Flowers from the Dead: The Spiritualist Flower Service

The importance of flowers in Spiritualism cannot be underestimated. Spiritualist Churches are often filled with flowers and floral imagery, and in many cases will be named after flowers. The Sunflower is a particular favorite and is one of the most popular symbols of Spiritualism. 

Flowers also have a special religious place among Spiritualists. In terms of Spiritualist doctrines the Spirit-World is often described as the "Summerland:" an eternal land of meadows and peace, an endless Summer. As Cora L.V. Scott poetically described, "the gardens of God."

The ritual use of flowers among Spiritualists can be traced to the Victorian tradition of the Language of Flowers. In the Victorian Era, when public and private expression was extremely strict, one could express a range of meanings encoded in a bouquet of flowers. One of the most popular uses for this was in courtship where one could express romantic intentions through flowers given as a gift, but it was also used to express a wide range of meanings and emotions: friendship, gratitude, faith, consolation, etc.

The early centers of Spiritualism were the homes of Spiritualists where seances took place in parlors around a family tea table, and flowers were an essential part of the Victorian home.  Spiritualism, and this tradition of meaningful floral arrangements began to overlap in these early Home Circles, and the presence of flowers began to be understood within a spiritual context. 

Spirits that were present during a séance would often use this flower language as a method of communication, if this was done through mental mediumship the Medium would clairvoyantly be shown flowers used to express specific meanings, this is still a very prevalent method of mediumistic communication used by Spiritualists today. More literally, in physical seances there are accounts of Spirits materializing flowers to the sitters present.

The presence of flowers actually grew to be considered a key component of Spiritualist meetings and seances. It became to be understood that their presence during a séance would give off positive vibrations that could assist in the production of spiritual phenomena and better assist the developing Mediums. Various Spiritualist writers began to offer their thoughts and observations over what sorts of flowers would best assist different kinds of mediumistic phenomena. 

As Spiritualist Churches began to develop, new forms of religious rituals were created that included the use of flowers. As I discussed in another blog, the ritual of Spiritualist Baptism was eventually developed and flowers became the most important aspect of this ritual: one would be sprinkled with flower petals, or in some cases crowned with flowers. 

What eventually would come to be known as a "Flower Service" is a natural outgrowth of these religious practices that originated in the early Home Circles of Spiritualists. 

During a Spiritualist Flower Service, if an individual wanted to receive a "Flower Message" from a Spirit through a Medium, they would be expected to bring a flower or bouquet of flowers to the service. The flowers would be placed on the altar or platform; in most cases it was unknown to the Mediums serving who brought which flowers, and individuals would sometimes add a ribbon or piece of paper to the flowers they brought so that they would know which message was meant for them. 

After prayers and hymns, the Medium will take the flowers in hand and deliver a message while holding them. A common misunderstanding is that the flowers themselves are read symbolically, this is not the case, rather, the vibrations from the flowers are supposed to assist the Medium in giving a message from the Spirits reaching out to the individual who brought them to the service. 

This method of Mediumship is generally known as psychometry, where the Spirits communicate clairvoyantly generated by the Medium's sense of touch while holding an object, in this case, flowers. 

An excellent example of a Flower Service was recorded by George F. Goerner, in his work A Record of Psychic Experiences. George Goerner was the President of the Los Angeles Society for Advanced Psychical Research. In 1922 he published his work which is a cumulation of his research that he collection while attending various seances and Spiritualist Churches services in California mostly during the 1920s. 

He recorded a Flower Service that took place at Peoples Spiritualist Church, Los Angeles California during the evening of November 13th 1921.

On the above date I again purchased four roses to take to the church, hoping to have another flower message from mother. I wrapped a piece of writing paper around the stems, on which I had written, "a rose for mother: one for sister Clara; one for sister Annie, and one for Minnie, from George." 

Mrs. Miller delivered the flower messages, as usual. She took up my cluster of roses and read the message as follows.

