At first there was one
Ray Wilson - whose story and Spiritual Quest began on the 14th May 1982.
BACKGROUND
That day and date appeared on a letter that had arrived from his Aunt Grace
who wrote to tell him that she had been inspired by Spirit to tell him that both
his late Mother and Mother in Law wished to communicate with him. He was
to go to the nearest Spiritualist Church as soon as possible, as this would be
the place where they would contact him.
Until this time he had been unaware that his Aunt Grace had been a long term
serving Medium in the Spiritualist Church for 55 years. In obedience to his
Aunt’s instruction, having located a local Spiritualist Church, he duly attended
and was shocked to receive a direct and more than evidential message from
his mother saying that it was the wish of Guidance that he should work with
them as there was work to be done by him on behalf of Spirit.
It should be borne in mind that up to this point in Ray’s life no established
relationship had existed with any conventional church, the technical
association with the Church of England being the only link through baptism as
a child. This was mainly due to severe health problems from the age of five
which inhibited him from any conventional education until the age of 9. This
meant that no basic background of either Sunday school, Bible Study or R.E
existed.
This situation continued during the War years from late 1939
onwards, apart from the normal attendances of weddings, funerals, baptisms
and Service church parades. No religious activities took place until this call to
serve came.
THE AWAKENING
The normal induction into the Spiritualist way of life would include involvement
with Development Circles and possibly an introduction into Healing practice.
Ray followed this course of action and over a period of about three months, he
had developed an awareness of the presence of Guidance which began to
manifest through the powerful flow of Spiritual writing and philosophy through
an entity named Brother Christophorus. An equally significant presence in the
form of a Chinese Guide known as Lin Chan was also manifesting, who seemed
to have assumed the task of instructing and guiding totally. His presence
manifested initially through his hand being placed on Ray’s shoulder for the
ensuing three months and during Circle sitting times or healing. All of this
progress was achieved without any sense of distrust, or alarm, as all was of
logic and in a gentle but very humorous and uplifting manner which instilled
confidence and certainty that Ray was at no time misled or placed in jeopardy.
He was always urged by Guidance to go forward in confidence which was of
great comfort in healing situations.
MIRACULOUS HEALING
This was highlighted to Ray through a life changing miraculous experience that
occurred whilst administering healing in partnership with Jim Kesterton, a man
who Ray had met at Church during the very early stages of their Spiritual
journeys and who had become a friend. They both knew and had done healing
before for an Old Medium called Hetty Lanchbury. In her youth she had been
afflicted with polio making the one leg very weak and frail requiring a leg iron.
Whilst at home she had a fall which resulted in the tibia and fibula breaking
together above the ankle. It does not require much thought to know the pain
and distress such an injury would create. She was taken to hospital where on
examination the doctors advised her that they thought the only course of
action possible would be to amputate the leg. They felt that the consequence
of putting it in plaster would almost certainly result in gangrene, followed, of
course, by death. She said that she was told by the hospital that if it did heal
she would not be able to walk on it again, ever.
She refused to agree to amputation, saying that she Knew that the Spirit of
God would look after her.
It was decided that in the circumstances they
would have to discharge her as she would not sign the documents for
treatment, and was duly returned to her home with a large supply of pain
killing tablets, the ambulance crew making her as comfortable as possible.
She called both Jim and Ray asking them to go to her as soon as possible.
In the moment the telephone call was finished, Lin Chan told Ray that he
would need to take some materials with him, and duly itemised a soft cover
from an electric heating pad; three pieces of plasticard and one very long shoe
or boot lace. Lin Chan instructed that Ray should use a tool to make holes in
the sheepskin at measurements he clearly specified.
Having accomplished all this, Ray went with Jim and they found Hetty in great
distress crying out at every breath. Immediately Lin Chan intervened through
Ray and gave instructions to both of them, Jim, being used as the
anaesthetist, was detailed to take charge of her head, sitting behind her as he
followed instructions, and held the head between his two hands. She said it
felt a bit better. Lin Chan said that “now she will sleep” and that’s just the
way it happened. Then Lin Chan took over control and said to Ray “sit at her
feet, place your one hand under the leg and the other hand, cupped, place
under the now hanging heel” (as the foot was now in the fallen position). This
was followed by what appeared to be a detailed examination and scanning of
the area. This instruction was followed with trepidation. However, there was
no need to fear as there was no adverse reaction from the lady who had been
placed in a very deep anaesthetised healing state. The next thing was to lift
the foot up, which was done with the sound of the bones crossing, but again,
no adverse reaction. When the foot reached normal position the instruction
was to hold the leg at the damaged bone position until told by Lin Chan to
release, which took about 10 minutes.
