Greater World Christian Spiritualist Association

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Greater World Christian Spiritualist Association

British Spiritualist organization founded in 1931 as the Greater World Christian Spiritualist League. It grew out of the Zodiac Circle, which was organized in the early 1920s around the mediumship of Winifred Moyes. Moyes was a channel who transmitted teachings from the entity "Zodiac," who claimed he was a temple scribe at the time of Christ. These teachings were at first transmitted to a small home circle held on Sunday evenings, but the movement grew rapidly to claim a membership of twenty thousand in Britain. Moyes was president of the league until her death in 1957, after which F. M. Tolkin became president until 1963, when he was succeeded by Margaret Hoare.

In addition to the weekly newspaper The Greater World, dis-continued in 1989, the association also published The Children's Greater World and in 1933 launched French (Le Monde Superior ) and German (Die Größere Welt ) editions. The newspaper was replaced by a newsletter.

Members of the association must subscribe to eight basic beliefs, arising from the teachings of "Zodiac": (1) I believe in one God, who is Love; (2) I accept the leadership of Jesus Christ; (3) I believe that God manifests through the illimitable power of the Holy Spirit; (4) I believe in the survival of the human soul and its individuality after physical death; (5) I believe in the communion with God, with his angelic ministers, and with the soul's functioning in conditions other than the Earth life; (6) I believe that all forms of life created by God intermingle, are interdependent, and evolve until perfection is attained; (7) I believe in the perfect justice of the divine laws governing all life; and (8) I believe that sins committed can only be rectified by the sinner himself or herself, through the redemptive power of Jesus Christ, by repentance and service to others. There is also the following pledge: "I will at all times endeavour to be guided in my thoughts, words, and deeds by the teaching and example of Jesus Christ."

The league is now administered through the Greater World Spiritualist Association Trust and has a board of literature responsible for official publications. In 1961 the league affiliated with the National Federation of Spiritual Healers.

Very early in its life the league was involved in social work. In 1937 the league organized a convalescent home for elderly women at Leigh-on-Sea, and more recently added another at Bridlington, Yorkshire. The league's night shelter for homeless women in Lambeth, London, was destroyed by German bombs during World War II, but a new shelter and rest home was opened at Deptford in South London in 1948. That shelter continued its work until 1955, when a new law made it an offense for women to be on the streets at night without a lodging. A night shelter opened in Leeds in 1935 and continues as a home for women and children.

The London headquarters at 3-5 Conway St., London, W1P 5HA, includes a sanctuary and a church with accommodation for nearly 150 people. Services, lectures, healing meetings, and circles are held regularly. There is also a Greater World Healing Fellowship, concerned with spiritual healing through accredited healers. Each of the affiliated churches throughout Britain has at least one medium. Affiliated congregations are also found in Canada, the United States, and New Zealand. The association offers a diploma to mediums who meet the league's standards and for long-standing service to the league. Website: http://www.greaterworld.com.