History Of Belfast Spiritualist Church - Kindly supplied by Mal Neumann

Spiritualism in Northern Ireland started amid the furore of religions and political activity surrounding the covenant of 1912.
Although war was brewing in Europe, a few people in Belfast were quietly but earnestly seeking another very important aspect of human expression much frowned upon, especially in the intense atmosphere that prevailed in a country of such deep religious feelings.

In the area of Custom House Steps, renown for many years as the speakers’ corner of Belfast, people gathered to discuss almost any subject under the sun.

It was here that the pioneers of the Spiritualist movement, Mr Morrison, Mr Moore, Mr McCormick and Mr Skelton got together to discuss many aspects surrounding psychic matters.

With interest in all matters spiritual growing they rented rooms in Victoria Street, their aim was to study, practice and investigate psychic phenomena. Thus the Spiritualist movement was born in Belfast and Ireland.
They held regular Sunday meetings as well as mid week activities and their gatherings began to expand. Merging with like minded groups they found they needed more space so rented a top floor room at 39 High Street and named the group, The Belfast Spiritualist Alliance.

As interest in Spiritualism spread they once again outgrow their premises and first moved to Chichester Street then on to Central Hall, Rosemary Street where the group flourished unti1 the hall was bombed in an air raid on Easter Monday 1941.
With no where to go the Alliance accepted an invitation from a group meeting at 45 May Street which was functioning successfully under the leadership of the exceptional medium, Sarah Graham.
Between the wars, many famous mediums were brought to Belfast by the Alliance and the amalgamation continued successfully with the help of people, such as, Gladys Gamble whose husband David helped organise development circles.

It was during this period that the committee had the pleasure of holding many of their meetings and services in Thompson’s Restaurant owned by one of the members. Mr Thompson was also the founder member of the Belfast Electronic Spirit Communication Society.

On the 8th April 1951 a publicity meeting was held in the Ulster Hall. 700 people attended paying £2 each for entrance.

In June 1953 group sittings held by visiting mediums were abandoned to give way to private sittings. Payment remained on a purely voluntary basis and it was not to be until November 1966 that a price was put on readings of fifteen shillings per sitting.

Opposition from those with vested interests have always made it difficult for those practicing spiritualist in Ireland. So it came as no surprise when the owners of the May Street premises succumbed to religious prejudice and the Alliance was forced once again to move.

Under the leadership of Mr Joseph Curphy they returned to High Street, this time to St Georges Hall. Jack Atkinson and Violet Winters added to the strong team of platform workers supported by regular visiting mediums from Scotland.

However, the Alliance were never happy with this hall, having to continually complain during services about the excessive noise from a drama group renting the room above, and the mess around the entrance caused by the pools office below.
It was during this period that the Lyceum reached it's peak attendance, with approximately 50 children attending each Sunday Service.

Not wanting to miss out on an opportunity to raise funds, in June 1953 Mrs Whisker proposed the windows of the Church overlooking High Street be made available to members during the Queens Visit. Of course, a collection was also proposed to aid the building fund.

The activities continued steadily under the leadership of the new President Mr Harry Ryding until more pleasant and larger accommodation was found at 6 Dublin Road. Unfortunately it was still 3 floors up and a chair had to be provided half way for infirm members to rest . They named this hall Curphy Hall in honour of the former President who passed to spirit in 1956.

On the 12th June 1963 Harry Ryding received his MSN diploma. This was a great honour for Belfast as he was the first person to be ordained a Spiritualist Minister in Ireland.

Then on the 27th October 1963 an invite was received from the Youth Fellowship of Stormont Presbyterian Church for a speaker to visit their Church and give a talk on Spiritualism. Mr Ryding and Mrs Winters went along representing the Church. They said they enjoyed a pleasant evening answering many questions on Spiritual and psychic matters.