He then wanted the materials Ray had brought to be assembled which formed
a kind of splint. Then the lace was fed through the holes that Ray had made at
home and when tightened, the outline of the foot was clear from the position
of the lace. It fitted so precisely, almost as though measured and done on the
spot.
Jim was then told by Lin Chan to release Hetty’s head and that in a few
moments Hetty would awaken without pain. When she came to she stated
that she observed the whole event out of the body. She also commented that
a number of Spiritualist Healers from the Spirit World had enjoined with Ray
and Jim to help and support the healing. These included Harry Edwards.
Hetty stated she was in no pain and just felt numb all over. (A situation which
continued thereafter). At this point Lin Chan spoke to her through Ray saying
that the hospital’s forecast that she would not walk again was untrue and that
she would be walking at the end of three months.
Yes, Hetty’s leg did fully heal and Yes, she was walking again at the end of
three months and sent for Ray and Jim to witness the results of the miraculous
healing which allowed her to walk unaided to answer the door to let them in.
That was Ray and Jim’s FIRST MAJOR HEALING MIRACLE.
PROPHETIC TRANCE WRITINGS
During this time Ray received a great profusion of Spiritual Writing through
Brother Christophorus – much of it Prophetic in nature – foretelling of Ray’s
future meeting with a new companion who would be his true twin spirit and
working aid in life.
SPIRITUAL PILGRIMAGE
Also at this time Ray was led by Lin Chan to go on a mystery trip with him,
following his instructions for directions, to visit a place where there had been
Healing for a thousand years. This in the end proved to be the Abbey at
Maryvale. For this visit Ray had been told to take his “lens of light” (camera)
and was directed to take pictures through the side wall stained glass windows.
Miraculously these photographs when developed contained spirit images
relating to Ray’s new companion to be and her father who was in Spirit.
CALL TO MEET COMPANION
On Friday 13th March 1987 at 4.00 p.m. Ray was driving on business when Lin
Chan stated “you are to go and sit in Circle at the church tonight.” (This was
his local Spiritualist Church). That was all that was said. Ray had not sat in
the Church Circle for many months and so this was quite a surprise, but he
always followed the guidance given. This was to prove to be the precursor to
the first meeting that evening between Ray and Linda.
And Then There was Another One
Linda Messenger - Began her part of this Spiritual equation going back to a
beginning that was not a beginning.
BACKGROUND
As a child she was a very dedicated little soul. Attended Sunday School and
Bible Class regularly and devotedly, and underwent Believers Baptism in the
Plymouth Brethren Church at the age of 14. This was a Church with fairly
extreme views and Linda was an impressionable and sensitive girl. This
combination left her bereft and empty when her father took his own life when
she was 17 years of age. Those in the Church who she sought comfort from
were unable to reassure her that her father’s soul was safe. Some had
extreme beliefs in “heaven and hell” and it was here that the problems
occurred, as their belief implied that her father had indeed sinned in taking his
own life, and were therefore unable to offer her any comfort at all. This
resulted in Linda’s time in the wilderness, not belonging to any church and
unable to believe in any loving God. She was left for 22 years believing that
her dad was indeed in that place called “hell”.
THE AWAKENING
It was at this point in 1987, coinciding with Ray’s Spiritual Prophetic Writings,
that Spirit intervention began to manifest in Linda’s life. Her “awakening” was
brought about through her interest in past life regression. She had been
introduced to this topic through her then partner who was a qualified
hypnotherapist who took her on Saturday 10th January 1987 to Scarborough to
his Training School Christmas dinner. On this night the seating plan was
miraculously shuffled around by Spirit to enable Linda to be seated by a man
named Norman who turned out to be a Spiritualist Healer and
Parapsychologist. When questioned by Linda about the whereabouts of her
dad he was able to assure her that he had been taken into the Spirit Realm
where he would have been counselled and nursed back to health and brought
the understanding of what had happened to him. He assured her that he was
watching over her and was progressing in the World of Spirit.