"These beautiful roses bring me the influence of a dear sweet mother. She comes so happy and is pleased to know that you thought to bring them. There are four who come and you brought a rose for mother, one for sister Clara, and one for each of the other two - I do not catch the names clearly but your mother says, we are all here to greet you; we saw you wrap them up and we know who they are for. You don't have to wait until tomorrow, my son. We can tell you know. We are all here." 

Mrs. Miller continued: "Your mother says, don't worry about anything, George. I am always with you and things are not going to remain so uncertain much longer. Be patient a little while and you will have much to be thankful for. We are here tonight."

After the conclusion of his account of attending the Flower Service he added some of his thoughts regarding the mediumship he observed from the mediums:

There were probably as many as 30 messages given out by the two mediums - Mrs. Miller and Mrs. Inez Wagner. While a few incidents of unconscious mind-reading seen apparent here and there, the greater part of the messages is so intimately related to events known only to one or two persons on earth and family members on the spirit side, that it would be out of the question to attempt to account for more than one-forth of the results by telepathy. 

About a hundred years later, Flower Services continue to be held among Spiritualists, who still even today, in moments of communion with the Spirit-World, incorporate flowers to assist them in raising spiritual vibrations, bringing to mind the verse by Cora L.V. Scott, "the spring-time, with its bursting buds and flowers, gives forth, in its wonderous way, the utterance of prayer."

A Shiver and a Shake, A Medium Does Not Make

I've come to learn that there are quite a few individuals now going around various Spiritualist and Metaphysical communities selling their "abilities" as Physical Mediums. 

I've been trying to figure out how I can address my own concerns about this situation with my own local community, so that even if people choose to attend one of these circles, they at least can be aware to be on guard. 

Pondering all this in the back of my mind, I was looking through one of my favorite old Spiritualist books, Genuine Mediumship  and I found this little gem of wisdom that I wanted to share:

"The earnest investigator of spiritualistic phenomena must always bear in mind that the mere production of mediumistic phenomena of the physical phase is not the real object of the investigation and sittings. These things, interesting as they may be in themselves, should be regarded as merely the incidents of the intelligent communication and reception of messages from the inhabitants of the higher planes of life and existence. The spiritualistic circle should be more than a mere "wonder shop" in which are exhibited strange and unusual physical phenomena; rather should it be regarded as the receiving end of the wireless system over which we may and do receive valuable communications from those who have passed on before us." 

"As a writer has said: 'It is not so much that the table moves with or without contact, or that strange rappings are heard, that is of paramount importance, but that by these means of communication actual and intelligent communication can be obtained and maintained with so-called dead people; and evidences of spirit identity, as well as loving and cheering messages may be obtained in that way from loved ones who were supposed to be gone forever. This is the important point to be established beyond all peradventure.'"

Beckoning Light: A Miami Spiritualist Church

The First Spiritualist Church of Miami was incorporated in 1915. The Church met in the home of a member which was located on 909 Avenue C. By 1920 there were four Spiritualist Churches meeting regularly each Sunday; by 1930 there were seven, and by the 1950s there were about 10 Spiritualist Churches meeting each Sunday in Miami. 

One of the most popular of these churches was Beckoning Light Spiritualist Church, founded by Rev. Bertie Lilly Candler. 

In an interview Rev. Bertie recounted that she began to experience mediumship as a young girl. She experienced clairvoyance and also could see auras. She wasn't particularly frightened by the phenomena but was more worried about being judged about being different. While she kept these experiences a secret from her parents she told her brother about it who encouraged her and affirmed that she was special rather than strange. 

While still a young woman she received a message from the spirit world that her beloved Brother would pass away in three weeks from the date of the message. She recounted that she was so distraught she chose to say nothing about it. Three weeks later her brother fell ill and passed away within just two days. 

Raised in the Methodist Church, she looked to her Bible for comfort, and felt drawn to a certain page and read the verse "And if I go, I will come again that where I am ye may also be." She stated she felt an inner sense of knowing that her brother would return to her in spirit. In three weeks her intuition was confirmed and she received a message from her brother telling her that she had a mission in life to let others know that their loved ones are never truly gone. 

