Midwest Sikh Association GurudwaraVerified
Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh
Gurdwara · Lenexa, KS · Since the 1960s
- 1960sSangat in Kansas City since
- April 2022Lenexa gurdwara opened
- 12 acresCampus
- 24,000 sq ft, two floorsBuilding
Plan a visit
Every Sunday
Sukhmani Sahib path 8:30 AM · Diwan with katha and kirtan 11:00 AM – 1:30 PM · langar follows
Midwest Sikh Gurudwara, Lenexa · 10050 Marion St, Lenexa, KS 66220
Cover your head (coverings are in the entrance foyer), leave your shoes at the door, sit with the sangat and stay for langar — the free vegetarian meal every gurdwara serves to everyone. Kirtan is also sung every morning of the week, and at Rehras on weekday evenings.
Directions open Google Maps for Midwest Sikh Association Gurudwara's Midwest Sikh Gurudwara, Lenexa.
Coming up8
Kar Sewa at the gurdwara
Sat · 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Everyone welcome — kitchen, diwan hall and grounds.
Details & tickets ↗Akhand Path — Gurgaddi Divas of Guru Granth Sahib Ji
Fri OCT 23 – Sun OCT 25 · Arambh Fri 8:00 AM · bhog Sun 9:30 AM
Sewa and langar by the Lee's Summit (MO) sangat.
Details & tickets ↗Bandi Chhor Divas — Khaas Diwan
Sun · 6:30–8:30 PM
Langar sewa by the Bhandal, Sangha and Sarai families, 8 AM–2 PM and again 6–8:30 PM.
Details & tickets ↗Akhand Path — Parkash Divas of Guru Nanak Dev Ji
Fri NOV 27 – Sun NOV 29 · Arambh Fri 8:00 AM · bhog Sun 9:30 AM
Nishan Sahib sewa Sunday 10:00 AM. Sewa by the Truck Veers — the gurdwara's trucker sangat.
Details & tickets ↗Akhand Path — Shaheedan di yaad vich (in memory of the martyrs)
Fri DEC 25 – Sun DEC 27 · Arambh Fri 8:00 AM · bhog Sun 9:30 AM
Details & tickets ↗
Programs10
Sunday Diwan
EveryoneSundays 11:00 AM – 1:30 PM
The main weekly congregation: kirtan from the Guru Granth Sahib and katha (teaching), with the sangat seated on the carpet — women on one side of the Guru Granth Sahib, men on the other. Sukhmani Sahib path runs earlier, 8:30–10:30 AM, on the first four Sundays of the month, and Sehaj Path resumes at 5 PM. Langar is served after the diwan.
Details on their site ↗Langar
Everyone — Sikhs and non-Sikhs alikeAfter Sunday Diwan and at every program · Free
Langar literally means the kitchen where food is prepared and served in a gurdwara to all visitors, without distinction of background, for free. Only vegetarian food is served so that everyone can eat as equals, seated together on the floor. It was begun by Guru Nanak to break down caste barriers; here it is cooked and served by volunteers, and even the children help. On most Sundays a family sponsors the langar as their sewa — the calendar lists who.
Details on their site ↗Kirtan and Santhia classes
Kirtan Wed & Thu 4–5 PM · Santhia Mon & Wed 6–7 PM
Weekday learning at the gurdwara: kirtan class twice a week, and santhia — learning to read and pronounce Gurbani correctly — twice a week. Both are on the gurdwara's calendar as "Education".
Details on their site ↗Inspirational Youth Class
Young sangatA fun and educational class held at the gurdwara, ranging over Gurmat topics from the very basics to more in depth, with presentations, stories, games, sweets and quizzes to make it interactive. On the last Sunday of each month the youth lead kirtan at the 11 AM diwan.
Details on their site ↗Sikh Youth Camp and Gurmat Camp
YouthGurmat Camp May 29–31, 2026 · Sikh Youth Camp July 13–19, 2026, 4:30–9:00 PM
Two summer camps on the gurdwara's calendar: a Gurmat Camp weekend at the end of May, and a week-long Sikh Youth Camp in July, evenings 4:30–9:00 PM, that ends with the traditional Worlds of Fun trip (July 22 in 2026).
