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Peace Pole at Kansas City Hospice House

This month we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the addition of the beautiful Peace Pole to the gardens at Kansas City Hospice House. The family of Marty O’Connor Ketteler commissioned this beautiful symbol of peace to stand forever in her memory. The Peace Pole arrived in February of 2010 and found a home near the labyrinth. The gardens are a place where many take time to meditate and seek peace of mind.

Peace Poles are erected the world over as international symbols of peace — constant reminders for us to visualize and pray for world peace. Each pole is a hand-crafted monument that displays a message and prayer. May Peace Prevail on Earth appears in different languages on each side.

The languages represented on our Peace Pole include English, Chinese, Hebrew, Arabic, Vietnamese and Spanish. In addition, animal tracks displayed around the bottom of the pole symbolize all creatures of the earth.

 

The Philosophy of Peace

The Peace Pole Project is the official Project of The World Peace Prayer Society. It began in Japan in 1955 when Masahisa Goi dedicated his life to spreading the message of peace.

Goi believed that peace begins in the heart and mind of each individual. While war begins with thoughts of war, peace begins with thoughts of peace. Therefore, the Peace Pole reminds us to keep peace ever-present in our thoughts. We learn to honor one another, our environment, plants, animals and all creation on earth. He believed the vision of global peace will gradually become a natural way of life, a true culture of peace.

You may see Peace Poles in town squares, city halls, schools, places of worship, parks, and gardens. Since the beginning of the project over 200,000 Peace Poles have been planted in over 200 countries around the world.

We are ever grateful to the family of Marty O’Connor Ketteler for making the Peace Pole at Kansas City Hospice House possible. Our Peace Pole stands ready to offer comfort to all who visit our gardens.

Learn more about the healing power of gardens at Mother Earth Living.

About Us

 
The mission of Kansas City Hospice & Palliative Care is to bring expert care, peace of mind, comfort, guidance, and hope to people who are affected by life-limiting illness or by grief. Our vision is that each person in our community is valued from life through death and each family is supported in their grief.

 


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Our Programs

Kansas City Hospice & Palliative Care provides comprehensive, expert care for all ages at all stages of serious illness.

Hospice Care

When the focus shifts to comfort instead of treatment, care comes to your home or nursing facility with a plan tailored to your needs, including emotional and spiritual support for the whole family.

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Hospice Care

Palliative Medicine Fellowship

Kansas City Hospice & Palliative Care is the community clinical site for the University of Kansas Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship. We're committed to developing physicians with specialty-level training in caring for patients with serious or terminal illness.

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Palliative Medicine Fellowship

Community-Based Palliative Care

Beginning as early as diagnosis and at any stage of serious illness, our nurse practitioners make home visits as needed to help coordinate your care and provide expert pain and symptom management.

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Community-Based Palliative Care
Hospice House

Hospice House

When symptoms cannot be easily managed at home, two hospice houses provide 24/7 expert care in comfortable home-line settings where family members can be relieved of caregiving duties to focus on loved ones.

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Carousel Pediatric Care

Carousel provides palliative and hospice care for perinatal and for babies through young adults with a dedicated team of pediatric nurses, social workers, chaplains and other specialists.

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Carousel Pediatric Care
Solace House

Solace House

Our center for grief and healing supports individuals and families who have been impacted by the death of a loved one, whether anticipated, or sudden and unexpected. We provide opportunities to share, listen, learn and heal with peer group support from age 3 through adult.

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