Another story was recorded by Robert G. Chaney in his work Mediums and the Development of Mediumship:

"Bertie Lilly Candler first became interested in Spiritualism in 1918. She was living in Cincinnati, Ohio, at the time. One night her sister-in-law appeared to her in a vision. The sister-in-law was living in the deep south, and Bertie Lilly did not even know she had been ill. She later learned that the sister-in-law had passed away on the afternoon of the same day she appeared in the vision. Just before her passing she spoke to those who had gathered about her bedside. "I want to see Bertie Lilly," was the last sentence she spoke on this earth."

"It was at this time that Spiritualism first offered itself as a possible explanation for all the visions and voices she had seen and heard. She became vitally interested in the movement, began attending services and seances, and then sat in a home developing circle. The third time this circle met, she went into a trance."

"It was just a year later, in 1919, that she began her public career."

The same source is quoted saying, "Bertie Lilly Candler is best known for her work as a materialization medium. She has other phases, too. Trance, trumpet and independent voice. She has practiced her mediumship since 1919. She is a member of the International General Assembly of Spiritualists, and since 1927 has been pastor of the Beckoning Light Church in Miami, Florida."

In 1925 Rev. Lilly came to Miami, and in 1927 she organized Beckoning Light Spiritualist Church. Meetings were held for five years in a Masonic Temple, and in 1942 the Church moved into it's own building at 1621 SW 6th St. 

By 1951 Beckoning Light had over 200 members and was perhaps the most prominent and popular Church in Miami. The Church hosted several prominent Spiritualists among it's guest speakers and mediums including Alexander J. McIvor Tyndall and Arthur Ford. 

Rev. Bertie also became well known for her somewhat high profile predictions, one of which was supposedly published in a Time magazine Article. Before the outbreak of World War II Rev. Bertie apparently delivered a message from the Spirit of Claude G. Swanson, former secretary of the United States Navy, predicting the United States entering into War with Germany. 

In another instance Rev. Bertie hosted a séance attended by Lorenzo Winslow, the interior decorator of the white house, who stated that Rev. Bertie delivered a message from the spirit of Franklin Roosevelt, who stated that there would be an assassination attempt on President Harry S. Truman, but that it would fail. Which then occurred on November 1st, 1950. 

The presence of Spiritualist Churches in Miami lasted until about the mid 1950s and early 1960s. Spiritualist Churches as a whole began to decline in the United States, and Miami as a center of American style Spiritualism in Florida began to shift to other areas. 

As of 2020 the building that was the home of Beckoning Light Spiritualist Church is now a Pentecostal Church. 

The former center of Miami Spiritualism would become a new center for Espiritismo, a form of Spiritualism codified by Allan Kardec into the tradition of Spiritism, which was further developed in the Caribbean and brought to Miami by Cuban immigrants. 

Spiritualist, Spiritist, or Espiritista, Miami remains today a spiritual center for those seeking a beckoning light to spiritual advancement. 

St. Jude: A Guide and Friend

St. Jude is a figure from the New Testament, he was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus of Nazareth, and is traditionally called Jude Thaddaeus. He's traditionally regarded as the Patron Saint of those without Hope, and the Patron Saint of the Impossible. His feast day is October 28th.

A story to explain this devotion is that because his name his similar to Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus, people would avoid praying to St. Jude so as to not confuse the two figures from the Bible. Because he was ignored the Saint was eager to help anyone who prayed to him, even those who were in the most impossible situations.

Although I haven't really written much about this, St. Jude is a Saint that I have an extremely deep connection with and a fairly long history. 

When I was 16 years old and starting to become more interested in Spiritualism and was also starting to read and research more about Folk Catholicism as a way to learn more about my family's traditions. 

One day I was in a used bookstore looking at spiritual books, I opened an old tattered Bible and a prayer card literally jumped out of the book at me. It was a fairly new prayer card for such an old book, and it was a St. Jude prayer card with a prayer to him on the back. I kept the card and put the Bible back on the shelf. 

At the time I had no idea who St. Jude was but I remember feeling that this was some kind of sign, even if I wasn't exactly sure of what. I started praying reading more about St. Jude, and also praying to him regularly. I eventually started wearing a small bracelet with his picture on it pretty much constantly, and after a conversation with my grandma, eventually was given a statue of St. Jude as a gift that I put on an altar I had in my room. 