Details on their site ↗Akhand Path and Sahej Path
Families sponsoring a pathAkhand Path: Friday 8 AM arambh → Sunday 9:30 AM bhog · Sahej Path daily 5–6 PM
Akhand Path is the non-stop, continuous recital of the entire Guru Granth Sahib — all 1,430 pages — completed within 48 hours by a relay of readers, day and night, without a moment's break. Families sponsor one for a gurpurab, a memorial or a family occasion; on the gurdwara's calendar they typically begin Friday morning at 8 AM and close with the bhog on Sunday at 9:30 AM, followed by the diwan. Sahej Path is the same complete reading done at one's own pace — there is a daily Sahej Path hour at the gurdwara at 5 PM.
Details on their site ↗Sukhmani Sahib Path
Sundays 8:30–10:30 AM · Fridays 5:15–6:30 PM · at homes by request
Sukhmani — "consoler of the mind", the Psalm of Peace — is Guru Arjan's composition that many include in their daily prayers. The sangat reads it together on Sunday mornings and Friday evenings, and families also hold it at home — for a new house or a family occasion; several such are on the gurdwara's calendar each year.
Details on their site ↗Anand Karaj (Sikh wedding)
Couples where both profess the Sikh faithUsually a morning · booked through the gurdwara
Anand Karaj, "blissful union", is the Sikh marriage ceremony — joyous, family-oriented and informal in atmosphere. It is performed in the presence of the Guru Granth Sahib in a gurdwara or a home where the Guru is respectfully installed, never in a hotel or banquet hall, and usually in the morning, taking no more than a few hours. The Rehat Maryada forbids any dowry and asks that no thought be given to caste, race or lineage. Weddings on the gurdwara's calendar fall on Fridays and Saturdays.
Details on their site ↗Antim Ardas
Bereaved familiesThe final prayer service for a family's departed. In Sikhi death is a natural certainty under God's hukam, and the soul's journey continues; the community gathers to say collective prayers. Contact the gurdwara to arrange it.
Details on their site ↗Kar Sewa
Everyone — bring the kidsWork days on the calendar · next: Sat Sep 12, 2026, 8 AM–12 PM
Hands-on sewa at the gurdwara: preparing sweets and tarka in the kitchen, cleaning the diwan hall, spreading mulch outside. Kar sewa days are posted on the calendar a few times a year.
Details on their site ↗
Weekly rhythm
- 8:30–10:30 AMSukhmani Sahib Path (first four Sundays of the month)
- 11:00 AM–1:30 PMSunday Diwan — katha and kirtan, then langar
- 5:00–6:00 PMSehaj Path
- 6:30–8:00 AMParkash and morning kirtan
- 5:00–6:00 PMSehaj Path
- 6:00–7:00 PMSanthia class
- 6:00–7:30 PMRehras and kirtan
- 7:00–8:00 AMMorning kirtan
- 5:00–6:00 PMSehaj Path
- 6:00–7:30 PMRehras and kirtan
- 7:00–8:00 AMMorning kirtan
- 4:00–5:00 PMKirtan class
- 5:00–6:00 PMSehaj Path
- 6:00–7:00 PMSanthia class
- 6:00–7:30 PMRehras and kirtan
- 7:00–8:00 AMMorning kirtan
- 4:00–5:00 PMKirtan class
- 5:00–6:00 PMSehaj Path
- 6:00–7:30 PMRehras and kirtan
- 7:00–8:00 AMMorning kirtan
- 5:15–6:30 PMSukhmani Sahib
- 6:00–7:30 PMRehras and kirtan
- 7:00–8:00 AMMorning kirtan
About Midwest Sikh Association Gurudwara
One of the metro's oldest Indian institutions — the Midwest Sikh Association's gurudwara in Lenexa traces its sangat to the 1960s. Weekly diwan, langar, and a congregation that has quietly anchored Sikh life in Kansas for two generations.
