A Mother Church in Park Place
For more than eight decades, Memorial Spiritualist Church has stood at the corner of Llewellyn Avenue and 37th Street in Norfolk's historic Park Place neighborhood. Founded on October 13, 1938, and built from the start as a Spiritualist house of worship - one of only a few in the country with that distinction - the church is widely recognized as the "mother church" of the region. Many of the founders of metaphysical congregations throughout Tidewater trace their spiritual beginnings back to this sanctuary, its trained mediums, and its quiet, steady rhythm of healing, prayer, and Spirit communication.
Memorial Spiritualist Church belongs to the broader Spiritualist movement and follows the National Spiritualist Association of Churches in matters of belief and practice. The message at the heart of the church is simple and profoundly hopeful: life continues after physical death, and the living can stay in touch with those who have gone before through the practice of evidential mediumship and spiritual healing. Services here blend those ideas into a warm, no-pressure setting that welcomes the curious, the grieving, the searching, and the long-time believer side by side.
Sunday in the Sanctuary
Sunday is the heartbeat of the week. The doors open early so visitors can settle in, and the schedule moves through three unhurried phases designed to prepare the heart for the main service.
At 9:30 AM, the Sunday Lyceum Book Study gathers in the classroom. This small-group session reads and discusses a selected book that supports personal growth and deepens understanding of Spiritualist principles. The tone is open and respectful: members share insights, ask questions, and connect the reading to their own lives. Newcomers can jump in at any point in the book; recaps are offered as needed.
From 10:30 to 11:00 AM, pre-service spiritual healing is offered in the sanctuary. Trained healers sit with anyone who would like to receive, working quietly with hands laid lightly on the shoulders or upper back, or in a contactless way for those who prefer it. Soft, meditative music plays. Visitors who arrive by 10:45 AM have a comfortable window to settle in and, if they wish, receive healing before the main service begins.
At 11:00 AM, the Spiritual Sunday Service begins. The hour includes uplifting hymns, a guided meditation, an inspirational lecture rooted in natural law and personal growth, and a short demonstration of mediumship in which a working medium delivers evidential messages from Spirit to members of the congregation. The atmosphere is reverent without being formal; laughter and tears are both welcome. Visitors are encouraged to arrive around 10:45 AM so they can find a seat and absorb the room before worship begins.
The service is free and open to everyone. Love offerings are appreciated and help support the ongoing work of the church. Dress is "come as you are" - most attendees wear casual or business-casual clothing, and comfort matters more than formality. Not every visitor will receive a personal Spirit message during a given service; the medium gives as many messages as time allows, and the experience is meaningful whether or not one's name is called.
Spiritual Healing as a Living Practice
Healing is not an add-on at Memorial Spiritualist Church; it is the spiritual heartbeat of the community. According to the National Spiritualist Association of Churches, Spiritual Healing is the act of restoring harmony to the physical, mental, and spiritual aspects of a person through the conscious direction of healing energy by a trained Spiritualist healer. The healer acts as a clear channel for energy that flows from Spirit - or Infinite Intelligence - through them to the recipient, rather than giving anything of their own.
The church recognizes four types of healing. Contact healing is offered with the healer's hands placed lightly on the recipient. Distant healing is directed through focused intention and prayer to people who are not physically present. Absent healing is similar, but the recipient may not know it is taking place, often in response to prayer requests left at the church. Self-healing is the conscious direction of healing energy inward through prayer, meditation, or intention.
Every Sunday morning during the half-hour before worship, certified healers sit in the sanctuary offering contact or contactless healing to anyone who asks. There is no appointment and no charge. On the first Wednesday of each month at 7:30 PM, the church holds a dedicated Spiritual Healing Service. The hour opens with a short, practical talk on healing - often covering simple breathing, grounding, or visualization techniques that anyone can use at home to manage stress and stay centered - then moves into guided prayer and quiet meditation. Trained healers are available throughout, and visitors can sit in the healing energy, reflect, or simply enjoy a rare moment of silence. Love offerings support the program.
Those who cannot attend in person can submit names through the prayer request form on the church's contact page. Names added in this way are included in the church's healing prayers and absent healing work.
Training the Gifts: The Mediumship Development Circle
For those who feel called to develop their own intuitive and mediumistic abilities, Memorial Spiritualist Church hosts the Mediumship Development Circle. The circle meets on the 1st, 3rd, and 4th Mondays of each month from 7:30 to 9:00 PM in the MSC Classroom, with the 2nd Monday of each month reserved for a related Mindful Meditation Circle focused on quieting the mind, expanding awareness, and deepening intuitive connection.
