Based in the Village of Lake Pleasant, Town of Montague, Franklin County, Massachusetts, New England, United States of America
The National Spiritual Alliance is a democratic, deistic, reincarnationist, Spiritualist organization
TNSA welcomes all who seek spiritual understanding regardless of faith tradition and sometimes has speakers at its services who express religious/philosophical views other than those subscribed to by TNSA; nonetheless, TNSA adheres to basic beliefs formulated at the time of its founding and stated below in the Principles of The National Spiritual Alliance.
TNSA board members include: Rev. Cori Lovering, president; Joanne Matthews, vice president; Sandra Stevens, secretary; David James, treasurer, and directors Rev. Paula DelGiudice, Ken Hopkins, Rev. Trish Newton, and Spencer Stremlau.
History of Modern Spiritualism
History of The National Spiritual Alliance
Driving Directions to Lake Pleasant
Spirit and Spa is a memoiristic and pictorial portrait -- including more than 100 old photographs and post cards -- of the Village of Lake Pleasant, Massachusetts, during its "glory days" as the pre-eminent Spiritualist gathering place in the United States. The book was written by the late Louise Shattuck, animal artist, sculptor, and author, in collaboration with David James and published by Delta House Press; $20.00, plus $6.00 shipping and handling.
While foreshadowings of so-called "Modern Spiritualism" were evident in Europe in the 18th and early 19th centuries through the work of Emanuel Swedenborg, Franz Anton Mesmer, and others, notably in America of Andrew Jackson Davis, the "Poughkeepsie Seer," Modern Spiritualism officially began in the United States on March 31, 1848. That was the date the Fox sisters, Margaret and Kate, communicated via "rappings" on a bedroom wall with a "spirit" which "haunted" their farmhouse in Hydesville, a small rural community about 20 miles from Rochester, New York. The spirit said he had been murdered and identified himself as a peddler who had stayed at the farmhouse about five years earlier. The spirit told the Fox sisters he had been robbed, his throat had been cut, and his remains were buried in the cellar. Excavation revealed some hair and bones, but it was not until 1904, according to newspaper reports, that children playing in what had become known as the "Spook House" discovered a virtually complete human skeleton behind the crumbling cellar walls. As a result of those peddler communications, and subsequent contact with many other spirits between the worlds of the so-called living and the so-called dead, the Fox sisters gained widespread reputations as mediums and spurred an international fascination with Spiritualism.
According to the History of National Spiritualist Association of Churches, published in 1983, the first National Convention of Spiritualists occurred in Chicago, Illinois, in 1864. A second convention was conducted in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the following year, and more conventions followed into the 1870s, before the loose-knit organization withered nationally, but was survived by numerous independent and state groups of Spiritualist and Spiritualism alliances, associations, and organizations.
One of the oldest continuously-existing Spiritualist organizations in the United States is Lily Dale Assembly on the banks of Cassadaga Lake in a rural area approximately 55 miles southwest of Buffalo, New York. Lily Dale Assembly evolved from the First Spiritualist Society of Laona (New York) formed in 1855 and Cassadaga Lake Free Association formed in 1879. The Association of Spiritualists at Cassadaga Camp developed a constitution in 1892 and adopted it in 1893. That constitution and bylaws of that group functioned as a model for organizers of the first Delegate Convention of Spiritualists of the United States of America conducted in September, 1893, in Chicago, Illinois. In November, 1893, organizers of the Chicago convention filed for incorporation in Washington, D.C., as The National Spiritualist Association of the United States of America. In November, 1920, the organization filed an amendment to change its name to The National Spiritualist Association. Another amendment was filed in February, 1953, to change the organization's name to The National Spiritualist Association of Churches, a name it still retains. NSAC is an umbrella organization which currently has more than 100 members.
Another early Spiritualist organization began to form in 1875 in Volusia County, Florida, about 25 miles southwest of Daytona Beach. Its founder, George Colby, a medium who traveled the Midwestern circuit, was led south by a Native American spirit guide to establish a new Spiritualist center. In 1880, Colby filed a homestead claim on almost 75 acres and was granted a partial claim in 1884 on 57 acres of that land. Colby was joined by Spiritualists from Lily Dale, New York, and a charter to form the Southern Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp Meeting Association was granted in 1894. Cassadaga has evolved from a seasonal camp to a permanent residential center and is the oldest continuously-existing Spiritualist community in the southern United States.
