November 15, 2013: Update… seems there has been a change at East Hamilton Spiritual Church…. a new web site…. I guess the old web designer and his mother are likely out of the church but I am sure all the other issues mentioned below are sadly alive and well… Change is a slow process it seems.
It has come to my attention that over a year after leaving East Hamilton Spiritual Church that I am being bad mouthed by some executive members on the church board. Up until now I have basically said nothing unless it came to my attention through others that I was still being talked about. Since some people cannot seem to tell the truth or not say anything at all I feel I must post the following letters so that people can know what I went through in the two months I was involved with East Hamilton Spiritual Church from March to May 2012 when I first moved to Hamilton.
It is also important to note that before that move in 2012 I was living and working in Toronto and moved to Hamilton with the intention of making the East Hamilton Spiritual Church my home church. In September 2011 I was added to a Facebook group East Hamilton Spiritual Church What’s Going On? and defended the church because I was dragged into drama where 19 people were banned form East Hamilton Spiritual Church for reasons I never did quite understand. What I saw was people making accusations but I did not see actual concrete proof for. Most of what I saw was ex members accusing the board of fraud and to me without proof that is a very serious accusation.
That said, when I came to the church I discovered that the Vice President of the board (Kathleen (Kathy) Barnard) was the worst gossip monger and took delight in targeting people whom she did not like or who challenged her authority and security in some way. Making fun of how people dressed on Sundays for church or spreading rumours about some people’s sexual orientations and living arrangements are just two examples of the regular goings on at East Hamilton Spiritual Church that I personally witnessed. I also experienced subtle racism from the same woman who made a disparaging comment about one of the students who came to a mediumship class I was teaching one Thursday night. He happened to be a young black guy in his early 30s who is into the rap scene as he is a DJ. She assumed “he is going to cause trouble” but I explained to the Vice President he was client and a student of mine for several years. So when she said to me “Oh no he is going to cause trouble” I was shocked and offend. I made it clear to her that I knew this man personally and that he was one of the nicest people I have ever met. She was (from what I can tell) embarrassed and uncomfortable having been caught making such an assumption about someone.
The tipping point though for me through, was when I found out, through Facebook that the web designer for the church website who was a healer in the church was posting Nazi slogans on his personal webpage extolling the virtues of “exterminating the ‘lesser desireables’ in society who were fit to survive the struggle of society”. And his target seemed to be people with Downs Syndrome. I saw posts making fun of these people’s intellectual impairment. As recall, the photo had the picture of a pre-teen girl with Downs Syndrome and the caption was “I can count to potato”. The most disgusting thing of all this is that his mother (also a member of the board at East Hamilton Spiritual Church) was liking these prejudicial abusive posts. After trying to talk to the young man about this behaviour and being told to “fuck off”, I brought it to the attention of Vice President of the board at East Hamilton Spiritual Church as was advised that “he is just a 19 year old fuck up who is trying to find himself”.
This is when I knew that East Hamilton Spiritual Church was not “a safe haven for all who enter” especially not those with intellectual, or physical disabilities or who are not white. As a woman with Cerebral Palsy, who has over come such prejudice, I did try to have the web designer and his mother removed from their positions at the church and instead it was me that was banned for voicing my improperly addressed concerns on Facebook when I realize the church board was not going to do anything about it. I feel most sorry for the general congregation and the newly appointed board members who had nothing to do with this nonsense but are in the middle of it nonetheless.
The following letters represent the full exchange that Reverend Leonard (Len) Spicer and I had about the situation. It seems if you are good friends of the Reverend (as the web designer, his mother, and Kathleen (Kathy) Barnard are) than any behaviour is acceptable. It is also interesting to note that the web designer, his mother and the Reverend are not even residents of Hamilton. How is it they got so involved in controlling a Hamilton based church in the first place? That may never be clear but the letters are very clear for sure.
LETTER RECEIVED:
From the Desk of Rev. L.P. Spicer
President of East Hamilton Spiritual Church
May 25, 2012
Dear Catherine MacDonald,
On behalf of the officers and congregation, I wish to thank you for your service, which included emergency requests.
