Fenwicke Holmes
Encyclopedia
Fenwicke Lindsay Holmes (1883-1973) was a religious author and brother of Ernest Holmes
, widely recognized for being an important factor in the establishment of Religious Science
and the founding of the United Centers for Spiritual Living. Fenwicke is recognized as an important figure in the development of the New Thought
movement in Japan in particular Seicho-no-ie
.
Throughout his career Holmes served as a Congregational Church
minister and as the pastor of a Divine Science
Church. He and his brother Ernest
created Uplift Magazine, which he served as the editor, and later, he was the president of the International College of Mental Science.
Holmes wrote more than twenty books, lectured for fifty years around the world, and frequently spoke on radio and television.
, a private school in Bethel
, 70 miles from their home. A teacher at the school urged Fenwicke to attend Colby College
in Waterville, Maine
, where he graduated from with a bachelor of arts
degree in 1906. There he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and served as editor of the Oracle yearbook. He married novelist Katharine Eggleston in the early 1920s.
He attended the Hartford Theological Seminary
and was ordained in the Congregational church
. In 1911, he left the Seminary to move to Venice, California for health reasons. Later, he was also ordained as a Divine Science
minister.
, and a few years later, New Thought leader Christian D. Larson
. In 1917, Fenwicke resigned from the Congregational Church. During this time he was heavily influenced by the writings of New Thought movement leader William Walker Atkinson
. He and Ernest opened the short-lived Metaphysical Sanitarium in Long Beach, California
, that year, too. It closed in 1918.
Soon after the brothers founded Uplift, a magazine somewhat critical of traditional New Thought, and began speaking throughout the Los Angeles area
. Fenwicke published his first book, The Law of Mind in Action, in 1919. When Dr. Julia Seaton Sears
, noted New Thought lecturer and author, had urged one of the brothers to attend the International New Thought Alliance
in Boston, Massachusetts, and Fenwicke attended. Soon after Seton had Fenwicke appointed as a special lecturer at the League for the Larger Life
in New York City. Fenwicke is attributed as the director of a 1921 film called The Offenders
.
In 1927, Fenwicke helped Ernest found the Institute of Religious Science and School of Philosophy as a means of spreading their teachings. After that he ministered at the Divine Science Church of the Healing Christ in New York City until 1934. Then, Fenwick and his wife moved to Santa Monica, California
, where he became president of the International College of Mental Science and continued lecturing.
In the 1950s, Holmes collaborated with Dr. Masaharu Taniguchi
in founding the Japanese New Thought organization Seicho-No-Ie
, and co-authored it's guiding book, The Science of Faith.
Ernest Holmes
Ernest Shurtleff Holmes was an American writer and spiritual teacher. He was the founder of a Spiritual movement known as Religious Science, a part of the greater New Thought movement, whose spiritual philosophy is known as "The Science of Mind." He was the author of The Science of Mind and...
, widely recognized for being an important factor in the establishment of Religious Science
Religious Science
Religious Science, also known as Science of Mind, was established in 1927 by Ernest Holmes and is a spiritual, philosophical and metaphysical religious movement within the New Thought movement. In general, the term "Science of Mind" applies to the teachings, while the term "Religious Science"...
and the founding of the United Centers for Spiritual Living. Fenwicke is recognized as an important figure in the development of the New Thought
New Thought
New Thought promotes the ideas that "Infinite Intelligence" or "God" is ubiquitous, spirit is the totality of real things, true human selfhood is divine, divine thought is a force for good, sickness originates in the mind, and "right thinking" has a healing effect.Although New Thought is neither...
movement in Japan in particular Seicho-no-ie
Seicho-No-Ie
Seicho-no-Ie, sometimes rendered Seicho-no Iye , is a syncretic, nondenominational, monotheistic, New Thought religion, one of the Shinshūkyō in Japan that have spread since the end of World War II...
.
Throughout his career Holmes served as a Congregational Church
Congregational church
Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....
minister and as the pastor of a Divine Science
Divine Science
The Church of Divine Science is a religious movement within the wider New Thought movement. The group was founded originally in San Francisco in the 1880s under Malinda Cramer...
Church. He and his brother Ernest
Ernest Holmes
Ernest Shurtleff Holmes was an American writer and spiritual teacher. He was the founder of a Spiritual movement known as Religious Science, a part of the greater New Thought movement, whose spiritual philosophy is known as "The Science of Mind." He was the author of The Science of Mind and...
created Uplift Magazine, which he served as the editor, and later, he was the president of the International College of Mental Science.
Holmes wrote more than twenty books, lectured for fifty years around the world, and frequently spoke on radio and television.
Biography
Born on a farm near Lincoln, Maine in 1883, Fenwicke was one of nine boys. Despite coming from a poor family, the older boys in the family were admitted to Gould AcademyGould Academy
Gould Academy is a private, co-ed, college preparatory boarding and day school located in the small town of Bethel, Maine, United States. Founded in 1835, the school offers skiing and snowboarding programs, although unlike specialized "ski academies" it remains first and foremost a college-prep...