A third early independent group, the New England Spiritualist Campmeeting Association, formed in Lake Pleasant, Massachusetts, in 1874 and was incorporated in 1879. Lake Pleasant is the oldest continuously existing Spiritualist center in the United States and in its "glory days" a century ago was also the largest Spiritualist gathering place in the country. Lake Pleasant is one of five villages in the Town of Montague, one of 26 towns in Franklin County, approximately 90 miles west of Boston. According to Henry A. Buddington, who published the "History of the New England Spiritualist Campmeeting Association" in 1907, a partial list of speakers and mediums appearing in the last quarter of the 1800s at Lake Pleasant included luminaries of that era such as: John Collier, Sarah Byrnes, J.M. Peebles, Nellie Brigham, J. Rhodes Buchanon, Juliette Severence, Moses Hull, William Denton, H.B. Storer, Ed S. Wheeler, Charles Dawbarn, J. Frank Baxter, Edgar Emerson, Tilley Reynolds, Carrie Twing, R. Shepherd Lillie, Fred Willis, Lyman Howe, Lizzie Doten, A.B. French, Sidney Dean, Prof. Lockwood, Oscar Edgerly, Kate Stiles, Jennie Hagan, Cora Richmond, Maud Lord, George Fuller, J.J. Morse, Mattie Hull, Hudson Tuttle, J. Clegg Wright, N.J. Willis, Henry Kiddle, Fanny Allyn, Col. Robert Ingersoll, Juliette Yeaw, Ira Moore Courliss, W.F. Peck, Fanny Davis Smith, F.A. Wiggin, Dean Clark, A.E. Tisdale, Hortense Holcomb, and Andrew Jackson Davis.
The National Spiritual Alliance of the United States of America originated with issuance of incorporation papers September 12, 1913, by the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
The New England Spiritualist Campmeeting Association (NESCA) was affiliated with the National Spiritualist Association of Churches, based in Lily Dale, New York. The National Spiritual Alliance (TNSA) formed after members of NESCA were unable to resolve philosophical differences (primarily regarding reincarnation) and decided to follow separate Spiritualist paths. NESCA members who did not believe in reincarnation -- contending that reincarnation would be retrogressive, not progressive, and is also unproved -- continued affiliation with the National Spiritualist Association of Churches, while members who believed that reincarnation was a learning vehicle which assisted the soul's progression toward perfection split from NESCA and formed the independent TNSA. Lake Pleasant was thus home to rival Spiritualist organizations each with its own temple and followers until the NESCA temple burned in 1955 and was not rebuilt. NESCA continued operations until 1976, before donating its remaining property to the Town of Montague and disbanding.
TNSA continues to be an active organization. Several thousand people visit Thompson Temple annually to participate in Sunday services, Psychic Development Circles, Psychic Fairs, classes, workshops, and other offerings.
Psychic Fair
TNSA is sponsoring a Psychic Fair on Saturday, March 27, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Thompson Temple. Readers use different means to obtain information for those who consult them. Divination methods include astrology, hand reading, psychometry, vibration connection, and Tarot cards. Consultation is with a medium of choice. Spiritual and Reiki healing services are also available. Readings and healings each cost $25 for 25 minutes.
TNSA believes the individual soul is eternal and that at the time of so-called death "crosses over" from material form to spirit essence. TNSA also believes that communication occurs between souls in the physical world and souls in the spirit world. Societal conditioning, however, leads many not to believe such communication is possible ... in fact, to disbelieve, as illusion, personal experience of the truth of such communication. Who has never had forewarning of a future event, an experience of deja vu, a "still small voice" advise our hearts and minds? TNSA conducts a weekly Psychic Development Circle offering participants opportunity to foster innate abilities and experience connection with the spirit world. Circle meets Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m. Each session includes hands on healing and guided meditation to encourage relaxation and receptivity, followed by message giving. Cost is $5.
A gathering, Drum and Dance, Rhythm and Intention, is scheduled the third Saturday of each month from 7 to 10 p.m. at TNSA's Thompson Temple. The next gathering will be Saturday, March 20. Cost is $5.
From the north (Lebanon, New Hampshire/White River Junction and Brattleboro, Vermont): Take Interstate Route 91 South to Exit 27 in Greenfield, Massachusetts, and bear left onto Route 2 East; turn right onto Route 63 South; turn right onto Lake Pleasant Road; go across railroad tracks and take right on Broadway; go up hill and bear left on Montague Avenue; go to end of Montague Avenue and park in the TNSA lot or the Post Office lot. From the Keene, New Hampshire, area take Route 10 South; take Route 63 South; turn right onto Lake Pleasant Road, and follow final directions outlined above.
From the south (Springfield, Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts): Take Interstate Route 91 North to Exit 24; turn right onto Routes 5 and 10 North; turn right onto Route 116 South; turn left onto Route 47 North; turn left onto Route 63 North; turn left onto Lake Pleasant Road; go across railroad tracks and take right on Broadway; go up hill and bear left on Montague Avenue; go to end of Montague Avenue and park in the TNSA lot or the Post Office lot. From the Amherst, Massachusetts, area, take Route 63 North; turn left on Lake Pleasant Road, and follow final directions outlined above.
