Information about this center is no longer updated. This data was last updated on 22 March 2013.

The beautiful Pilgrim Chapel served as the Pilgrim Lutheran Church for the Deaf for over fifty years before being opened to the public for people of all faiths. The Kansas City Meditation Group uses the chapel on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings for services which combine elements from the Hindu and Christian faiths. With meditation as its primary means of worship, the group helps the chapel maintain its identity as the “church of silence.” Paramahansa Yogananda, the founder of the group, wanted to direct people to a point to which he felt all religious paths lead: daily meditation on God. Meditation is how the group feels it can fulfill its tradition’s aims and goals, one of which is to demonstrate the superiority of mind over body and of soul over mind. The services include alternating periods of meditation, chanting, and reading excerpts from the New Testament and the Bhagavad Gita, along with the guru’s reflections. Yogananda also started this tradition to bring together East and West as well as science and religion. The Kansas City Meditation Group met for thirteen years in homes prior to establishing the community in 1978. The current membership includes some of those who met in homes and descendants of those earlier members. The tradition affirms reincarnation and the Hindu ideas that there are many paths to God and that people must find which path is right for themselves.

Activities and Schedule

Sunday Meditations: 8:00-8:45 AM 9:00-9:45 AM Sunday Main Service: 10:00-11:00 AM Children's Sunday School: 10:00-11:00 AM Midweek Meditation on Wednesday evenings: Energization Exercises 7:00-7:15 PM Meditation Service: 7:15-9:00 PM Kirtan: - Last Wednesday of every month 7:15-9:00 PM