SNU President David Bruton OSNU, 09th April 2011.
Emma Hardinge BrittenDavid Bruton OSNU the President of the Spiritualist National Union along with the Directors of the National Executive Committee welcomed many Spiritualist fundraisers from across the country to the Arthur Findlay College to re-dedicate Emma’s family headstone and to celebrate the work of one of our great Pioneers of Spirit – Emma Hardinge Britten
The Service for EmmaOn Saturday 09th April, over 70 people attended this Historic day of celebration at the College. The Spiritualist National Union welcomed the opportunity to lay the original family headstone in a fitting place in Emma’s Walk just outside the College Sanctuary. The stone had fallen into ill repair in the Harpurhey Cemetery in Manchester and a dedicated group of fund raisers from Norwich headed by Linda Smith, the President of Norwich Spiritualist Church, raised money to replace the old damaged family headstone with a new granite stone which will last for 100’s of years. The original would have perished had it have been left so, it was then restored, moved and re-laid into the College memorial garden to further raise awareness of Emma and her wonderful work and enable a wider audience to admire Emma Hardinge Britten, the founder of the National Federation, which later became the Spiritualist National Union.
A Great Pioneer in the Embrace of the College.
The college also contributed to the Emma Hardinge Britten Memorial fund. David said “It was the right thing to do and what better place to bring the original stone for all to appreciate. It will be a long and fitting memorial to a great lady. It is important that we preserve our history and honour the Mother of Spiritualism.” David chaired the service and reminded the congregation that one of the gifts that Emma provided to modern Spiritualism was the 7 Principles. The Special Service included an address and tribute by Linda Smith who also thanked both attending and absent donators, an opening prayer from Minister Judith Seaman and Minister Dinah Annable read Emma’s own words from a passage of her autobiography.
The Headstone at Emma's WalkOutside by the gravestone yet another tribute was paid to the courage of Emma with flowers and a beautiful rose wreath laid by David Bruton. An intrigued crowd watched as the final tribute was unfolded from a white paper bag, a small sage bush! Linda explained, “During the Civil War in America in 1863-64, Emma travelled around, a single woman, alone without fear at the request of her guides. She helped wounded soldiers, donated her weekday earnings and raised funds with auctions. Her prize possession “Her Treasure” as she called it was auctioned off time and time again, always begging it back from her new owner. The treasure was an old sage bush that she had dug up from the Plains of Nevada; it grew in abundance and was actually a weed! It was her party piece, and good humoured auction bidders returned it to her time after time. This bush raised 15,000 dollars as well as saving her life after she was accosted by vagrants who were in fact ex soldiers. The sage bush concludes our outside tribute to Emma as a mark of respect”. Emma never expected any accolades, she just did her work as directed by Spirit which was to enlighten and prepare us for our journey of eternity and our next stage of existence. After the Tribute in the garden blessed by glorious April sunshine, NEC Director Julia Almond ended the service with a closing prayer. An eager assembly sang songs in honour of one of Spiritualist’s most prolific Pioneers – it was truly a special occasion enjoyed by all.
Exciting Things Ahead.
Meeting the visitorsDavid Bruton also hosted a thank you party for all attendees with a delicious buffet of afternoon tea provided by the college staff following a fitting tribute ceremony which took place in the College Sanctuary. It was a poignant finale for all of the fundraisers and the National Executive Committee who formed part of the tributary group for Emma. Linda said “I am truly delighted with the celebrations; it makes it all worthwhile to see our Great Pioneer in the embrace of the College. Her gravestone is laid in a place of honour, will cause people to enquire further, there is no substitute for learning than to trigger an enquiring mind”. The Chairman of the college was among the enthused crowd. This was Andrew Hadley’s first official appointment at the college since he took over as Chairman. He said “It was an honour to play a part in this historic occasion, and I feel it marks a positive turning point at the College with new exciting things ahead to come”. It was particularly special for Andrew as it was his mother church Norwich that initiated the whole event and started the fundraising back in March 2010.
All the NEC committee members attended this memorable day and enjoyed socialising and speaking with the crowd who all agreed that this was a great opportunity to meet and speak with the Executive Committee and share in their love for Spirit. David concluded “This day was both historic and marked the future – it was great to welcome SNU Spiritualists to the College as well as non SNU Spiritualists and I trust they enjoyed our philosophy and I look forward to welcoming them into our SNU churches as well as the college”.
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