NEWSLETTER
Perth Spiritualist Church News-sheet September 2022
As we approach Autumn the committee has been looking ahead to Christmas & the festive season. We had hoped to book the
Civvy for one of their Christmas Party nights but before we could confirm the booking the Civvy was already well on the way
to being fully booked by their own members. We have now secured the Civvy for a party night on Friday 9th December. There
will be a choice of 2 meals - roast turkey & all the trimmings, served with traditional vegetables with roast & boiled potatoes,
or their renowned Steak pie, dessert will be a choice of Christmas pudding & brandy sauce or a Baileys & Biscoff cheesecake.
We are told there will be a vegan alternative, menu still to be confirmed. The cost is £32.50 per person & includes the party
fun of the disco & photo booth. Anyone who has already paid & is not able to go on the 9th will get payment refunded. We
need a £10 deposit for the Civvy by end of September & full payment 2 weeks in advance of 9th December. (25th November)
Not everyone enjoys parties & discos, or may not be free on 9th December, so we have arranged a get together at the Civvy
on Thursday 15th December at 4.30pm just for a meal & without the party. The cost for the same menu as the party night is
£20 & this includes tea or coffee & mints. Please speak to any committee member or helper if you would like to book either,
or both, of these events. The Civvy is located in St Leonard’s Bank & there is limited parking but bear in mind there will be
lots of people wanting parking spaces so consider car sharing if at all possible.
We are delighted that Ann Dibben OSNU, a member of our church, was recently appointed as one of 2 Vice Presidents to
work with our SNU National President Minister Jackie Wright. We were happy to meet Jackie when she visited & worked as a
Medium at our church in June this year, she has already made changes in her time as President. One of Jackie’s aims is to help
& support the churches & to make SNU training courses accessible to everyone.
Ann Dibben will be undertaking more responsibility as Vice President, leading the Complaints Committee, overseeing
modernising our by-laws, ensuring SNU is a good employer for paid staff, & ensuring members get a strong level of service
from the staff. We wish Ann well in her new role.
Our President, Ivy Campbell, is doing readings in aid of the Beatson Institute Cancer Charity in Glasgow, this is for a limited
time only. Readings are £10 for 30 minutes, if you would like a reading please speak to Ivy in church or leave your name &
contact telephone number with a committee member. Gift certificates are also available in church if you would like to give
one to a friend or family member. Gift certificates cost £10, no add on for the certificate & envelope.
Our boiler repair was finally completed in August after a few complications due to the Plumber initially being supplied a
faulty part which involved a few hours labour. Luckily, the engineer sorted out the problem & we were not charged for supply
or fitting of the faulty part. The boiler & hot water are now both working as they should & we have been told by the engineer
that the boiler is in good shape & should continue working well for some time yet. We have checked & know that spare parts
are still being made & available for our Alpha boiler.
After a discussion at our last committee meeting we must report that we are not yet able to offer a Healing Service at c
church. Covid is still with us & healing involves close contact between the people giving & receiving healing. Our healers wish
to keep everyone safe & not spread infection, we can offer absent healing & invite anyone in need to add a name, or names, in
our Healing Book which is on the Lectern at the front of the church. We no longer request people to wear a mask at our
services but ask that everyone uses hand sanitiser when coming into the building & note that there are disposable masks
available at the front of the church for anyone who wishes to use one.
We are aware that the church is getting busier & it is good to see an increase in numbers of newcomers coming through
the door, please try to make anyone attending our church feel welcome & at home as we know it can be a bit daunting for
anyone who does not know us or our church. This is especially important for vulnerable or disabled visitors.
During lockdown we held regular services via Zoom & we know that we had people from out-with Perth logging in to the
services. For people interested in Spiritualism we would like to suggest logging on to Spiritualism Scotland on Facebook, here
you will find details of events happening in other areas of Scotland, some in person & some via the internet. Spiritualism
Scotland is in no way connected to our church & we do not contribute to their website but is made up of a group of like-
minded Spiritualists who wish to do whatever they can to promote Spiritualism in Scotland. Spread the word!
In the last few weeks we have accepted 3 new Associate members to the church, these are people who have been attending
for a while & wish to become more involved & take a more active role in the church. We used to name new members in our
news sheet but since 2018 we are not able to do this due to Data Protection laws.
Reminder: Sunday is a Divine Service beginning at 6.30p.m. Wednesday’s Service is mostly Mediumship beginning at 7p.m.
Both Services last approximately 1 hour & tea or coffee is available before & after both Services. All Welcome, we do not
charge for admission but accept donations for upkeep & running of the church at the end of the evening. The church is run
by a voluntary, elected committee, none are paid & no expenses are paid. We rely on the committee & helpers to ensure
smooth running of the church & invite help from anyone who is willing to hand out hymn sheets & help in other ways; all
offers of help gratefully accepted.