However, I have noticed some very distasteful acts of your conduct, which I find unacceptable. As a servant of this Church when you serve, you become a leader and your demeanour at all times must demonstrate social qualities, that encourages all who attend the Church to feel at east and at peace.
Your conduct over the pages of Facebook on the net is degrading from a worker who serves the congregation of East Hamilton Spiritual Church. Your actions and opinions have been humiliating, embarrassing, and offensive, especially in area’s that do not concern you.
Your treatment of the teenager Thomas Needle requires your apology. You accepted an invitation to join a private page on Facebook and in your gauche manner you turn this private page into a public gossip column (I printed the subject matter off) to maintain the Churches image, I have punished Thomas. You also have sent slanderous comments to Thomas’s mother.
For this reason you will no longer be considered to server in any capacity this Church. Your membership of this Church as of this date is withdrawn also your requirements to serve on June 9th 2012 as a reader are no longer needed.
Without prejudice
MY REPLY:
From: Catherine MacDonald [mailto:cmac29@rogers.com]
Sent: May-28-12 4:50 AM
To: ‘leonardspicer@yahoo.ca’
Subject: RE: Letter
Hello Reverend Spicer:
I have received your letter and can say that we are in agreement on only two matters and I am quite relieved that I am no longer a member of East Hamilton Spiritual Church and will no longer be required to serve.
As to the other parts of the letter I will simply say that I asked spirit to show me what I needed to see as I had requested them to and I am grateful for that.
Now let’s get the facts straight.
1. Thomas Needle is not a teenager by law he is considered an adult as it is my understanding that he is 19 years of age. He posted disparaging hate speech about people with down syndrome and had Hitler quotes on his page also that encouraged the extermination of undesirables who were not fit to survive the struggle in society. I did try to talk to him about the negativity of this kind of thing and was rudely rebuffed. I brought the situation to the Vice President of the board’s attention and it was blown off as “he’s just a 19 year old fuck up trying to find himself”. Is the an example of not being gauche? I just want to be clear on where you draw the line on what is gauche and what is not.
2. Thomas’ mother is a member of the board and she was the one who came after me threatening me that I needed “to watch what I said about Thomas as I had no idea what his intention was by sharing the posts he did on Facebook”. Was that a threat? I do not have to figure out his intentions and the fact that his mother also liked the posts he shared also puts in question her judgement. If I embarrassed and humiliated her then perhaps public shaming was necessary given the circumstances. I did not slander her. I challenged her distorted logic in her feeble attempts to defend and justify and defend her son’s behaviour and asked her directly if she shared her son’s views. I did not accuse her I simply pointed out how twisted her line of thought was and perhaps that is a good thing in the long run as it is Thomas who embarrassed and humiliated his mother by showing the lack of parental guidance that is obviously going on. She added me as a friend and comes after me on my wall and if it is bad conduct for me to embarrass her then I should think she would also be dealt with in the same manner as Thomas and myself for bad Facebook behaviour. Yet I am more than willing to bet that she is still a member of the board and that her membership in the church and her son’s membership were never actually in question because they are personal friends of yours. It is so nice to see that the rules are so evenly and ethically applied in all situations.
3. I have personally heard the Vice President of the same board gossip to me about people in the church that she does not like and systematically target them so they stop attending. I guess making fun of how someone dresses on Sunday or sings hymns and making fun of people you do not like by making up nasty nicknames for them is an example of acceptable leadership behaviour at East Hamilton Spiritual Church? Just want to be crystal clear what the expectations are here.
4. I heard this same member of the board tell me things that were “board business” when other board members would have been admonished for doing so. It seems she does this if it suits her purpose of belittling others and causing drama in the church to get her own way. Again we can see the value of applying the rules in a fair and balanced manner.
5. The vice president of the board was also so rude to me on the last occasion I was there because I was questioning things that are going on in the church and yes did so publicly as this nonsense was brought to my attention on Facebook and I refused just to let it be shoved under the rug. Is that becoming behaviour for a person in her position? If so I am in the wrong church.
