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The
Panacea Society is a charitable trust,
registered with the Charity Commission,
involved in education in aspects of the
Christian religion.
It
achieves its aims by collecting and
maintaining archives of rare religious
material, sponsoring research into the history
and development of religious ideas and
movements and publication of that research.
It is also committed to providing the
public with first hand access to the history
and practices of the religious community,
which, though no longer functioning as such,
or accepting new members, illustrates the
variety of religious beliefs and practices of
ordinary people over two hundred years who
expected the return of Christ in their
lifetimes.
The
Society has dedicated one of its large
properties to house a permanent Exhibition
using it extensive archives, artefacts and
film. It
will also show the room in which they expected
24 bishops of the Church of England would open
the box of sealed writings left by Joanna
Southcott in 1814, and the gardens which were
central to the community and considered to be
the centre of the Garden of Eden.
The Society also provides
financial assistance to support the work of
registered charities and recognised groups
working in the fields of poverty and health.
The
Panacea Society came into existence in 1919
and flourished in Bedford during the war years
as a religious organisation.
Around the year 2000, the Society came
to the notice of the Charity Commission who
considered its objects to be too narrow.
In 2007, which Charity Commission
approval, the following objects were adopted.
The
charitable objects of the Society are:
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(a).
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To
advance the Christian Religion (and in
doing so the Council may have regard to
the teachings of Joanna Southcott and
her successors)
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(b).
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in
furtherance of Christian principles to
relieve both poverty and sickness and to
advance education both generally and in
the production, publication, and
dissemination of religious works.
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None
of the current trustees are or have ever been
member of the religious community, there being
only two members of that community still
alive. The trustees are dedicated to supporting those members
in their beliefs, while accepting that the
community they joined no longer functions.
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