SPIRIT WRITING
When Linda returned to work on Monday 12 January 1987, greatly enlightened
and relieved, she attempted to link with Spirit through Spirit Writing. She
wrote what appeared to be pages of scrawl, but when scrutinised later there
were a number of Latin words visible and also the name of L. Messenger and
R. Wilson (although they had not even met yet)
GUIDANCE ON THE ROAD
On 4th February 1987 Linda was late for work. She could not decide which
route to drive to work and prayed for guidance. As she did so the car in front
started to indicate right. The indicator lights were particularly bright to Linda
so she took it to be guidance and followed that route to work. She got in on
time, and during her lunch break started to read the Solihull Why magazine.
She was guided to the Personal Column in which a prayer had been inserted.
The opening lines of the prayer knocked her for six, as they summarised what
had happened to her on the road that morning. “Holy Spirit. You who solve
all problems, LIGHT ALL ROADS, SO THAT I CAN OBTAIN MY GOAL…….” This
proved to be yet another major building block reinforcing Linda’s belief that
God really was watching over her, calling her to awaken spiritually at that
time.
CALL TO MEET COMPANION
In response to a letter from Linda, Norman wrote suggesting that she attended
Sutton Spiritualist Church to learn more about the ways of Spirit. This letter
was received on Tuesday 3rd March 1987 (the week before Lin Chan told Ray
to attend Circle at the same church).
Of course she took the advice and ended up sitting in the Circle on Friday 13 th
March 1987. During the course of the evening Lin Chan manifested and spoke
through Ray to the members present. Linda had never seen or heard anything
like this before and was truly impressed by the event. She introduced herself
to Ray and commented on how wonderful it had been to hear Lin Chan’s
words.
Whilst attending the Services Linda received messages of encouragement
telling her to have confidence and not to hold back any more. She spoke with
Ray on a number of occasions and he asked if she would like to read some of
the writings he had received from Brother Christophorus. She felt that they
were wonderful and was able to understand them fully. On Friday 27 th March
1987 Ray gave Linda a manual which contained a number of pieces of his
prophetic writings which he received in 1982, and which Jim had witnessed
coming through at that time. These proved to be key triggers to the full
awakening of Linda’s soul. Certain pieces described the new companion for
whom he awaited and Linda KNEW WITHOUT QUESTION that she was the one.
She was greatly afraid, and other than Ray, spoke of it to no-one.
SAINT PETER
On Sunday 29th March 1987 whilst sitting in meditation at home Linda
experienced a physical manifestation, almost like an aeroplane zooming and
vibrating over her head. This was actually a statue of a man with tight curly
hair sitting on a throne on a plinth. This turned out to be the statue of Saint
Peter holding the keys to the Christian Church. It was recognised by Linda
when Ray took her to Buckfast Abbey in Devon where a replica of this statue
resides. Images of Saint Peter also appeared in certain Maryvale photographs
taken when Ray took Linda on pilgrimage there in 1987.
MIRACULOUS RESCUE
On Sunday 19th April 1987 Linda ran out of petrol on the way home from
Church. She was stranded in the car with her mother. At the same time in
Church Ray received the warning sound in his ear that is spoken of in the
Christophorus writing, and he knew that Linda was in distress. He travelled
along the same road and saw her car and helped her to get some petrol.
SPIRIT MANIFESTATION
On Friday 24th April Linda and Ray sat in Church Circle. During the meditation
a great power manifests itself through Linda. Following the Circle it was stated
that people saw a cockerel and other images linked with Saint Peter. Ray was
greatly moved and supportive of Linda and their bond grew closer and closer.
And Then There were Two
LADY OF THE TRUE RING
On Thursday 30 April 1987 Linda reached a point of no return and left her old
life behind. She and Ray declared their love and devotion one for the other
and their true dedication to the Spiritual calling that was upon them. Ray
placed his mother’s ring upon her finger which was the final piece in the
puzzle. It would only fit his true companion-to-be. And it did. Linda was
named by Spirit the “Lady of the True Ring”.
THE BIRTH OF THE HOME OF GOD
Ray and Linda were led to Harborne Church where they met Anne Cameron,
Des and Mavis Bird and Sheila and Mick Billingham. They all got on well and
sat in Circle together at Anne’s home. During 1989, after they had developed
and grown a solid bond between them Lin Chan said it was time for them to
create their own Temple to be built By Spirit For Spirit. Many many miracles
were performed on their behalf to bring about God’s will, but here are just a
few.