All of this cumulated in one day going on an errand and seeing a statue of St. Jude and Our Lady of Guadalupe in a store window one summer afternoon. I walked into the first Botanica that I had ever visited, and that event would pretty much set the entire direction that my life would take from that day onward. 

Years later after moving to back to Rochester, NY I went to my grandma's house only to discover that there had been a St. Jude statue on the shelf that overlooked the bed I slept in as a child when I stayed with my grandparents. I'd seen that statue on that shelf my entire life, but I never really gave it much of a thought. He'd apparently known about me much longer than I even knew about him.

So I suppose I just wanted to write this as a tribute in honor of St. Jude, who has always been there with me by my side.

St. Jude Prayer

Most holy Apostle, St. Jude, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the Church honors and invokes you universally, as the patron of difficult cases, of things almost despaired of, Pray for me, I am so helpless and alone.

Intercede with God for me that He bring visible and speedy help where help is almost despaired of. Come to my assistance in this great need that I may receive the consolation and help of heaven in all my necessities, tribulations, and sufferings, particularly 

-(make your request here)- 

and that I may praise God with you and all the saints forever. I promise, O Blessed St. Jude, to be ever mindful of this great favor granted me by God and to always honor you as my special and powerful patron, and to gratefully encourage devotion to you.

St. Jude, Hope of the Hopeless, pray for me. 

Amen

Rev. Samuel Weil: The Spiritualist Rabbi

Rev. Samuel Weil has all but been forgotten as an early Spiritualist leader, yet he stands unique in the history of the Spiritualist Movement in that he was a practicing Jewish Rabbi who came to embrace the teachings of Spiritualism. 

There isn't much written about Rev. Samuel's life, and only a few anecdotes of his early life are found in his book, The Religion of the Future: Or, Outlines of Spiritual Philosophy. One of these stories accounts a moment in his childhood which he used to demonstrate his own experience with psychic phenomena, 

"My father, physically a powerful man, who never was sick, went to America from Germany in 1841. My Mother, myself, and a brother remained in the old country. When my father was gone about three months, I awoke in the middle of the night weeping and sobbing bitterly. "O, mother, cried the four year old boy, "father is dead, I saw him being carried out of the room by some men." My father, who had been especially attached to me, had actually died in New Orleans from yellow fever, then raging epidemically there." 

Another short reference to his childhood comes from an article summarizing a speech he gave in Rochester, NY in 1897, ""He had inherited a religious feeling from his mother, but had early become a doubter and wished to have some manifestation of God. And this, said he, came at last in the principles of of Spiritualism." 

Aside from these later recorded anecdotes, the earliest reference to Rev. Weil is from an article written in 1876 stating that he had been a "Minister, Preacher, and Sabbath-School Teacher" for his congregation in Columbus, Ohio for three years, and was relocating to Denver, Colorado to serve a similar role in another congregation. 

In 1880 a new Synagogue was built in Bradford PA and the congregation hired Rev. Weil to relocate there as their Rabbi. In his book Religion of the Future, Rev. Weil mentioned in passing that he attended a Conference held in Pittsburg, PA by American Reform Rabbis as a member; he wrote that there was a proposal to deem all accounts of biblical miracles as "childlike fancies of their ancient ancestors" to which he states that he earnestly protested against this. 

The proposal apparently did not pass, and he later wrote that he felt science and spirituality do not have to necessarily contradict each other, stating "Modern Spiritualism will find the Bible an intelligible book, as far as miracles are concerned; for he has seen that the definition of a miracle does not involve a contravention of natural law, but an employment of a higher psychic force" 

At some point between 1880 and 1893 Rev. Samuel began to become more openly interested in Spiritualism, both in researching psychic phenomena, as well as studying and teaching Spiritualist principles. In his book, he gives an account of his experiences of the comfort brought to him through Spiritualist phenomena while visiting Lily Dale, New York: 