From the east (Fitchburg, Leominster, Gardner, Athol, Massachusetts): Take Route 2 West; turn left onto Route 63 South; turn right onto Lake Pleasant Road; go across railroad tracks and take right on Broadway; go up hill and bear left on Montague Avenue; go to end of Montague Avenue and park in the TNSA lot or the Post Office lot.
From the west (North Adams, Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts): Take Route 2 East; turn right onto Route 63 South; turn right onto Lake Pleasant Road; go across railroad tracks and take right on Broadway; go up hill and bear left on Montague Avenue; go to end of Montague Avenue and park in the TNSA lot or the Post Office lot.
The Sunday services format includes: welcome and introduction; hands-on healing; an inspirational talk, and psychic messages and messages from those in the spirit world through the medium of the day. Services conclude with socializing, discussion, and refreshments.
Sunday services begin year-round at 2 p.m.
Schedule of Speakers:
3/21/10: Julianna Donofrio
3/28/10: Rev. Eileen McGrath
4/4/10: Rev. Lorraine Willey
The Charter of The National Spiritual Alliance
"Be it known, that whereas G. Tabor Thompson, Frank M. Donovan, Sarah A. Kimball, Frances A. Woodruff, Luther W. Bixby, Esther H. Blinn, Mary E. Donovan, William Critchley, Esper Peterson, Lucy F. M. Bixby, Judson J. Fremont, Almeidia E. Burr, George F. McGill, Annie B. McGill, Sarah G. Haskins, Annie E. Wheeler, Hattie M. R. Connick, Alice S. Waterhouse, Mrs. Julius A. Rice, Mary G. Carbee, Mary J. Roper, Annie B. Freemont and Almira E. Thompson have associated themselves with the intention of forming a corporation under the name of The National Spiritual Alliance of the United States of America, for the purpose of the cooperation of individuals, churches, camp-meeting associations, State Alliances and Sunday-School Alliances into one general National Spiritual Alliance for benevolent, educational, literary, musical, scientific, experimental, religious and missionary purposes germane to the philosophy, phenomena and religion of a church alliance; and have complied with the provisions of the statutes of this Commonwealth in such case made and provided, as appears from the certificate of the proper officers of said corporation duly approved by the Commissioner of Corporations and recorded in this office:
Now, Therefore, I, Frank J. Donahue, Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, do hereby certify that said G. Tabor Thompson, Frank M. Donovan, Sarah A. Kimball, Frances A. Woodruff, Luther W. Bixby, Esther H. Blinn, Mary E. Donovan, William Critchley, Esper Peterson, Lucy F. M. Bixby, Judson J. Fremont, Almeidia E. Burr, George F. McGill, Annie B. McGill, Sarah G. Haskins, Annie E. Wheeler, Hattie M. R. Connick, Alice S. Waterhouse, Mrs. Julius A. Rice, Mary G. Carbee, Mary J. Roper, Annie B. Freemont and Almira E. Thompson, their associates and successors, are legally organized and established as, and are hereby made, an existing corporation under the name of The National Spiritual Alliance of the United States of America, with the powers, rights and privileges, and subject to the limitations, duties and restrictions, which by law appertain thereto."
The TNSA constitution was adopted in 1913 and last revised at the organization's annual meeting in July, 2007. The preamble states "We, the chosen representatives of The National Spiritual Alliance, assembled, in order to form a more perfect Alliance, establish a powerful working organization, establish cooperation, insure harmonious action, and financial success, provide for the ordination and compensation of Ministers, Associate Ministers, Licentiates, Spiritual Mediums, Healers, Missionaries, Speakers, etc., and to promote generally the religion of 'The National Spiritual Alliance,' and secure the liberty of worship granted in the Constitution of the United States of America, hereby establish this Alliance for the guidance and control of 'The National Spiritual Alliance of the United States of America Inc.'"
The constitution established that the organization:
TNSA acknowledges individuality and understands that as souls progress toward perfection, each soul chooses its own path and moves forward at its own pace; nevertheless, TNSA recognizes certain basic principles which help straighten that path and quicken that pace. The TNSA Creed as amended at the 2007 annual meeting follows:
TNSA conducts education classes focusing on such topics as "The History of Spiritualism," "Fundamentals of Spiritualism," "Mediumship," "Hands-On Healing," "Developing Psychic Abilities," and training and certification courses for mediums, healers, licentiates, associate ministers, and ordination of Spiritualist ministers. TNSA also sponsors weekly services and Development Circles, and a monthly Psychic Fair.