Are these the examples of “a leader and [with a] demeanour at all times must demonstrate social qualities, that encourages all who attend the Church to feel at [ease] and at peace”? Is this what makes East Hamilton a “safe haven for all that enter”? I can say I think not.
You say I should apologize to Thomas and that these issues do not concern me but that Reverend Spicer is where you are absolutely wrong. Thomas is an adult and should know better and his mother should have parented him better no doubt. What is happening in the church is wrong. While there is not much I can do about it in real terms, I do have the right to ask the tough questions and make a decision if this organization is the right one for me to attach my name to. I think we all know the conclusion I came to. To that end revoking my membership and not asking me to serve will have little impact on my life except to reduce the huge amount of stress I had been dealing with since I got involved with the church last September due to the other Facebook group where I defended the church and its board. I do wonder if I defended the wrong people but no matter what that group was doing to the board by libeling the members on Facebook with no proof was wrong and so I spoke up. I am not sorry to do that then and now as it was the ethically right thing to do then and I would do it again if the situation arose. Now I see things that are wrong here within the church and I am calling them out. You and the board can ignore them and sweep them under the rug but that does not change the distorted culture that has taken hold in East Hamilton Spiritual Church. Spirit knows what is true and right and what is not and each of us has to live with our own consciences. I am not sorry for what has happened here as I now have a clear understanding of East Hamilton Spiritual Church specifically and Spiritualism in general and I can tell you that I do not like what I see. I am thankful not to have my name mixed up with the church any longer.
On a personal note, moving to Hamilton was for me about recovering my health and I thought the church was part of that but now I can see I am better off without it. It is obvious to me that the energy of this church and your involvement in Spiritualism has cost you our health and I do have to wonder if any church or Spiritualism itself is worth that kind of stress. If this kind of negativity is what is created in Spiritualism and the churches and this what it does to good mediums and ministers who are respected people in the community then I can say I am glad to be as far out of it as possible. I do know as a younger medium that I will take this as a profound lesson of where I do not want my future to be and I sincerely thank you for that lesson as it surely will prolong my life and allow it to be much more peaceful.
Catherine MacDonald
It is sad to see what happens when a few people have too much control of the decision making power and the outcomes that will undoubtedly have an impact on East Hamilton Spiritual Church for a long time into the future.
Dear Catherine,
I have read the above letter written to you by Len Spicer( he is does not have the title as Reverend)
I am one of the (over 20 )members of EHSC who was denied membership.It was very heart breaking to be told by letter that I was banned from my church.
I am so happy that you found out what a truly eveil person Kathy Bernard is. She not only slandered me, but gossiped about almost everyone at church.How Len got caught up in this mess is beyond me.
It is all about control, the board was awared that elecetions were coming up and that Len and Kathy would be voted out, Cowardly as they were, they disposed of valuable members of the congregation adn took over the church..how sad is that.
To call the police in on this madder is dispicable. We were told by one officer that we were not allowed on Ottawa St at all.
The letters we received had no date as to how long we were denied membership, one year, 5 years or forever..I won’t Kathy Bernard out of that church as she will destroy what is left of it.
We need to band together and take our church back. I am thinking of calling the Hamilton Spectator to see if they will do a story on our plight. Something needs to be done..now.
I have spoken to some people who are afraid of Kathy Bernard, that is so sad.
Your opinion is great appreciated Catherine.
Sincerely,
Dee Beale
Hi Dee:
I know that what happened to you and the others at East Hamilton Spiritual Church is wrong. I also know that it will continue to happen because there is no real way to stop it. The only thing I can do as a former member of this so called “Spiritualist Church” is to write about my personal experiences with these people.
I can only hope some will read and will save themselves the bother of getting involved with EHSC nonsense.
I am sure there are people who are afraid of Kathy Barnard. I do not happen to be one of them as I do not need to be a member of East Hamilton Spiritual Church to do the work I do. In fact, when I disconnected from EHSC business doubled and I found out what a horrible reputation the church has because of Len Spicer and Kathy Barnard. All I can say is what goes around comes around and I am willing to wait karma out when it comes to these two people.