Each mediumship session follows a steady rhythm. The evening opens with a short teaching on a single, clearly defined topic - Spirit communication, psychic perception, energy awareness, or the ethics of mediumship, among others. Participants learn what to look for, how to stay grounded, and how to deliver information responsibly. After the teaching, the work turns practical: guided meditation, simple awareness exercises, and partner or small-group readings. Experienced circle leaders offer direct, respectful feedback so participants can track their growth over time.
No prior experience is required. Beginners are welcome, as are developing mediums who want structure and accountability. The atmosphere is described as grounded and "no drama": confidentiality is taken seriously so that everyone can relax, experiment, and grow without pressure. The fee is $10 per session.
Messages from Spirit: Circles, Billets, and the Psychic Fair
Beyond the messages offered during Sunday worship, Memorial Spiritualist Church is known regionally for the breadth of its Spirit message programs. Four regular gatherings give visitors different ways to experience evidential mediumship in supportive settings.
The Spirit Message Circles are intimate evenings held on the 2nd Saturday of each month from 7:30 to 9:00 PM. The format is structured: three trained mediums divide the room into three smaller circles, and participants rotate through each one over the course of the evening. Each person receives three short, specific messages from Spirit during the night. The cost is $20, and seating is limited, so advance registration is recommended.
The Billet Service is a traditional Spiritualist practice held on the 4th Wednesday of each month from 7:30 to 8:30 PM, led by Teri Del Aurora, a working Spiritualist medium and the church's board president. At the start of the service, each attendee receives a small slip of paper - the billet - on which they quietly write a name, question, or concern. The billets are folded or sealed and given to the medium, who works with the energy of each writer and the spirit world to deliver a message that fits the situation. The medium does not read the written words; the messages come through the work of blending with Spirit. The goal is meaningful, evidential communication that supports healing and understanding.
On the 4th Saturday of each month from 1:00 to 4:00 PM, the Psychic Fair fills the sanctuary. Visitors sign in, choose the practitioners they would like to see, and are seated in the classroom until it is their turn. A typical fair includes Spiritualist mediums offering evidential readings, and sometimes an astrologer for chart-based consultations and a specialty healer such as a Reiki practitioner or tuning fork therapist. Suggested love offerings are $25 for a 15-minute mediumship reading or $45 for 30 minutes; $45 for 30-minute astrology or healing sessions when available. Walk-ins are welcome, but appointments are strongly recommended.
Throughout the year, additional Spirit messages are woven into other gatherings. At the close of each Spirit Filled Supper Club, the evening often ends with brief messages from Spirit - a gentle way to wrap up an evening of food, friendship, and spiritual conversation.
Sunday Lyceum: Reading, Reflecting, Learning
Lyceum has been part of Spiritualist tradition since the movement's earliest days, serving as a forum for education, study, and the development of spiritual gifts. At Memorial Spiritualist Church, the Sunday Lyceum Book Study keeps that tradition alive. The group meets in the classroom every Sunday morning from 9:30 to 10:30 AM, just before the Spiritual Sunday Service.
The group works through a selected book that supports personal growth and the practice of Spiritualist principles. Each session begins with a brief check-in and a short reading from the current book, then opens the floor for honest discussion. Members share insights, questions, and personal experiences. The tone is open and practical: people are free to contribute or simply listen. Topics that surface naturally include natural law and personal responsibility, the continuity of life, Spirit communication, healing, and service.
Many Lyceum participants move directly into the Sunday service afterward, since the two often complement each other: study in the morning, worship and Spirit messages in the late morning. Newcomers do not need to be members, longtime Spiritualists, or big readers to join.
Nine Principles for an Open Heart
Memorial Spiritualist Church grounds its practice in the Declaration of Principles of the Spiritualist movement. These nine statements function less as doctrinal rules and more as a way of life, encouraging members to walk a path of truth, kindness, and spiritual awareness.
First, members affirm a belief in infinite intelligence - a higher presence, also called Spirit, that flows through all things and connects every part of existence. Second, the phenomena of nature, both physical and spiritual, are understood as the expression of that intelligence. Third, a correct understanding of those expressions, and living in accordance with them, is what constitutes true religion.
The fourth principle holds that the existence and personal identity of the individual continue after the change called death. The fifth affirms that communication with those who have passed is a fact, demonstrated through the phenomena of Spiritualism. The sixth places the highest morality in the Golden Rule: do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
The seventh principle emphasizes personal moral responsibility: we make our own happiness or unhappiness as we obey or disobey Nature's physical and spiritual laws. The eighth affirms that the doorway to reformation is never closed against any soul, here or hereafter. The ninth holds that the precepts of prophecy and healing are Divine attributes proven through mediumship.
