The idea of founding a Spiritist Center with activities in English was born in 2007. With the increasing number of non-Portuguese speakers participating in centers, a group of practicing Spiritist friends decided to get together and establish a new center to address this demand in New York City. At the time, there was only one other Spiritist Center in Manhattan with English activities, namely Spiritist Group of NY.

 

On August 7th, 2007, the first part of our goal was achieved, and Inner Enlightenment Spiritist Society was founded. We started as a small gathering at an art gallery twice a week, then moved to a rented studio space where we held study meetings, workshops, lectures, and administered healing passes.

 

In 2011, with the help of donations, the center moved to its current location in Midtown Manhattan and increased its activities. Today, IESS has meetings every day of the week, all of them held in English and free of charge. We study and strive to abide by the triple aspects of Spiritism, as codified by Allan Kardec — scientific, philosophic, and moral. As a non-profit organization, we count on donations to keep our doors opened.