Thanks for taking the time to post. Sorry it took so long to reply… your legitimate post got lost in a wad of spam posts.
Catherine
Wow!
I found your blog post today while researching the chruch, I /was/ interested in attending a service, but I won’t now! wow! all i can say is wow! what a bunch of crazies!
Thanks for the heads up!
Hi Evelyn:
I am glad you found my blog helpful. Yes it is a shame that these kinds of things go on in the churches. If you are in Hamilton you might want to try Guiding Star Church. It seems that a lot of the people who were banned from East Hamilton Spiritual Church have found a home there. Remember however, and any organization has issues. I have not heard bad things about Guiding Star Church but I have not gone yet as I am still getting over the particular episode detailed in this blog. Quite frankly, I am very reluctant to get involved again.
I have attended Spiritualist churches in Etobicoke, Toronto, Scarborough and Brantford as well as Hamilton and have found they all suffer from the egomaniacs who profess to be spiritual but only want power to quell their own deep seeded insecurities and inadequacies. This energy tends to eventually destroy the church and most of the ones I have experienced are always struggling to keep going because they cannot draw long term congregation commitment because of the ego battles, gossiping and out right backstabbing that is the norm for many of the leadership and board members.
I will never understand this kind of energy and so I avoid it.
Catherine
I personally know Thomas and I remember the comments between the two of you and he never once told you to “Fuck off”.
The post was of what’s called a Meme which has it’s own “internet culture” behind it and is not limited to those who are disabled in some fashion.
The quote as you are referencing to meant that if you were unwilling to fight to be in this world then you shouldn’t be allowed to stay.
I personally believe that you allowed your own emotions to come into play while piecing random things together.
Personally knowing Thomas he has helped me through a lot of hard things in my life and I am extremely grateful for have meeting him, unfortunately you saw some things and twisted them in to something factitious but I can understand why you might come to those conclusions however I know otherwise the thinking behind the posts. They ended up leaving the Church to get away from Len and Kathy, They had enough of their lies and abuse.
I can agree with you 150% about your writings about Kathy B and I would back them up any day, Len is no better either.
I hope that my Opinions and Observations don’t become misconstrued, I am only trying to lay out some truth and hope you rethink the events in a brighter light.
~Bless
Hi Cory:
My issue was less about Thomas and his comments than how the East Hamilton Spiritual Church was/is being run. The comment with the F shot was Kathy Barnard telling me that Thomas was a “19 year old fuck up” and basically that I should just get over it. That is what she thinks of him anyway.
I am leery of anyone who posts Pro Nazi quotes. It was a bad time in history and sadly we could all to easily go back there. For what it is worth those with disabilities spend their lives fighting to be here just not in the military sense. I will differ with you on the meaning of the quote as I studied it in university and it was propaganda to promote euthanasia of “undisirables” and those included Jews, Gays, the disabled just to name a few. How someone reads a quote and understands it decades later can be different but the original intention of the quote still has power.
Also people do make mistakes, I do not hate Thomas but be sure that what people post on their Facebook pages matter and represent them and may not represent them in the way they intend it to. I can live with people not being perfect but people who are running a spiritual organization should at lease try to be decent examples of what others might look up to. Racists and gossips are not my idea of good spiritual leaders. I am not surprised people left the church to get away from Kathy and Len. I know many who have. Reverend Lenard Spicer is now gone thank goodness but Kathy Barnard still remains and that cannot be good for the church.
Thanks for taking the time to write.
Blessings,
Catherine
Update:
Too bad Cory did not want real communication about this issue. Provided a fake email so no real response could get to him but I felt it was worthy of a reply anyway for others to read and understand the problem with pro Nazi supporters and those who justify such behavior on the web. Evil wins when the rest of us sit back and say nothing.
Wow, however I am not surprised in the slightest. Many of the churches have gone thru this at the hands of people who have no real desire to help others.
This has been my personal experience in Canada and the UK.
I no longer belong to any church. They are only bricks and mortar anyway. The home of the spirit is within as is the Divine.
I miss some of my friends whom I lost touch with like Helen and Harold, however we will all meet again in Spirit.
