What is morris pratt institute (mpi)?

The answer depends upon your point of view.

From  one perspective, the Morris Pratt Institute is the credentialing  organization for the National Spiritualist Association of Churches  (NSAC). If you are interested in becoming a healer, the Morris Pratt  Institute provides the coursework and the requirements for being  commissioned. Likewise, if you want to be a medium, the Morris Pratt  Institute provides the coursework and the requirements for being  certified. For those who would like to become ministers or Spiritualist Teachers, MPI is essentially the seminary for NSAC Spiritualism.

From  another perspective, those interested in learning about Spiritualism in  depth can enroll in the Correspondence Course of Study on Modern  Spiritualism. The school also presents a two week residential course in  Pastoral Skills and Special Seminars on aspects of Spiritualism.

A  recent email from a current MPI board member stresses that an important  point to make about “both the correspondence course and the pastoral  skills course is that anyone can take them. Anyone. You don't have to be  a member of a Spiritualist church. There are students in several  different countries.”

To enhance the study of Spiritualism, the  MPI also has an extensive research library in Milwaukee, open to the  public. If you are unable to visit the library, you can request a book  catalog for the mail order book store, carrying books on Spiritualism  and related topics. Many are reproductions of books that are now out of  print.

To summarize, the educational objectives of the Morris Pratt Institute are twofold:  

1) To provide the opportunity for each individual to advance or further their spiritual education and understanding. 

2)  To provide a comprehensive course, as preparation for those wishing to  achieve certification in the Spiritual Ministry through various  organizations.

Who runs The Morris Pratt Institute?

The  Morris Pratt Institute MPI is run by a board of trustees, and includes  several dozen individuals who meet annually to make decisions on the  coursework, to vote to approve new MPI members, etc.

How did it begin?

MPI  began as a school for studying Spiritualism. There was a need to  educate, not only the ministry, workers and leaders of Spiritualism, but  all Spiritualists on the science, philosophy, and religion of this  world view. The Morris Pratt Institute, established in 1901, has been a  part of that education for over 100 years.