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PORTLAND — Gloria Nye discovered spiritualism 30 years ago when her brother said he had found the perfect religion for her. "They kind of believe what you do - that ghosts talk," said Nye, recalling her brother's words.
Years of study, training and practice have led Nye this spring to start Inner Light Spiritualist Church in Portland. Part prayer and song, part communicating with the dead, the weekly service draws 20 to 35 people on Sunday nights to a chapel borrowed from Williston-West Church.
The service has hymns and a talk that in some ways is like a sermon in a Christian church, Nye said. But the end of the service sets spiritualism apart: Church members who are mediums communicate with the dead to prove life continues after death, she said.
"I think everyone is looking to find out if there is life after death. . . . Spiritualism is the only (religion) that proves it continues," said Sharon Snowman, executive secretary of the National Spiritualist Association of Churches.
The belief in an afterlife is one of several areas in which spiritualism intersects with other religions. Spiritualists believe in a higher being called God. A central part of their faith is the rule of doing unto others as you would want done unto you. The national association has a formal structure that includes ordination of pastors and Sunday school materials.
Spiritualists say they do not believe in a hell. Their belief about Jesus is that he was a great teacher, healer and medium, but not a savior. They believe in personal responsibility, not salvation.
Marcus Bruce, a religion professor at Bates College, said the concept of "crossing over" can be very comforting. The knowledge there is an afterlife with friends and family is reassuring, he said.
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