Stay strong and serve Spirit!
Healing and love
Jen
Hi Jen:
Yes Spiritualism and living what we believe is a daily process not just on Sundays. I am no longer connected to the churches and must say my life is much better for walking away from the politics and drama. I agree with you that we are connected to the Divine and do not necessarily need the churches.
Thanks for your post. Sorry for my late reply I found your post in with a bunch of spam.
Blessings,
Catherine
Its a shame that this happens when you are sincere and looking for a church to join. My father in law is involved with a woman who “claims” to have psychic powers and uses those “powers” to control an manipulate him, its embarrassing to my husband and his brother. My father in law is a very simple minded soul and he truly believes this woman has powers and actually stopped seeing his kids (my husband and brother in law when they were teenagers) because she had jealousy issues with my mother in law, pathetic. This woman gives readings at this church in Hamilton and I can’t believe anyone actually believes this side show.
Hello Meanie:
I have seen this happen many times with people. There are good readers and real psychics/mediums. We are all brought down by the frauds and it has had a disastrous impact on most of the churches. As for the Hamilton Church specifically, the situation you describe is not at all surprising. I do feel for you and your family. I also feel for your father-in-law who is simply too trusting. I do hope he eventually figures this woman out and gets away from her.
Sorry for the late reply. Had to weed through spam before I found your comment.
Blessings,
Catherine
I would like to add to this post by sharing my experience with the EHSC.
I am the young gentleman, Friend & Student that Catherine Macdonald made mention to in this blog post when she wrote the following in the letter dated May 28 12 to L.P. Spicer:
” I also experienced subtle racism from the same woman who made a disparaging comment about one of the students who came to a mediumship class I was teaching one Thursday night. He happened to be a young black guy in his early 30s who is into the rap scene as he is a DJ. She assumed “he is going to cause trouble” but I explained to the Vice President he was client and a student of mine for several years. So when she said to me “Oh no he is going to cause trouble” I was shocked and offend. I made it clear to her that I knew this man personally and that he was one of the nicest people I have ever met. She was (from what I can tell) embarrassed and uncomfortable having been caught making such an assumption about someone. ”
I find it absolutely unfortunate how some people while take one look at you and decide that they know you and have you figured out. That is the case with Kathy Bernard. There are also some who will take a look at you and whether it be a first time experience or not, wont look at you an immediately judge, they will give you that moment to show yourself, Catherine Macdonald is one of them.
I met Catherine Macdonald at a time in my life that was faced with great difficulties. she could have turned me away as it was her home where she gave her readings and i was hoping to be a client. but she didn’t. this was now just over 3 years ago as of this date. I myself am a practicing and learning spiritualist who seeks to gain the wisdom and live in the light that many of us seek. i have had intuitive gifts from a very early age, and as a person who has been through a long journey of experience and insight, Catherine was able to help ease my fears and answer as many questions as i could formulate. she became my teacher and i became one of her students, i was also a member of her Toronto mediumship development training circle where she ran classes and workshops to help people like me understand not just the gifts i have, but the lifestyle, this include moral codes, ethics, and practices. Catherine and i have become good friends. and with her guidance, i have made it through and weathered some of my darkest storms. a very large portion of the resilience i have, comes from Catherine’s frequent reminders that i am strong, i am protected and that i am not my trails, or my battles, or my situations, but instead i am what i choose, and that we must always choose, positivity, love and to keep on pushing, never giving up when you feel like you can’t go on. The love and respect i have for her is invaluable.
That said, when Catherine decided to move to hamilton and shared with her followers that she would be taking a residency at the East Hamilton Spiritualist Church, it only seemed right for me that i followed to. I decided to attend one of her first workshops at this church. i got in my car in the storming rain and drove from brampton to hamilton, when i arrived at the church, i was about 5 mins late and the visitors had just began to sit down in the circle of chairs, when i walked into the church, i was the only person of colour, there was a lady who showed me where the bathrooms were because i wanted to clean up and look my best before siting in the circle after being caught in the rain. This lady was very nice to me, as i came back into the sanctuary, there was a another woman who was standing with someone and introduced this person as their son or daughter. (may have been boy or a girl) and this lady looked at me and immediately i began to feel a sense of rejection, she had looked at me in a way that made me feel as though i didn’t belong there. she wrote my name in the attendance book reluctantly and i took my place among the other attendees. it was very awkward as she and a few other kept staring at me the entire night. it made me feel like they were just waiting for me to act up or act out. but i didn’t allow it to bother me, and it was quite a mixed signal because when these same people spoke to me they were incredibly nice to me. so in the bigger picture i really couldn’t tell that they had a problem with me right away.