"As happens often, my father, who died when I was a child, left no portrait of himself behind, and the knowledge of the tentative process of photography in the year 1841, had not reached the rural German district in which we resided. Naturally, I often deeply regretted that I had no likeness of my father. In August 1888, I visited the mediumistic photographer, Dr. Keeler, at Lily Dale (Cassadaga) Chautauqua County, New York, and obtained, to my inexpressible delight, a photograph of my father, depicted on the same card whereon my own photograph appears. The spirit's bust is seen to the right of mine, and the features are quite plain and distinct, though usually such photographs are somewhat fainter than those of mortals. I posses a photograph, besides, of my transfigured mother, and two children of mine that had died. In the summer of 1889, I visited Dr. Keeler again and obtained two more photographs, representing other deceased relatives, and even the photograph of a lady who used to be a member of my flock."

In 1893 his work The Religion of the Future: Or, Outlines of Spiritual Philosophy was published. The book is set up as a text book on Spiritualism, which he also refers to as "Spiritual Religion" and "Spiritual Philosophy". 

His book is truly a testament to the fact that Rev. Samuel was probably one of the most profoundly educated Spiritualist leaders of his day; Rev. Samuel cites virtually every source he used in the text, which includes hundreds of quotes from both Jewish and Christian Scriptures, scientific articles and textbooks, works of German philosophy, works on Mesmerism, works of Emmanuel Swedenborg, and texts from several Spiritualist sources including: Andrew Jackson Davis, Cora L.V. Scott, Pascal Beverly Randolph, Hudson Tuttle, and Alfred Russel Wallace.

He seems to have almost a mastery of understanding over the volumes of Andrew Jackson Davis (which in itself is astounding) but also seemed to be particularly a student of Cora L.V. Scott, quoting her perhaps more than any other Spiritualist writer. 

In addition to all of this, he also references popular literature and poetry (in German and English), and regularly references Shakespeare. He also includes references to several other religious traditions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and Theosophy. And in a passing reference also mentions his knowledge of the Talmud and Midrash. He also includes an additional list in the book for readers, that recommends other works to study that he did not cite from or mention in the book. 

The work is divided into three parts: first, The Facts, which largely deal with scientific and philosophical observations on psychic phenomena; second, The Source, which discusses Modern Spiritualism and it's principles, and third, The Consequences, which Rev. Weil lays out his own application of Spiritualist principles to ethics, and discusses social issues, with a particular focus on economic inequality and labor issues. 

In this final section of his work he also discusses Spiritualism as it relates to the Bible, placing it as a "new dispensation" in a line from Moses, the Prophets, and Jesus of Nazareth. Rev. Samuel reaffirms the fairly standard Spiritualist teachings on Jesus of Nazareth: that he was a highly spiritual ethical human being, who was "blindly worshiped" rather than followed as a teacher. Yet, Rev. Samuel seems to add a new layer of interpretation of Jesus that many Spiritualists before him had not touched on, that he was a specifically Jewish Sage, presenting universal teachings of Spiritualism clothed in Jewish wisdom. 

In 1895 Rev. Weil founded his own Spiritualist congregation in Bradford, PA named the Free Religious Association, which then changed it's name to the First Spiritual Church of Bradford in October 1896. According to an article, "The people who formed the society are believers in Spiritualism. The tenets of the church will be largely on the line of thought presented by Mr. Weil's book. The Religion of the Future." 

An article in the New York Tribune gives an outline of the mission of Rev. Weil's Church:

1. The Society shall be called the Free Religious Association of Bradford.
2. The purposes of the association shall be the advocacy of a rational religion without a priesthood, a moral code without a theology, a God without a dogmatic system, a religion of liberty, recognizing no limits to thought; a religion of conscience, seeking the approval of no other monitor; a religion of reason, submitting all things to its decision; a religion of action, holding the chief good to be "man's humanity to man;" a religion of equality, acknowledging in its most comprehensive sense human brotherhood; a religion of love, yielding obedience to it as the great fundamental law of moral agency.
3. The association will be governed by the will of the majority of its members.