Services are conducted year-round Sundays beginning at 2 p.m. The three-part service format includes: Hands-on healing; an inspirational talk, and messages from the spirit world through the medium of the day. Mediums from throughout New England serve on a rotating basis.
There is no charge for Sunday services, however, a freewill collection is taken. There is a fee of $5 for each Development Circle and a fee of $15 for most workshops and special programs. Psychic Fair readings and Reiki and spiritual healings cost $25 for 25 minutes.
Spirit and Spa: A Portrait of the Body, Mind and Soul of a 133-Year-Old Spiritualist Community in Lake Pleasant, Massachusetts, by the late Louise Shattuck in collaboration with David James, with more than 100 old photographs, postcards, and illustrations, published in 2003 by Delta House Press, $20.00, plus $6.00 shipping and handling.
One of five villages of the Town of Montague in Franklin County, Massachusetts, and home of "The Bridge of Names," Lake Pleasant was founded in 1870 as a summertime recreational community and lays claim to being the oldest continuously-existing Spiritualist center in the United States. By 1872, Spiritualists had begun to gather in force, making it a "tent city" in the wild woods of the Upper Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts, a dozen miles from Historic Deerfield, Massachusetts, and a "baker's dozen" miles from the University of Massachusetts flagship campus at Amherst. In 1874, the New England Spiritualist Campmeeting Association was organized and Spiritualists from around the country -- and around the world -- began to turn Lake Pleasant into a "Mecca" for Spiritualism, believers in "continuity of life" and communication between the material and spiritual worlds. The last member of three generations of a Lake Pleasant Spiritualist family, Louise Shattuck "crossed over" to the next world October 25, 2005, at the age of 85. In "Spirit and Spa" she paints a portrait in historical happenings, anecdotal memories, and old photographs of the "glory days" of a community which lived by the swords of the railroad, recreation, and religion ... and died by the swords of the automobile, conversion of the lake to a municipal water source, and attrition through death and disinterest of Spiritualism's practitioners. The book traces Lake Pleasant from its early years as a vibrant resort of 3,000 to the sleepy little village of 300 that it is today ... and looks at the remnant which still remains of those who "talk to the dead," members of The National Spiritual Alliance.
Images of America: Montague, by Peter S. Miller and Kyle J. Scott, published in 2000 by Arcadia Publishing, $20.00, plus $5.00 shipping and handling.
This book is a pictorial history of the Town of Montague, Massachusetts, founded in 1754, and its five villages, Lake Pleasant, Millers Falls, Montague Center, Montague City, and Turners Falls. The book includes 16 pages of photographs and explanatory text focusing on Lake Pleasant from its earliest days as the oldest continuously-existing Spiritualist center in the United States.
Becoming a Spiritualist, by H. Gordon Burroughs, Fifth Printing 1999, distributed by National Spiritualist Association of Churches, Lily Dale, New York, $6.50 plus $5.00 shipping and handling.
H. Gordon Burroughs wrote this book in 1962 to "set forth the fundamental doctrines of Spiritualism" as a religion, a philosophy and a science, as well as to "present the teachings paramount to becoming a Spiritualist."
To order from the TNSA Bookstore ... email davidjames@deltahousepress.com
TNSA members Davis and Lorraine Dewey are based in the Bahamas
Memorial Hall Museum, Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Deerfield, Massachusetts, Spiritualism and Lake Pleasant collection
Ghost Flowers, poems by Dorothy Evelyn Conant Begg, the first Spiritualist born in Lake Pleasant in 1898, and photos by her grandson, Kevin Talbot
Town of Montague "Virtual Tour" includes historical information on the Village of Lake Pleasant
John Sullivan, medium at Beyond Life
Worldwide Listing of Spiritualist Churches/Groups
Two Worlds magazine, the United Kingdom's oldest Spiritualist publication
Sunset Spiritualist Church in Wells, Kansas, has an extensive listing of Spiritualist churches and camps in the United States, as well as a listing of Spiritualist churches in Canada
Louise Shattuck Papers, Overview of personal and professional memorabilia donated to Special Collections at the University of Massachusetts/Amherst
Biographical note on Louise Shattuck and her family connection to Spiritualism dating to the early days of Lake Pleasant as a Spiritualist center
The Spirit Connection explores Spiritualism and the Spiritualist at Cassadaga, Florida, home of the oldest continuously-existing Spiritualist center in the South
The Fox Center for Spiritual Awareness is located in Easthampton, MA, and provides a variety of Spiritualist classes and workshops on an ongoing basis
contact TNSA at P.O. Box 88, Lake Pleasant, Massachusetts 01347
or email davidjames@deltahousepress.com