Together these ideas shape a faith that is evidence-based rather than creed-based. Mediumship is not framed as supernatural but as part of the natural order of life. Healing is offered as a sacred act of restoration. And the entire system is oriented toward personal growth, kindness, and service - not judgment.
The Building and Its Stained Glass
The sanctuary at 307 West 37th Street was purpose-built for Spiritualist worship, which is rare in the United States. Inside, every detail has been preserved and enhanced with intention. Each of the stained-glass windows depicts a different flower, symbolizing the individuality of Spirit in the people who have passed through the space. Behind the podium stands a striking antique window from the 1830s, its older panes offering a visual reminder of the enduring light that, in the language of the church, guides the work done here.
The sanctuary is the setting for Sunday worship, the Spiritual Healing Service, the Psychic Fair, and the Sunday pre-service healing time. The MSC Classroom hosts the Mediumship Development Circle, Lyceum, and Sunday morning education work. Together, the spaces give the congregation room to gather in worship, study in small groups, and learn the practice of mediumship and healing under one roof.
Classes, Crafts, and Community
Beyond Sunday worship and the mediumship training program, Memorial Spiritualist Church supports a varied calendar of classes and gatherings that knit the community together.
The Sunflower Quilters meet every Friday from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM. The group shares fabric, fellowship, and finished projects that often support church fundraisers. It is one of the warmest, most intergenerational gatherings on the calendar and is open to anyone who would like to join.
On the 3rd Wednesday of each month from 6:30 to 8:30 PM, the Spirit Filled Supper Club gathers around food for a meal and an inspirational discussion, often closing with brief Spirit messages. On the 2nd Monday of each month at 7:30 PM, the Mindful Meditation Circle offers a guided meditation experience focused on quieting the mind, expanding awareness, and enhancing spiritual connection - a quieter complement to the mediumship training on the surrounding Mondays.
Periodically, the church offers an eight-week MSC Spiritualist Healing Series, taught by Teri Del Aurora. The course covers the philosophy, ethics, responsibilities, and essential practices of Spiritualist healing, including the laying on of hands, grounding, attunement, energy management, prayer, and working with Spirit. Each class includes hands-on exercises in giving and receiving healing. Students who complete all eight classes receive a certificate of completion and may qualify to serve as a healer at the church.
The Mindful Meditation Circle and the Billet Service rotate on the Monday and Wednesday calendars; the rest of the rhythm - Sundays in the sanctuary, Mondays in the classroom, Wednesdays in healing and supper, Fridays with the quilters, Saturdays for fairs and message circles - gives the congregation a balanced weekly schedule of worship, learning, fellowship, and Spirit work.
Leadership and Getting Involved
Memorial Spiritualist Church is led by a volunteer Board of Directors that meets on the third Sunday of each month. Teri Del Aurora serves as board president; she is also a working Spiritualist medium who leads the Billet Service and teaches the Spiritualist Healing Series. Ken Peterson is board vice president, margie furman-juda is board secretary, and the board treasurer position is currently open. Trustees include Stephanie Dukes, JoAnne Powell, Sherri Pipilo, and Mona Richardson, with a second trustee seat to be filled.
Members and friends who want to be more involved find many doors open. Healing and fellowship roles include serving as a healing chair during services, welcoming newcomers, and helping with community outreach. Worship and events roles include helping set up and break down Sunday services, presiding or ushering, and assisting with event planning. Church care roles include light cleaning, gardening, and small repairs, and helping the Building Committee oversee long-term maintenance. Media and outreach roles cover social media, photography, newsletter design, and the technical work that will eventually bring livestreaming to the sanctuary. Fundraising roles support the Psychic Fairs, Bingo Nights, and other events that keep the church's mission funded.
Memorial Spiritualist Church is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. Gifts can be made online and support everything from the lights in the sanctuary to the healers who offer their time, the mediums who share their gifts, and the programs that introduce newcomers to the practice of Spiritualism.
For more than 85 years, this Park Place sanctuary has been a steady place for people across Hampton Roads to learn about Spiritualism, receive healing, hear from loved ones in Spirit, and grow in their own intuitive gifts. The stained glass still catches the morning light. The healers still arrive before the service. The mediums still bring through messages of comfort, guidance, and connection. And the doors are open for anyone who would like to come as they are and explore what Spiritualism has to offer.