Spiritualist Church, he and his wife went on a trip to visit his family home in England, and eventually went on a lecture tour of Europe, and the United States, returning to assist with work in the General Assembly of Spiritualists as well as Lily Dale.

After Rev. Alexander stepped down as Pastor, Central Spiritualist Church remained open for about five more years. Unfortunately few of the Pastors had the natural charisma and popularity that Rev. Foss and Rev. Alexander seemed to excite among Spiritualists.

While the Church did not last long, it trained several people who would go on to assist in teaching Spiritualism and demonstrating mediumship in several of the other area churches as Mediums, Healers, and Pastors.

 Perhaps the most notable contribution that Central Spiritualist Church made on the history of Spiritualism in Rochester is that it's foundation and success actually set the stage for a new era of Spiritualism in Rochester: in the coming years the massive influence of Plymouth Spiritualist Church as a central authority began to wane, and the new normal for area churches in Rochester began to move from a single grand shrine of Spiritualism, to smaller area churches functioning together in cooperation as a community, just as Rev. Foss had hoped for.