Entry No. 15 — the Boston file — filed under: spiritualist church
Greater Boston Church of Spiritualism
An actively operating Spiritualist congregation that opens its Sunday services (10:30am) to visitors for hands-on healing and evidential mediumship — a medium reads messages from the gathered spirits in front of the whole room. It's hosted a healing-arts festival with visiting mediums and continues to book speakers through 2026.
The story
New England has been talking to spirits since the Fox sisters started knocking on floorboards in 1848, but while most 19th-century séance parlors folded into history, the Greater Boston Church of Spiritualism keeps the lights on at 19 Academy Street in Arlington. Meeting inside the local Masonic building, this isn't a shadowy underground circle or a theater trick—it's a functioning, non-dogmatic congregation grounded in nine fundamental principles of Natural Law. There is no threat of hellfire or rigid creed here; the entire movement rests on a single, radical premise: human consciousness survives physical death, and the living can talk to the dead.
What makes a Sunday morning here genuinely strange to an outsider is the lack of performance flair. At 10:30 AM, after a quiet guided meditation, hands-on energy healing, and an uplifting talk, a guest medium steps up to the front of the room for evidential mediumship. Rather than whispering behind a curtain, the medium addresses the entire congregation, calling out specific details—names, physical traits, lingering personality quirks—from spirits they claim are hovering in the room, delivering public messages to unsuspecting observers in the pews.
What it's like
Show up at 19 Academy Street shortly before 10:30 AM on a Sunday and take a seat in what feels less like an occult sanctum and more like an unassuming community hall. The service opens quietly with guided meditation and hands-on energy healing, where trained practitioners offer light touch work to promote physical and emotional balance. You are free to sit quietly as an observer during the spirit communication segment; no one forces you to participate, though if a medium zeroes in on your row, you might get an unexpected dispatch from the other side. Afterward, attendees gather for coffee and food during social hour. Keep in mind that summer services often shift online to Zoom, so always check their current schedule before heading out.
The move: Attend a Sunday service together as observers, then talk through what either of you made of the mediumship on the walk back to Mass Ave.
- 📍 Arlington
- 💸 $$
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 19 Academy St, Arlington, MA 02476
Hours: Added 2026-07-20 — confirm current hours before you go.
⚠ Seasonal or scheduled — always check before you go.
Pair it with
- Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments (Putnam Gallery) — Balance out intangible spirit communication with 20,000 physical scientific artifacts and historical measuring instruments tucked inside Harvard Yard.
- Seven Stars — Head into Central Square to browse esoteric texts, occult history, and metaphysical guides after observing the Spiritualist service.
- Ritual Arts — Pair an energy healing session with a stop at this long-running Allston metaphysical shop for candles, incense, and herbal supplies.
- Silver Mine Historic Site — Trade spirit messages for local earth history by hiking out to the remnants of an 1880s mining shaft hidden in the Middlesex Fells.
Good to know
When are Sunday services held, and can anyone attend?
In-person services run every Sunday from 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM at 19 Academy Street in Arlington. Services are free and open to the public regardless of your personal beliefs, and no advance registration is required.
What is 'evidential mediumship' during a service?
During the final portion of the service, a featured medium delivers unsolicited messages and specific factual details to random attendees in the audience, attempting to prove the continuity of life beyond death through spirit communication.
What happens during the hands-on healing portion?
Early in the service, designated healers offer quiet, hands-on energy healing to attendees looking for physical, emotional, or spiritual relief.
Are services held in person year-round?
While regular services meet at the Arlington venue, the church historically moves services online via Zoom during parts of the summer, so verify their current calendar before visiting.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site · yourarlington.com
last checked: 2026-07-20