Colin Fry battles illness to help raise funds
for the London Spiritual Mission. He also
discusses his ordination and future plans
Internationally-known medium Colin Fry went beyond the call of duty to honour a commitment last weekend, writes Sue Farrow.
The 50-year-old star of TV’s 6ixth Sense had promised some time ago to demonstrate his mediumship at one of the UK’s foremost Spiritualist churches, the London Spiritual Mission, on Saturday 9th February.
Illness no deterrent
Unfortunately, in the interim he had developed ocular shingles while taking a break in Spain and had been unable to resume work on the advice of his doctors. Those who’ve had shingles, and experienced the intense pain that accompanies it, will readily understand what that pain might be like in the eye, which was the case for Colin.
Nevertheless, he was determined to honour his arrangement with the LSM’s organisers, who had sold all available tickets and were expecting a capacity crowd. He arrived looking pale, with a patch over his right eye, and wearing glasses. He was clearly not in the best of health.
The Rev Colin Fry
There was one other notable change in Colin’s appearance – he was dressed in a traditional clerical collar. As he climbed the steps to the platform, the chairman, Greg Sheppard, invited the audience to welcome “the Rev Colin Fry” and the demonstration got under way.
Colin began by explaining that his vision was currently limited due to the illness. “So if I do come to you, or you feel some information is for you, please wave very violently, otherwise I won’t see you!” he said. He went on to give a brief description of the way he works.
“There are certain types of communicator who’ve worked out how to direct me. They’ll either show me who they want to speak to or they’ll take me to a small area. There are others who can’t do that and they may try and guide me to one side or the other, nearer the front or further back.
“Then there are others who can’t do any of that. So to the best of their ability they bombard me with information and I have to try and translate it. Then we have to find where they want to go.”
Evidence
Numerous contacts were given during the course of the evening, many containing very precise details. Neither did the medium rush like an express train to give as many ‘messages’ as possible. Time was taken with each recipient, some contacts lasting for well over ten minutes. Colin doesn’t keep up a constant patter, as so many do these days. He feels no pressure to ‘entertain’ and seems quite comfortable with brief silences.
His final communication was per-
haps the most detailed and meaningful
of all, and had a profound effect on its recipient. It concerned a family contain-ing someone named Kate or Catherine,
a person with the illness ME, and a grandmother.
“My middle name is Catherine,” said the sitter, “but my parents argued about whether it should be my first or second name. My sister has ME.”
“There’s a decorating project going on,” said Colin. “There is, in my house,” came the reply. “Show me the colour,” Colin asked his spirit communicator. “Purple,” came the answer. “Yes, my favourite colour,” said the sitter.
Detailed information followed concerning the person with ME, and other family matters, all accepted.
Concerning the sitter’s grandmother, to whom she’d been very close, Colin told her: “ She was cremated, but it was a while ago. Why then has there been recent talk about a new or different memorial for her?”
“Oh, we’ve just arranged for a bench with her name on,” came the delighted reply.
Questions and answers
After a short interval, Colin took to the platform again, but not to demonstrate immediately. Instead, he invited members of the audience to ask questions.
The first to raise their hand may not have used the opportunity quite as Colin intended, but he was nevertheless unfazed when, clearly hoping to receive a ‘message, they asked - “Is there anyone here for me?”
“Thank you very much for asking that question,” said Colin, to be met with a good deal of laughter from the audience.
“It’s an important question,” he continued, “because it gives me the opportunity to explain. If you ever go to a private sitting and the medium asks ‘Who do you want?’, put your coat on and walk out. It doesn’t work like that.
“We do not summon spirit – the word for that is ‘necromancy’. Spirit connect to us if they can, if they want to, or if it’s meant to be. I believe a power far greater than any of us decides who will come through. Communication always takes place at a time of need, either for the sitter, or to suit the communicator’s own progression.”
He went on to stress that although
the role of mediums was to deliver messages, they had to take responsibility and should not allow people “to become message-obsessed”.
Breath of fresh air
Other questions concerned animal communication, reincarnation, physical mediumship, and to what extent we retain our personalities in the spirit world, particularly in relation to a tendency to swear! All were answered fluently and in detail, which was a breath of fresh air to this editor, who sits through too many demonstrations wondering if the medium has given any thought at all to educating audiences about the implications of the survival they have just been demonstrating.
The remainder of the evening was devoted to further spirit communication, the vast majority of which seemed to be readily accepted by recipients. Colin closed the demonstration with a prayer of thanks.
Ordination to the ministry
Regular readers of PN will know that Colin has been considering ordination to the Spiritualist ministry for some time. Catching up with him a few days after his visit to the LSM, I asked what had prompted him to take such a significant step at this point in his life.
“I first thought about it when I was 40,” he told me, “but I was very busy with TV and touring. I knew if I was going to become a minister I would want to dedicate time to it. I’m not so interested in TV any more, and I’m cutting down on touring, so the time seemed right.”
Colin’s ordination to the United Spiritualists’ ministry, conducted by the Rev Ray Robinson, took place at the Three Bridges Spiritualist Church in Crawley, Sussex, with which Colin has had a 20-year association. As the Rev Colin Fry, he has now become its minister.
So how does Colin see the day-to-day pattern of his life changing as a result of becoming ordained? Will he be serving more churches?
“Yes,” he says. “I’ve got quite a lot of church bookings for this year. I also want to do more hospital and hospice visiting, and perhaps prison visits too.”
Last but not least, I asked Colin why he had chosen to wear a traditional Christian-style clerical collar.
“Over the past ten years I’ve asked myself where Christianity fits in to my beliefs. I’ve had to sort it out. I sang in the church choir as a child but I was gradually more drawn to Spiritualism. I say I’m a Spiritualist with a capital ‘S’ and a christian with a small ‘c’.
|
 |
| |
Reverend Colin Fry proudly displays his
United Spiritualists ordination certificate.
|
A qualified grief counsellor, he adds: “I see being a minister as having a big counselling role. Perhaps people are more confident when they see you in the collar. It adds dignity, makes you more easily recognisable and approachable.”
It seems that reaching the age of 50 has proved to be something of a landmark in Colin’s work for spirit. Major change is afoot – ordination as a minister, with all the pastoral work that involves, serving churches and ministering to the sick, alongside his work as a demonstrating medium.
He now divides his time between a home in Sussex and a new base in the Murcia region of Spain. In time, he hopes to establish his own church there, to serve not only the expatriate British community, but the spiritually-minded Spanish community as well.
“Our six dogs have settled in well,” he says, “and we now have two rescue dogs as well!”
We wish the ten members of the family well as Colin enters this next phase of his work.