The Sikh community in Kansas City dates from the 1960s. It began with just five families who met every Sunday in each other's homes, and it kept meeting in private homes until 1978, when the growing sangat started renting building space on Sundays. In 1989 the Kansas City Sikhs completed their own gurdwara on Pflumm Road in Shawnee — a modest brick hall that served for more than three decades and, by the time the association had grown to around 150 families, had simply run out of room. In April 2022 the new gurdwara on twelve acres in Lenexa was completed and the sangat happily carried the Guru Granth Sahibs to their new home.
A gurdwara — the door to the Guru — is a Sikh place of worship, commonly called a Sikh temple in the West. The Guru Granth Sahib is placed on a high palanquin under a canopy at one end of the hall; the scriptures are sung and recited, and teachings explained. It is open to everyone regardless of age, sex, caste or creed, and here all men, women and children are treated as equal. It offers food and shelter to anyone in need, teaches children the faith and its history, and is the place where the community gathers for births, weddings, farewells and festivals. There is no clergy in Sikhi; a granthi leads, and any member of the sangat, man or woman, may perform the same ceremonies.
Walk in on a Sunday and you will hear kirtan by 11, sit on the carpet with the sangat, and be handed a plate at langar — the free vegetarian kitchen Guru Nanak started five centuries ago so that everyone eats together as equals. On weekdays the hall is quieter but never closed: kirtan at dawn, Sehaj Path in the late afternoon, Rehras at dusk, and classes where children learn to read Gurbani and sing.
From five families to twelve acres
Two generations of Kansas City Sikhs built this. The dates, from the gurdwara's own history:
- 1960sFive Sikh families begin meeting every Sunday in members' homes
- 1978The sangat starts renting building space on Sundays to fit its growth
- 1989Kansas City Sikhs complete their own gurdwara at 6834 Pflumm Rd, Shawnee
- By late 2018The New Gurudwara Building project is public on kcmsa.org — 12 acres in Lenexa, a two-storey 24,000 sq ft plan, about $6.8 million
- April 2022The Lenexa gurdwara is completed; the Guru Granth Sahibs move to 10050 Marion St
The Lenexa gurdwara
The old Shawnee gurdwara was built for 10 to 15 families; with the association grown to roughly 150 families, the need for expansion or a new site was felt, and the sangat chose a new site in Lenexa. The campus is twelve acres between Marion Street and 101st Street, with a two-storey building — about 13,000 square feet on the lower floor and 11,000 on the second — planned at around $6.8 million and funded by the sangat's contributions. The plan provided 130 parking spaces, with plenty of room on the site to add more. The building fund is still open: the Donations page takes one-time or recurring gifts.
Core Sikh beliefs
In the gurdwara's own words, from its home page:
- Sikhism recognizes a single Creator who sustains all people of all faiths.
- Everyone has equal status before God. All positions of authority in Sikh religious and political life are open to both men and women.
- Sikhism considers no place, day or time more auspicious than another. Only the time and place where God is remembered is sacred.
- Sikhism does not have a clergy. With God's grace, all human beings are capable of realizing God.
- Everyone has the sacred duty to contribute to the welfare of humanity; all Sikhs must donate ten percent of their income and time to a humanitarian cause.
- Sikhism denounces polytheism, idolatry, superstitions and blind rituals, and emphasizes living in the present.
- Sikhism encourages literacy, individual growth, hard work, family life and honest living, and seeks a world where all human beings live as equals without coercion.
Gurdwara etiquette
The gurdwara is a place of worship, so the sangat asks every visitor to observe a few things:
- Meat and intoxicants — alcohol, cigarettes, drugs — are not permitted anywhere on the premises.
- Heads stay covered at all times; head coverings are available in the entrance foyer.
- Shoes come off before entering the diwan hall or the langar hall, and go in the designated areas.
- Dress modestly.
- Everyone who enters the diwan hall bows before the Guru Granth Sahib and touches their forehead to the floor — visitors don't have to, and may simply sit down with the congregation.
- Women sit on one side of the Guru Granth Sahib and men on the other; in langar, everyone sits on the floor together.
Flyers & photos
Tap one to open it full size — handy for forwarding.
Questions people ask
I've never been to a gurdwara. When should I come?