Rev. Samuel Weil may very well may have been the first Rabbi to publicly embrace the teachings of Spiritualism but he was certainty not the last. Spiritualism in both practice and its teachings have a long history of Jewish men and women serving as Ministers, Mediums, and Healers. Although this is unfortunately not well documented, that will hopefully change as time goes on.

Murder at Sunset Spiritualist Temple

I randomly came across this story in the LA Times. The story happened in the 1940s and was covered in several articles and they were so over the top and campy and dramatic that a pretty straightforward investigation turned into this noir horror pulp fiction murder mystery novel, so naturally I had to write a blog about it. 

Before the hollow unseeing eyes of a grinning human skull, Mme. Lorraine met death in her mystic temple of spirits at 4384 Sunset Blvd. last night when her "adopted" daughter fired a bullet through her heart, according to police. 

Apparently Mme. Lorraine's actual name was Celeste Frank, she operated "Sunset Spiritualist Temple" a small parlor where she held seances and gave readings. Mme. Lorraine had been recently widowed, and sent for her young friend, Charlotte Jean LeNord, age 24, who she had unofficially adopted as her daughter to come live with her and keep her company. 

There in a darkened incense laden room where Mme. Lorraine gave readings in palmistry, cards, and from a crystal ball. Miss leNord told the offices how she had threatened the 50 year old Spiritualist with a .32 caliber revolver following an argument. 

Apparently after a very minor argument about Charlotte parking the car in the wrong place, a gun was accidently fired, one shot into the wall, and the other into Mme. Lorraine. Charlotte reportedly turned herself into the police. 

A silent macabre witness to the killing was an age colored human skull in which rested a crystal ball which Mme. Lorraine used in her divination of the future. 

    On the table near the skull a Bible, inscribed to Mme. Lorraine, lay open with a page turned down and a passage marked. "And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet. I have no need of you."  

When questioned by police Charlotte confessed that she had no idea how the gun went off, She stated, "I wish it hadn't happened. I'd give anything to have her back," and tearfully remembered that only recently she had read Mme. Lorraine's palm and found "she was destined for a violent end. Her life line ended in a star, that means violence." 

After a long extremely public trial, Charlotte Jean LeNord was found not guilty and was acquitted of the charges, which were deemed to be accidental.

The Sunset Spiritualist Temple is now the parking lot of Del Taco.

St. Joseph and New Orleans Spiritualism

The Spiritualist veneration of Saint Joseph in the United States largely goes back to New Orleans in the 1900s, where the mass immigration of Sicilians brought their passionate love and veneration for their patron, Saint Joseph. 

Saint Joseph has been especially loved by Sicilians since the middle ages, where legend says during a terrible drought his intercession was sought to bring rain, thus saving the island from famine. The Sicilians, grateful to their beloved saint, promised that they would hold a feast every year in his honor. 

In the early 20th century there was a mass immigration of Sicilians to the United States, and many entered the port of New Orleans, bringing their spiritual traditions to the city. His popularity as a Saint in New Orleans soon spread among Catholics, both Italian-American and African-American, and eventually to Spiritualists.

In the early decades of the 1900s, Sicilians were not considered to be white by the vast majority of Americans, and were even looked down upon by other Italians as being non-Italian. Many Sicilians and Southern Italians found a welcome home among the African-American Spiritualist Churches of New Orleans. Unlike the American Catholic church where they were segregated and ostracized, the Spiritualist Churches were not only more similar to their spiritual version of Catholicism: filled with wonder-working Saints, ecstatic visions, and communication with spirits of the dead, but the Sicilians also found that were welcomed warmly and with friendship by the African American Spiritualists.

Mother Leafy Anderson of the Eternal Life Christian Spiritualist Church of New Orleans lead a revival of Spiritualism in New Orleans and through several other areas. Through her charismatic preaching, spiritual gifts, music filled services, Mother Anderson took Spiritualists out of  hiding, and into the public eye.

Among her congregation she had several Italian members and was so beloved and respected by the Italian community of New Orleans that she was able to secure a loan from the Italian Homestead Association in order to pay for Eternal Life Spiritualist Church. It's known that she counted at least two Italian-American women among her disciples, one of which was Mother Lena Scovotto. 