A letter arrived from the Spiritualist National Union (SNU) on 28th July 1964, which was read to the congregation the following Sunday. It informed members that the estate known as Stansted Hall near London had been bequeathed to the SNU from Mr Arthur Findlay.
Author of Sherlock Holms and many spiritualist books Arthur Findlay was an passionate Spiritualist. He expressed that he would like the estate to be used as the SNU headquarters and as a spiritual and psychic teaching centre.

Healing has always been a strong point in the Church. In 1965 one outstanding case was mentioned at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of a young man suffering with leukaemia returning to normal health after receiving healing. Doctors had only given him a few months to live.

With a strong and active membership plus additional accomplished workers like Bob and Cicely Moore, the Spiritualist movement in Belfast, grew stronger by the year. At one meeting an enthusiastic member, Mrs Margaret McRoberts, brought along a small advert offering a building in Malone Avenue for sale. This was the start of the most hectic and important phase in the life of the Church.

The building was bought with a large fund raised locally along with a £7,000 loan from the SNU building fund. It was all systems go With a great deal of voluntary labour the building was substantially refurbished, the final work party not finishing until around midnight Saturday, the day before opening.
Mr Ryding told Psychic News at the time; “It’s impossible to pay tribute to all the wonderful people who have brought our ambitions to fruition, but none worked harder than our present secretary, Bob Moore."

On Sunday 4th May 1969 the Belfast Church of Psychic Science opened its doors for the first services of a new era. Two weeks later on 14th May, Mr Charles Quastel president of the SNU performed the dedication service along with international mediums Albert Best and Jessie Nason.

A few months later Spiritualism in Ireland had it's first fully established Church when recognition was granted by the Registrar Office and the church was solemnized as a place of worship in which marriages could take place.

Since 1969 the Church has gone from strength to strength. Numerous marriage ceremonies, as well as naming, burial and cremation services have taken place.

It must be said that the committee have not always been as quick to act as they did when buying the Church. At a meeting in November 1974 Dorothy Hill suggested the collection plate be passed around to improve collections. It took seventeen years to act on a proposal, collections started in 1991.

Belfast Church of Psychic Science
Dedication Service 14th May 1969
Charles Quastel, Jessie Nason, Albert Best, Cecily Moore & Harry Ryding

At the AGM on 28th February 1976 the name of the Church was changed to it’s present form – Belfast Spiritualist Church. Two years later Albert Best held a publicity meeting for our benefit in Wimbledon. He raised almost £400.

1979 saw an extension to the Church being built. After continual problems finding accommodation for visiting mediums, a self contained apartment was added to the side of the Church for their use.

Disaster struck in 1982 when we almost lost the lot. A fire broke out in the kitchen which nearly ended in the complete loss of the Church but for the alertness of a neighbour who contacted the fire brigade.

More recent Church activities have included a coach trip to Dublin in 1992 for an evening with our brothers and sisters in the Spiritualist Group there. An enjoyable evening was had by all but many were surprised to learn of their adverse working conditions. Spiritualism is not recognised as a religion in the Republic.
It is against the antiquated, religiously influenced, laws for them to say prayers or sing hymns.

Later that same year, we held a psychic supper to promote spiritualism and aid local charities. Ten mediums donated heir services and well over 200 people filled the Church to capacity. The officials at the door had the extraordinary task of turning late comers away, no matter how they tried they just could not get them in. £440 was raised and donated to Telethon 92.

1993. Thanks to a bequest from a long standing member of the Church and a small group of voluntary workers. Substantial refurbishing of the interior was carried out. Jack Prentice the president proposed a table was purchased and dedicated in memory of the bequest.

As a final touch to the refurbishment, May Tait, a Scottish medium and long standing supporter of Belfast Spiritualist Church donated the SNU symbol that is fixed above the platform and the Church filled with flowers.

As we celebrate 25 years as the only fully established Spiritualist Church in Ireland, we say thanks to the generations of dedicated workers who continually take over the reigns and deliver the spiritual message with the same love, enthusiasm and dedication of the pioneers.

Author: Mal Neumann