Charles Fillmore

In 1890, the Fillmores began holding informal meetings in their office in the Hall Building in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. Myrtle usually led the prayer while Charles led hymns and answered questions about health and prosperity. Soon these meetings became too large for their office, so they moved to larger and larger quarters.

As the demand grew, a correspondence school was started in 1909, followed by two-week summer sessions in 1919. In 1931 the Training School was launched to develop both teachers and ministers. The educational program continued to grow until a two-year residential program was developed. Twenty years later, Unity opened a Montessori kindergarten, the Wee Wisdom School.

Charles didn’t create educational opportunities only for people in Kansas City. When the Fillmore family vacationed in Colorado in 1901, Charles created a summer school for metaphysics in a classroom outside in a tent. In 1921 an extension course was held in Chicago, Illinois, and a training school was created for those on the West Coast of the United States.

Throughout all the changes, one thing remained the same: the commitment Charles had to education. According to one student, Charles “always spoke simply, and he was always full of helpful illustrations and humorous sidelights. He never delivered an oration. He spoke to you. It was a heart-to-heart conversation.”