Psychic News to be re-published

A ripple of excitement has swept around the world of Spiritualism after it was announced that the assets of the 80 year old newspaper PN Psychic News have been purchased by the Spiritualist organisation, the JV Trust under the auspices of the chairman, the respected Minister Eric Hatton.

The JV Trust issued the following statement today:
" My fellow trustees and I are absolutely delighted to announce that yesterday, 4th October 2011, ownership of psychic News , it's archives and other assets passed to the J.V Trust".

Rev Cleary

In 2010 Psychic News published the front page story that Reverend Patricia Cleary had been vindicated in the NSW Supreme Court after several persons had made false claims about her tenure of the Enmore Spiritualist Church. 
False and bizarre claims were made that local police and the Fraud Squad were investigating the church when no such investigation happened or was ever contemplated by the police as they aknowledged in writing to Rev. Cleary.

The article vindicating Reverend Cleary was firstly vetted by a retired British judge (who worked on Psychic News) to confirm accuracy and the legality of the article.

The Psychic News went into administration with a complicated legal situation occurring over ownership of it's assets that were thought to be owned by the Spiritualist's National Union (UK) who own and operate the famous Stansted Hall.
Prominent members of the SNU gave invaluable support and advice to Reverend Cleary, who enjoys a world-wide reputation for her promotion of the religion.

Was Abraham Lincoln a Spiritualist ?

One of the world's largest Spiritualist organisations, the SNU in England has many free books on Spiritualism that can be downloaded including one with the above title.

This is a list of the books available and their sizes. Go to the SNU website here.

Beyond the Five Senses	L Margery Bazett	75	183k	1946
The Seven Principles	George F. Berry (SNU President 1920)	13	41k	1921
Trance Addresses 1866	Emma Hardinge Britten	105	327k	1866
Researches	Sir William Crookes	65	208k	1926
The Universe and Man	James F. Malcolm O.B.E	28	84k	1964
Was Abraham Lincoln a Spiritualist?	Nettie Colburn Maynard	54	157k	1917
Glimpses of the Next State (The education of an agnostic)	Vice Admiral W. Usborne Moore	273	941k	1911
The Voices		252	754k	1913
Spirit Identity by the Direct Voice		19	60k	1914
Spirit Teachings	William Stainton Moses	195	558K	18??
More Spirit Teachings	William Stainton Moses	72	220k	18??
The Life Beyond The Veil	Rev. G. Vale Owen	92	282k	1920
Spiritualism in the Evolution of Philosophy	Ernest Thompson MSNU	64	211k	1950
The Reality of Psychic Phenomena	W. J. Crawford	117	680k	1916
The SNU in 1936

SNU reverses Eric Hatton book decision

The SNU, one of the UK's longest running Spiritualist organisations has reversed it's decision not to stock the autobiography of well known medium Eric Hatton.

Read the full story at the Spirit of PN.

The Spirit Of PN

The Spirit of PN appeared on the net about 6 months ago and looks set to fill the void created when the decades old Psychic News newspaper was abandoned by one of Britain's foremost Spiritualists organisations, the SNU. It is edited by Sue Farrow and amongst it's contributors are many who wrote for the Psychic News.

The web newspaper (there is talk of a print edition which would be welcome ) currently has a story about  a decision made by the SNU to ban the sale of a book at it's book store- which we only recently recommended :Eric Hatton’s long awaited book, Taking up the Challenge.

Eric Hatton is one of the most loved Spiritualists in Britain and the decision to ban his book from sale at the SNU has upset many people who are perplexed as to the reasons. It seems an extremely harsh decision for a man who has worked most of his life to aid the SNU.

Read more at the Spirit of PN. It is one of the few news outlets left for Spiritualists !

A memoir- highly recommended

Eric Hatton has been a Spiritualist from his teens and for many years was the highly regarded President of the SNU-one of Britain's leading Spiritualist's organisations and the Minister of Stourbridge church.

His autobiography Taking Up The Challenge has been published and can be purchased at Amazon.

 Enmore recommends it as not only an insightful read but as an important reminder that Spiritualists come from all walks of life. In this case Eric was a successful businessman as well as a keen Spiritulaist.

'Taking up the challenge' is the story of one man's determination to find an answer to the question we will all ask at some time or another - Is there life after death?

When Eric Hatton's much-loved brother was killed in1946, he was determined to embark on his own investigation. Thus began a quest for evidence which has so far spanned more than six decades.

 During that time Eric has become one of Spiritualism's best-known figures, respected for his transparent integrity and the level-headed approach he brings to the examination of evidence for survival beyond death. An accomplished speaker and broadcaster, Eric has shared a platform with many of the greatest mediums the Spiritualist movement has produced.

Though his experiences of the next world - some of them breathtaking - have left him with a complete conviction of the reality of the afterlife, his career as a successful businesman has meant that his feet have always been planted firmly on the ground. Eric's extraordinary story is at times challenging and at others heartwarming. Above all, it is the startlingly honest and inspiring account of a man who had to find out the truth for himself.

What is Spiritualism ?

Often people are unaware that some Spiritualists are not psychic, and some psychics are not Spiritualists although the 2 often overlap.

As an example, the well known TV psychic John Edwards until recently never referred to himself as a Spiritualist. In the last 2 years he has.

For a brief history of the beginnings of Spiritualism with the famous Fox Sisters in the USA go to the Wikipedia  website.

Most of the Churches in Australia are run independently of each other although most hold  the same types of services.

In England the religion has always been more organised with 2 umbrella groups -the Spiritualist Association of Great Britain-SAGB located in a beautiful building in London's Belgrave Square (although they are moving at present to a nearby more modern building) and the  Spiritualists National Union SNU headquartered at Stansted Hall, about 40 miles outside London.

In the USA many churches belong to the National Spiritualist Association of Churches NSAC at the wonderful Lily Dale in New York State.

It is difficult to work out the numbers of Spiritualists in Australia. In the UK Spiritualism is the 6th largest religion but with around 42,000 adherents it is still small compared to the population of approx 61 million people.

All Spiritualist Churches have the same 7 principals (from the NSAC ). However the wording may differ :

1. We believe in God.
2. We believe that God is expressed through all Nature.
3. True religion is living in obedience to Nature's Laws.
4. We never die.
5. Spiritualism proves that we can talk with people in the Spirit World.
6. Be kind, do good, and others will do likewise.
7. We bring unhappiness to ourselves by the errors we make and we will be happy if we obey the laws of life.
8. Everyday is a new beginning.
9. Prophecy and healing are expressions of God.

Stansted Hall

For a greater explanation of these principals go to their website here. 

The SNU gives this definition of Spiritualism :


" Spiritualism is a religion that gives an understanding of God and encourages us to act with a high sense of duty towards others. Spiritualism stimulates spiritual growth and prepares us for eternal existence in the spirit-world.

Spiritualism is a science because it is based upon proven facts that can be demonstrated and scientifically classified. Spiritualism is the science of life as it encourages the search for truth in every department of existence, in nature and in human psychology. 

Spiritualism is a philosophy that attempts to understand people, their physical, intellectual, moral, and spiritual being. As Spirit is the moving force of the Universe, so Spiritualist philosophy embraces the whole realm of nature."

Gordon Higginson Demonstration