Sunday. Sukhmani Sahib path starts at 8:30 AM and the main diwan — kirtan and katha — runs 11:00 AM to 1:30 PM, followed by langar. The gurdwara is at 10050 Marion St, Lenexa, KS 66220. You are welcome whether or not you are Sikh; the sangat's own welcome says it: all are welcome regardless of religious or cultural background.
What do I do at the door?
Cover your head — coverings are available in the entrance foyer if you don't have a scarf or rumal — and take your shoes off before entering the diwan hall or the langar hall (there are designated areas for them). Dress modestly. Meat, alcohol, cigarettes and drugs are not permitted anywhere on the premises. Inside, people bow and touch their forehead to the floor before the Guru Granth Sahib; visitors don't have to, and can simply sit down with the congregation — women on one side, men on the other.
What is langar, and is it really free?
Yes. Langar is the free kitchen every gurdwara keeps, begun by Guru Nanak so that everyone — regardless of religion, caste, colour, age, gender or status — eats the same food, sitting together on the floor. It is vegetarian, cooked and served by volunteers (children included), and paid for by the sangat's donations. Everyone is fed; but it is a shared spiritual practice, not a buffet — treat it that way and you will be treated as family.
Can our family sponsor a langar, or book an Akhand Path or Sukhmani Sahib?
Yes — that is how most of the gurdwara's calendar fills up. Families sponsor the Sunday langar as their sewa; Akhand Paths typically begin Friday at 8 AM and close with the bhog on Sunday at 9:30 AM before the diwan; Sukhmani Sahib path can be arranged at the gurdwara or at your home. Call 913-238-7640 or email Lenexagurudwara@gmail.com to book a date.
Can we have our wedding here?
Anand Karaj is performed at the gurdwara in the presence of the Guru Granth Sahib — it cannot be held in a hotel or banquet hall. The Rehat Maryada requires that both bride and groom profess the Sikh faith, forbids any dowry, and gives no weight to caste or lineage; ceremonies are usually in the morning and take no more than a few hours. Weddings on the calendar fall on Fridays and Saturdays — contact the gurdwara to book.
Is there anything for children?
Yes: the Inspirational Youth Class (Gurmat through stories, games, quizzes and sweets), weekday kirtan classes (Wednesday and Thursday, 4–5 PM) and santhia — learning to read Gurbani — on Monday and Wednesday evenings, 6–7 PM. The youth lead kirtan at the diwan on the last Sunday of every month, and summer brings a Gurmat Camp weekend at the end of May and the week-long Sikh Youth Camp in July, ending with the Worlds of Fun trip.
What are the big days of the year?
Vaisakhi in April — Amrit Sanchaar at dawn, Akhand Path, a Nagar Kirtan and the raising of a new Nishan Sahib; the Shaheedi Divas of Guru Arjan Dev Ji in June; Gurgaddi Divas of Guru Granth Sahib Ji in October (Khaas Diwan on Oct 20, 2026); Bandi Chhor Divas on Diwali night (Nov 8, 2026, 6:30 PM); the Parkash Divas of Guru Nanak Dev Ji (Khaas Diwan Nov 24, 2026, Akhand Path Nov 27–29); an Akhand Path in memory of the martyrs at Christmas week; a New Year's Eve diwan from 6 PM to midnight; and the Parkash Divas of Guru Gobind Singh Ji in early January. Khaas Diwans are evening congregations with kirtan, katha and langar.
How can I help?
Come to a Kar Sewa day (the next is Saturday, September 12, 2026, 8 AM to noon — kitchen, diwan hall and grounds), help cook and serve langar on a Sunday, sponsor a langar, or give to the building fund through the Donations page, one-time or recurring. Sikhs are asked to give a tenth of their income and time to a humanitarian cause; the gurdwara's welcome is open to anyone who wants to share in that.
Where do I park?
On site. The Lenexa campus was planned with 130 parking spaces on its twelve acres, with room to add more. The address is 10050 Marion St.
I have questions about Sikhi itself.
The gurdwara's FAQ page answers about forty of them plainly — why Sikhs keep their hair and wear turbans, the five Ks, the kirpan, what Sikhs believe about other religions, why men and women sit apart, why langar is eaten on the floor, Sikh weddings and funerals, and the history of Sikhs in America. It is linked from this page.