One purpose of the Global Living Rosary is to seek the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary to bring peace in individual hearts, in families, in communities, in nations, and in the world, said the founder of the Global Living Rosary movement, Father Jim Kelleher, as he implored the crowd that nearly filled the huge midtown Kansas City church.

"I suggest you have a much greater power," Father Kelleher said. "It is the power to gather together in your living rooms, in your own domestic church, and pray the rosary. You will be calling on the Prince of Peace through the intercession of the Queen of Peace. The blessings he will give will radiate through this city."

"When Mary wants something to happen, it will happen," Hoag said.

"At Redemptorist, there are no strangers," he said to the crowd as he led a sign of peace at the end of the rosary. "There are only friends that haven't met yet."

"I reflect on the 30,000 privileges I have had to call down Jesus Christ on the altar under the appearances of bread and wine, to call down the Lord, Jesus Christ each day so that the world might be fed," he said.

"We know our nation is in trouble," Father Kelleher said. "Has our heavenly mother left us without an answer? No!" As she did in Fatima when she entrusted her message to three children, Mary turns to ordinary people to do extraordinary things and change the world, the priest said.

"He wants to give children the gift of a friendship with him that will last a lifetime," he said. "When you commit to pray the rosary with your children, you are making a commitment to give your children the most powerful tool they will ever have." 

The Kairos Center is one of a number of ecumenical spiritual centers sprouting up across the country that seek to complement the religious knowledge that individuals acquire in traditional church settings.

The centers - there are about 16 of them in New England - use contemplative programs, the arts, and other spiritual exercises to broaden one's perspective of religion and spirituality.

Rev. Elder-Wilfrid said most program participants are active in their churches. "But they have a hunger (for knowledge) that goes deeper. For these people, church isn't enough," she said. "Our programs get people to think more with their hearts than their heads."

She worked with a seven member team at All Saints to create the center, which was approved by the church's Vestry and which draws individuals from many denominations. Sixteen people from five to seven different faiths took part in the center's first program. They met once a month for a year and participated in various spiritual exercises, and attended a weekend retreat.

The center has also sponsored Taize services, based on a form of worship developed in the 1940s by a French brother. The ecumenical services include contemplative prayer, scripture readings, healing, meditative silence, and simple chanting.

Another program offered by the center is "Reiki," a practice of healing touch that's intended to promote well-being and wholeness within the body. Many have also participated in the "labyrinth walk," an ancient form of prayer that invites an individual to reflect on a spiritual journey by walking a path that winds toward a center point and out again.