* The workshop it self was great. and the people i sat next to were very nice to me and pleasant. if they had any fear or doubt because of my presence, i certainly could not tell. Catherine walked us through a dark meditation with the lights out and only a few candles burning, in the meditation she walked up through a peaceful forest with trees and breeze and sunlight where we were to meet our spirit guides (or somebody), she taught us different methods of receiving messages, including psychometry, we were all asked to put a personal item or effect into a bowl or hat and it was passed around the circle for us to pick an item at random. (everything from rings, other jewellery, watches and car keys), then without knowing who owned the item selected, we gave readings out loud, then the owner of the item was asked to come forward and validate any of the information given. it was quite an exciting time for me because i had never done it before, and i was able to do it with success by reading the ring of a woman which ended up belonging to a woman who sat a few chairs beside me. my message was accurate. and all in all, i throughly enjoyed the workshop. *
When it was over, i helped to put all the chairs away, and the church had a meet and greet where we could walk around for a few mins and introduce ourselves to other visitors and church members with a light chat. i stuck by Catherine most of this time, as she was the only one i knew and i can be shy to approach other people. as people spoke to Catherine, some came and spoke to me, all very polite. One by one Catherine was there as each person introduced me, one of the women who came up to me introduced herself as Kathleen, i looked at her and realized this was the same woman who wrote my attendance. she made light chat with me and asked me about my life, i told her a little bit about myself including the fact that i was a father to be who was expecting his first child later that year. when i said this a few of the other woman began to speak to me and they each showed me what spirit was saying would be the baby’s gender. they each agreed it would be a girl. after some chatting i said my goodbyes to them, chatted with Catherine, and got back in my car to go home.
My message here is that one of the things that make this such a worry some and dare i say dangerous place. is the very fact that though i felt uncomfortable and a little bit unwelcome, the signals were constantly being mixed because of the blatant politeness i was shown. and especially after Catherine telling me a few days later what was said about me, it had me in shock. This very same woman who was looking at me and thinking i was a trouble maker without even knowing me, was the same woman who came to me and told me i did well in the circle, she shook my hand, and at some moments she gave me what could have been a smile. which now i see were likely attempts to cover up her discomfort with my being there.
Catherine certainly had it right when she defended me, and she even wrote a post on facebook in the days afterwards defending me as well. it was not easy for her to tell me, she didn’t want to make me feel uncomfortable but she told me anyway. and i was so grateful for her standing up and speaking on it.
The same treatment is what i live with daily, people thinking i am dangerous, or thinking they know me or have me figured out just by looking at me. or thinking i am going to rob somebody, or hurt somebody, or even walking down the street and people choosing to walk around me rather than right by me on the sidewalk, or even people constantly looking over their shoulders at me when i walk behind them, it’s very sad,
i may be a person of colour, But i am a young man who is currently 28 years old. i am a father to a beautiful and amazing 2 year old toddler. and i am a very good, involved and consistent father who adores his child on top of it. i am a very caring, loyal, and trustworthy friend who gives great advice even though i always seek it. and i love my family and friends and would go to the ends for them even to a fault. i love music, yes rap music too, but i also LOVE old school, funk, Motown, and music from the 50’s and 60’s. i love Tom Jones, Barry Manilow, Barry White & The Bee Gees, i think that should say enough. I am an old soul in a young body, and i just feel like if people would just take the time to talk to me and get to know me, they would see this. Catherine Macdonald knows i am a very decent man, She gave me the Honour of being the DJ and providing the music for her wedding reception.