SECURE THE BUILDING
During meditation Ray was shown the image of a building he had been guided
to look at some years before when he was driving in Erdington. Lin Chan at
that time said to him. “Turn Left (into Edwards Road)…..”Stop’ (the only space
open was opposite, outside the café)…..”Look”……Ray saw 1A Edwards Road
which was boarded up and in very bad condition. He thought no more of it at
the time, but stored it in his memory.
When years later he was prompted by Lin Chan to create the church They
made an approach to the owners of the property who stated the terms and
conditions of any lease. After discussion it was agreed that they would pursue
the matter. At the end of the day with great encouragement from Lin Chan
and Brother Christophorus, the Group secured the use of the building. They
held their Inaugural Council Meeting on 28 August 1989, with an outline date
of occupation of 1st October 1989.
Much work was undertaken in the
intervening period securing the various Permissions and Registrations including
the registration of the building as a Church and a place of Worship plus
attaining Charity Status to establish a Church as a Charity.
FIND THE CHAIRS
The keys to the building were obtained on 1st October 1989 and, following the
reconnection of services to the building, renovation work started on the 7th
October. A few days later whilst at their place of work, Lin Chan spoke to Ray
saying “the time is now for you to get chairs for the people to sit on, you will
know where”. Our business neighbour was a scrap merchant, so logic took
over and an approach was made to him by Ray. The proprietor was very
dismissive, but Ray, knowing the ways and workings of Spirit, asked him just
to listen out for information. Two days later the scrap man came into the Yard
and Ray went out to meet him. His words were ”you will never believe…..”
when he was interrupted by Ray with “…..Oh yes we will”.
At this he said he had been asked as a special assignment to clear a disused
canteen where he had been told there were stacking chairs but as the place
had been unroofed for three years he thought they would be of no use. At this
he was encouraged to bring some samples back for Ray and Linda to see.
Three days later he returned with three very dirty chairs with the seats and
back off, and again was very pessimistic. But Ray said to him they could be
refurbished - it was the cost of the chairs that mattered. Linda had already
found out that reclamation firms charged around £12 to £15 each for second
hand chairs which could not possibly be funded by the group. Ray asked him
how much he would get for them from the main scrap yards. He thought, and
said about £0.50 pence each. Ray asked if the group could pay him that
amount instead. Grudgingly he accepted this as a possibility. Ray pressed the
matter as to how many chairs would be available. He knew from the Fire
Officer who had by then inspected the building that it could seat 60 people.
His reply was that he knew that there were 44 chairs of the type he had shown
Ray, and also 16 plastic stacking chairs, which by anyone’s calculations was
the right number of chairs at a very good price which could be funded.
FIND THE CARPET
In the same way returning from a week-end stay over with Ann, Ray was
directed by Lin Chan not to travel the usual way, but to go back through town.
The journey took them through Kings Heath. As they came to the junction of
Cates well Road and Warwick Road they saw a large sign on a shop which said
”Ex-exhibition carpet for sale. Linda shouted in excitement for Ray to stop
the car. She went straight to the shop whilst Ray parked, and as he entered
the shop the owner was saying “my dear you will be able to have what you
want at a price you can well afford”.
He also said that from their
measurements, two of his rolls of carpet would be sufficient, but to make sure,
he had a roll which appeared to be very dirty which they could have free of
charge. He also gave them three bails of compressed fire resistant foam. The
cost of the carpet was £20, and when opened out the dirty roll was dirty only
for a little over 10ft leaving a further 33ft of virtually brand new carpet with
only 8 pad marks where a stand had protected it! God’s Gift!? But later Linda
also sold the bails of foam to a toy manufacturer, For Guess what. !£20!
MIRACULOUS CLOUD OF GLORY
It was decided that the Church logo should be based upon the ancient
Christian fish symbol,
and Linda was responsible for its design and
production and for its incorporation into the Church stationery and main
Church banner signage
.
One evening in November, following completion of the sign, Ray and Linda
were travelling on the motorway to Telford. Suddenly, looming over their
heads they noticed a fantastic cloud formation which revealed to them Christ
himself releasing a dove. As they were travelling to visit relatives who were
on holiday from America, Linda “just happened” to have the camera with her
and took a series of photographs as they travelled along. When these
photographs were developed, they were amazed to find that the ancient
Christian fish symbol was formed at the base of the cloud. They believe to this
day that God was speaking to them personally through this “cloud of Glory”,
ordaining them to do their Church Ministry. These photographs are still
available to see, and an enlarged copy graces the Church wall to this day.