April/May 2022
After exactly 2 years from being forced to close the church due to Covid we are now re-open on Sundays & Wednesdays & we
look forward to welcoming old friends & new. It has been a quiet start & with a few changes. No Healing is being done yet &
no tea or coffee is being served just now. We are asking everyone to wear a mask & to remain in their seats as much as
possible. The toilet is available if needed but no queuing please.
Our Sunday, Divine Service, starts at 6.30p.m. & Wednesday Services start at 7p.m.
In March we booked the Civvy for a Mediumship night & held a Welcome back meeting beforehand, led by Patricia Millon.
This was enjoyed by many & it was good to see our regular members as well as some new faces.
Our Annual General meeting will go ahead in the church at 7pm on Monday 2nd May & we would like as many members as
possible to attend for a review of the last year & for results of the voting for committee members to work in the church over
the next year. We would also welcome any member or non member who is willing to help at our services to speak to Ivy or
any committee member.
The church has recently managed to send the donation of £150 to Radio Tay for the Christmas Kids Charity. The first cheque
was not received by Radio Tay so that had to be cancelled & a new one issued which has now been cashed.
Last August we were advised that a roof repair was urgently needed & that the church was expected to pay a share of the
repair cost. After consulting SNU & checking our deeds we discovered that the church at 40 New Row is part of Methven
Buildings which comprise numbers 34, 36, 38, 40 & 42 New Row & all of the owners must pay a share. This is ongoing as we
have been asked for payment but as yet haven't seen quotes for the work or any bills.
No 42 comprises around 20 flats, some overlooking County Place but the entrance is in the passage next to the church. As
there are 4 floors to each of the buildings our share will be relatively small but until we know how many properties are in
Methven Buildings we cannot work out what our share will be.
Please check our website & facebook for information on Mediums working in the church but also be aware that
circumstances can mean that names & dates can change at short notice.
16.10.21
As the church remains closed the committee have arranged the hire of a room where we can hold a Service of Mediumship so
that our members can get together again. This is to be on Monday 1st November 2021 & will take place at 7p.m. in the Civil
Service Sports Club, known as the Civvy. For those people not familiar with the Civvy it is in St. Leonard’s Bank in Perth. For
further directions please phone the church contact number (07724411922).
We begin at 7p.m. & will follow the format of our Wednesday Services which is mostly mediumship. This will last for an hour.
We are very grateful to the Civvy for giving us these premises at a very much reduced rate. We are not putting a charge on
this evening but will be happy to accept donations via the offertory plate. To offset costs we are also planning to have a
special raffle. For this evening our church mediums are giving their services free of charge & we will not have any travel
expenses to pay.
It is not ideal but we know we can keep everyone safe by social distancing & the church has been closed for so long. If
enough people are interested we will look at booking the venue again in future. Unfortunately as of the time of writing there
is no catering on a Monday but the bar will be available for anyone wishing to buy soft drinks before 7p.m. If the position
regarding catering on Mondays changes before 1st November we will announce this on Facebook as the food at the Civvy is
excellent & well priced. The Civvy has recently been closed on a Monday & this is the only night that is available for us to
have exclusive use of the function room.
It will be required for everyone to wear a mask until seated & to use the hand sanitiser which will be available in the hall.
We will also be accepting donations of food etc for the Christmas Hamper Raffle on 1st November so if you have a few spare
tins in the cupboard please bring them along, as well as any other items that will make a nice raffle gift. The church will be
open from 5 – 7p.m. on Thursday 21st October to receive Christmas hamper donations, or by arrangement by contacting us
on the usual mobile number. This will be our major fundraiser this year & we are hoping to make up in part for lost revenue
during the closure of the church.
Please feel free to pass on details of this event to friends & family who may wish to return to a church service & we hope to
see friends old & new on 1st November 2021.
September
With the church having been closed since mid March 2020 & not in receipt of our regular income or fundraising the
committee has decided to start planning early this year for a bumper Christmas Raffle to raise money for the church
Last Christmas our raffles sold very well & with donations from committee, our members, friends & some local businesses
we raised in excess of £300. This year we are again asking for donations for the hampers. Please ensure that food items do
not have a use by date before Christmas.
We are happy to accept bottles of wine, toiletries, gift vouchers etc, in fact anything that would make an acceptable
Christmas gift. Last year we made up 5 very well filled boxes with Christmas Fayre & made sure they reached the winners in
time for Christmas.
We are planning to open the church for a short time to accept donations, dates & times will be announced shortly, if that
proves difficult we will be happy to arrange collection or delivery outside the stated times.
Anyone willing to sell raffle tickets for us please get in touch on Tel. 07724 411922. Tickets will be on sale soon & we can
accept cash, cheque or Pay Pal, or money in an envelope through the letter box at the church.