Catherine Macdonald is most definitely NOT the person who will hold onto people and things that cause stress or bring down the serenity in her life or subtract from its positivity, so you can rest assure that if Catherine can call me a friend for this long, i can’t be that bad of a guy. i am truly disappointed to know that this is what is going on at the EHSC and to know that this is how i was viewed and spoken about by one of the leaders in charge. it’s quite a shame to read things like these and realize a little bit more everyday that the world is in serious trouble. especially when we have the WRONG shepherds leading and guiding all of us younger influential sheep. i think the honorable thing to do after reading all about this church, is for these leader to step down and resign their roles in these churches so that the church can begin to go back to fulfilling it’s intended purposes.
Thank you Catherine.
Michael
1st & Last Time EHSC Visitor
Michael W aka Mikey Musiq =)
Well said…. sadly racism and other forms or prejudice come from not knowing anything about the group one is choosing to hate, or it can come from a bad experience with one person from that group and then choosing to make blanket assumptions about a whole group based on that. When I first met you yes I was intimidated (bad prior experiences with black men) but I chose to let Spirit guide what I was to do. I learned to let go of my past hurt and fear and start fresh with a new person. You have taught me as much as you credit me of teaching you. Thank you for helping me be a better person. As for Kathy (Kathleen) Barnard… What goes around comes around…. just let things unfold and wait.
Sorry, i also wanted to add that The message here as well is to be aware of places like EHSC, because if people there will act one way to your face, imagine how they can act behind your back, it is very disingenuous. and morally wrong. and what shocked me is that it happened right in front of me and i didn’t even know it. please keep your eyes and awareness open.
Yes Micheal, trust your gut…. It took me a month an a half after coming to Hamilton to work at East Hamilton Spiritual Church to see what was really going on. Most people take about 2 years or more to figure someone like Kathy Barnard out. So many of them get the warnings from their intuitions and do not want to believe that such as nasty, two-faced person could fool so many people into thinking she is a wonderful spiritual person and a good representative of Spiritualism. When the truth shows itself something should be done about it. Evil will only take over this EHSC if good people stand by and do nothing. Most think if Kathy Barnard is not nasty to them then it is not their problem. Wrong! Sadly, her energy is embedded in that church and will impact all of them even if only indirectly. If they stay and do nothing than perhaps they agree with her warped, racist and prejudiced views. Sad to think racism, making fun of member’s sexual orientation or mental disability would be something that members would turn a blind eye to. Not a good place for spiritual growth if that is the statusquo.
Here is what I think the problems are with this on a spiritual and energetic level for East Hamilton Spiritual Church. I wonder how many people in the congregation actually think about the moral and spiritual responsibility they have in choosing the board leadership at AGM time? Most boards fill the spaces because no one else wants the job and so the bullies, sociopaths at worst and egomaniacs at best land in the positions year in and year out. Funny though these same sheep will complain bitterly eventually when they realize that the power monger is running the place alone and their wishes and ideas for the church’s future are ignored or treated as unacceptable. This is why the congregation turn over in most Spiritualist Churches seems to be about 2 years.
If congregation members and board members are still there once they figure out the problem with the leadership then they likely share the same racist and prejudiced view as that person so it does not matter what Kathy Barnard does as President of the board as long as they do not have to take any real responsibility.
Thank you for bringing this information to light. I was looking for a Church in the mississauga / Oakville area. I would like to learn more and thought this might be helpful. I’m quite concerned now….
Hi Dianne:
You have reason to be concerned. There are other churches to go to though. Since you are in Mississauga, try looking up Universal Love in North York or The Burlington Spiritualist Society. Sorry it took so long to reply. I get spam and have to weed through it to find the real comments.
Blessings,
Catherine
To those of you who feel abused by this “church”, have you considered joining a Bible centered church that has our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as the focus of the church?
Hi KV:
I am not sure about others but I am a Spiritualist. I respect Christians and do attend different churches. I am sometimes welcome and sometimes not welcome because I work as a Spiritualist Medium/ Psychic Reader. I guess I will keep looking for a church until I find one that I can call home.