Mother Lena was trained and ordained by Mother Anderson, and received her charter from Mother Anderson to open her own church, Sacred Heart Spiritual Church, also recorded as Sacred Heart Spiritualist Mission. Mother Scovotto was not only Mother Anderson's student, but was also a dear friend. 

According to an interview with Mother Scovotto's younger brother, he stated that Leafy Anderson and Lena Scovotto "were close, like two peas in a pod," He continued saying, "She taught my sister Lena, directed her, helped her to get started in the profession of being Spiritual. When Mother Anderson got sick, my sister Lena took care of her." 

Mother Catherine Seals of the Temple of Innocent Blood also counted numerous Sicilians and Italians among her followers, who considered her a living Saint. A story has been recorded of Mother Catherine miraculously healing a young Italian girl: 

“I was also told about a little Italian girl who was unable to walk and Mother Catherine cured her. Her parents brought her to the shrine and Mother Catherine kept telling the child to walk and she left her place and walked to Mother Catherine.” (The Spiritual Churches of New Orleans by Claude F. Jacobs, Andrew J. Kaslow) 

One of the most interesting documented accounts of this intercultural devotion to Saint Joseph among the New Orleans Spiritualist Churches was Mother Maude Shannon's story recorded in the work, Gumbo Ya-Ya. Mother Shannon of Daniel Helping Hand Spiritual Church received a vision from the spirit world saying that she needed to hold a feast to St. Joseph to feed the poor; her own description of the event was recorded in an interview: 

‘It been fourteen years now I been having my Saint Joseph Altar. That day I started out with thirty dollars to pay my rent and I met Saint Joseph and he told me to take the money and make a Saint Joseph Altar. I was scared I never would get my rent together again. I’m a poor widow woman and sometimes I gets up and there ain’t a cent in the house. Still, I got faith, so I built me the altar.’ 

‘I come out of my door that mornin’,’ says Reverend Maude, ‘and I heared a voice talkin’ to me just as plain as if there’d been someone walkin’ by my side. The voice says I must get together the sisters of the church, and we must gather candles and cakes and make an altar for Saint Joseph’s Day. So I threw out my hands to show the voice I done heared its words, and I called the sisters together and we went out with baskets to gather the food for our flock.’ 

Mother Shannon modeled her feast to St. Joseph extremely similar to how it was celebrated by Sicilians and Italians in New Orleans, A description of the feast describes the following: 

"Freshly-starched lace curtains hung at the windows. The small anteroom, usually used for a dressing room, held the Saint Joseph’s Altar. Here walls and ceiling were entirely covered with white sheets, and the altar, taking up half the room, was literally concealed under platters and plates and bowls of food, most of it identical with that found on the altars in Italian homes of New Orleans" 

"There were the immense loaves of Italian bread — most of them shaped like rings — the Italian salads and seed cakes. There were shrimp and stuffed crabs and a huge lobster, and a hundred other kinds of foods." 

"In the front center was a cake baked in the form of an open book, covered with white icing and embellished with the following words in pink icing: ‘Come thou with us, and we will do thee good; for the Lord hath spoken good concerning Israel.’ There were the usual tall candles, decorated with pictures of angels and rosebuds." 

"Opposite the altar, on a mantel, were votive lights and smaller candles, and a box to receive offerings. A white man entered, stood before these, said a prayer, and dropped a coin into the box. On the altar, a white bowl also received money. Another contained Saint Joseph’s beans, and those dropping coins took a bean or two." 

An interesting point of gossip was also recorded that much of the food and work for the altars were rumored to have been contributed by gamblers from her section of the city, who donated money in exchange for "lucky beans" to help them in gambling. The "lucky beans" or "St. Joseph's beans" (or "mojo bean") in question are actually Fava Beans, which are a staple dish prepared on St. Joseph's day brought to New Orleans by Sicilian immigrants.

The practice of honoring St. Joseph on March 19th with elaborate altars continues to today, as St. Joseph continues to hear the prayers of those in need, whoever they may be.