A Message From Our President

Happy New Year, Friends! 

Many of us entered 2022 with dreams and wishes for a prosperous and healthy year. Many of us entered 2022 with curiosity and wonder of the year to come. Many of us carried into the new year feelings of grief, sadness, anxiety, anger, and many other names we call fear. We also brought in clarity, hope, joy, excitement, and awe. There are many emotions in motion created by our experiences, within us humans. How we manage them is what our tomorrow brings. 

As a species, we tend to follow what society says is correct or incorrect. We fall into belief systems that may not be our own, just at the time its presented we catch it and make it ours without question, because we aren’t taught to question. We are taught to obey. What if, just for a moment, you questioned everything? What if, you unearthed your own truths? - Liberating questions… 

If we are brave enough to take a pause. To fully experience the present moment and notice that soft voice from within- there we find all that we seek. 

Buddha says, “All that we are is the result of what we have thought.” 

Each of us is made of the same elements as the earth and cosmos. We are already perfect in every way. Each pause brings us closer to our own inner truths, our own guide. We become more connected to ourselves. Through this, we become aware of how we are all interconnected. Not in the same boat as many say. We are all the ocean. We are all the earth beneath our feet. We are all the air we breathe. We are all passionate about something. We hold the expansiveness of Space within us. 

Beyond our day-to-day realities of experiences and the stories we make from them, we are far greater than we allow ourselves to witness. For a moment, notice your breath. Notice you are being breathed. Remember, the miracle you are. A miracle from the moment of your first inhale. Sit with that. Witness you. 

Spirit, the Great Unseen, AllFather, Buddha, God, all the names we call Holy, guide us each moment of each day- conspiring for us to thrive. 

I invite you to make 2022 a year of inquiry. With each bump, hurdle, road block- question what the lesson is and listen for that gentle whisper. 

 - Craig Coburn 

 President

What does the Rochester Spiritualist Society Stand For?

Rochester Spiritualist Society 
 Living in Spirit, Healing in Light 

We Stand for Spiritualism 

We believe that needless division among Spiritualists should be set aside, and that our similarities unite us, while our differences strengthen us. 

We Stand for Tradition 

We hope to honor and continue in the tradition of the Spiritualists of Rochester, New York the birthplace of the Spiritualist Movement. We have taken the name the Rochester Spiritualist Society in honor of those early Spiritualists and first societies in order to demonstrate the continuation of our predecessors into the modern day 

We Stand For Freethought 

We affirm Freedom of Thought for all individuals. We believe that the Individual, through the harmonization of reason and intuition, should discern Truth for themselves without the hindrances of sectarian or dogmatic pressures. 

We Stand for Dignity 

We promise to ensure that all our members are respected, represented, and are given a vote and voice. We seek to provide and promote a safe environment free of all discrimination based on race, gender, national origin, disability, age, or sexual orientation. 

We Stand for an Open Ministry 

We affirm that Spirit manifests in a range of Spiritual Gifts, and encourage our members to honor Spirit in sharing their unique and diverse gifts with one another. 

We Stand for Community 

We embrace the early Spiritualist call to Social Justice and Reform, and promote active engagement and care for the needs and wellbeing of the community of Rochester, and the World.