, a private school in Bethel
Bethel, Maine
Bethel is a town in Oxford County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,411 at the 2000 census. It includes the villages of West Bethel and South Bethel...
, 70 miles from their home. A teacher at the school urged Fenwicke to attend Colby College
Colby College
Colby College is a private liberal arts college located on Mayflower Hill in Waterville, Maine. Founded in 1813, it is the 12th-oldest independent liberal arts college in the United States...
in Waterville, Maine
Waterville, Maine
Waterville is a city in Kennebec County, Maine, United States, on the west bank of the Kennebec River. The population was 15,722 at the 2010 census. Home to Colby College and Thomas College, Waterville is the regional commercial, medical and cultural center....
, where he graduated from with a bachelor of arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in 1906. There he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and served as editor of the Oracle yearbook. He married novelist Katharine Eggleston in the early 1920s.
He attended the Hartford Theological Seminary
Hartford Seminary
Hartford Seminary is a theological college in Hartford, Connecticut, USA.-History:Seminaries in the city of Hartford date back to 1833. In 1913, the current Hartford Seminary came into existence through the combination of three Hartford-based schools affiliated with the city's Congregationalist...
and was ordained in the Congregational church
Congregational church
Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....
. In 1911, he left the Seminary to move to Venice, California for health reasons. Later, he was also ordained as a Divine Science
Divine Science
The Church of Divine Science is a religious movement within the wider New Thought movement. The group was founded originally in San Francisco in the 1880s under Malinda Cramer...
minister.
Career
In Venice, Fenwicke founded a Congregational Church where he ministered for six years. The next year he convinced his brother Ernest to join him, and in 1912, he did. The brothers began extensively studying New Thought, in particular the ideas of Thomas TrowardThomas Troward
-Background:Troward was a divisional Judge in British-administered India. His avocation was the study of comparative religion. Influences on his thinking, as well as his later writing, included the teachings of Christ, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism....
, and a few years later, New Thought leader Christian D. Larson
Christian D. Larson
Christian D. Larson was a New Thought leader and teacher, as well as a prolific author of metaphysical and New Thought books. He is credited by Horatio Dresser as being a founder in the New Thought movement...
. In 1917, Fenwicke resigned from the Congregational Church. During this time he was heavily influenced by the writings of New Thought movement leader William Walker Atkinson
William Walker Atkinson
William Walker Atkinson was an attorney, merchant, publisher, and author, as well as an occultist and an American pioneer of the New Thought movement. He is also known to have been the author of the pseudonymous works attributed to Theron Q...
. He and Ernest opened the short-lived Metaphysical Sanitarium in Long Beach, California
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
, that year, too. It closed in 1918.
Soon after the brothers founded Uplift, a magazine somewhat critical of traditional New Thought, and began speaking throughout the Los Angeles area
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. Fenwicke published his first book, The Law of Mind in Action, in 1919. When Dr. Julia Seaton Sears
Julia Sears
Julia Sears was a pioneering academic and suffragette. She achieved a milestone early in her career when in 1872 she became the first woman in the U.S. to head a public college, Minnesota State Normal College at Mankato, now Minnesota State University, Mankato...
, noted New Thought lecturer and author, had urged one of the brothers to attend the International New Thought Alliance
International New Thought Alliance
The International New Thought Alliance is an umbrella organization for New Thought adherents "dedicated to serving the New Thought Movement’s various branches, organizations and individuals".- History :...
in Boston, Massachusetts, and Fenwicke attended. Soon after Seton had Fenwicke appointed as a special lecturer at the League for the Larger Life
League for the Larger Life
The League for the Larger Life was an early New Thought organization based in New York City, New York, with a chapter in Washington, D.C.. A locally-focused organization, several of its members were influential across the United States and around the world...
in New York City. Fenwicke is attributed as the director of a 1921 film called The Offenders
The Offenders
The Offenders is a melodrama filmed in the town of Randolph, Vermont, in 1921 directed by Fenwick L. Holmes. The plot is that a woman has been accused of murder, and the witness is the Village Idiot. Various locals were used as extras...
.
In 1927, Fenwicke helped Ernest found the Institute of Religious Science and School of Philosophy as a means of spreading their teachings. After that he ministered at the Divine Science Church of the Healing Christ in New York City until 1934. Then, Fenwick and his wife moved to Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
, where he became president of the International College of Mental Science and continued lecturing.
In the 1950s, Holmes collaborated with Dr. Masaharu Taniguchi
Masaharu Taniguchi
was a Japanese New Thought leader, founder of Seicho-no-ie.He began studying English literature at the University of Waseda, Tokyo. In parallel, he also studied the works of Fenwicke Holmes, and subsequently translated Holmes' book, The Law of Mind in Action into Japanese...
in founding the Japanese New Thought organization Seicho-No-Ie
Seicho-No-Ie
Seicho-no-Ie, sometimes rendered Seicho-no Iye , is a syncretic, nondenominational, monotheistic, New Thought religion, one of the Shinshūkyō in Japan that have spread since the end of World War II...
, and co-authored it's guiding book, The Science of Faith.