The fastest way to find A Course in Miracles study group near you is to check the Pathways of Light group list and search Meetup for your city, then call the Unity church or metaphysical bookstore closest to you. Those three cover almost everything that exists. I want to be honest with you before you start looking, though: most ACIM groups today meet by phone or video, not in a living room down the street. That surprised me too. It also turned out to be good news.
Key Takeaways
- Pathways of Light keeps a public list of ACIM groups and will help match you with one if nothing on the list fits.
- Meetup is where most in-person groups list themselves. Search your city, not the whole country.
- Unity churches, Centers for Spiritual Living and independent metaphysical bookstores host groups that never make it onto any directory.
- Most groups now meet by phone or video, which means “near me” is less of a limit than it used to be.
- If nothing exists where you live, two people and a copy of the book is a study group. I have seen it start smaller than that.
Where to Actually Look for an ACIM Study Group Near You
I get this question more than almost any other, and I understand why. Studying A Course in Miracles alone can feel like learning a language nobody around you speaks. You read a paragraph about the ego, something cracks open in you, and then you look up and there is nobody in the room to say “yes, me too.”
So here is where to look, in the order I would look.
1. The Pathways of Light Group List
Pathways of Light publishes a list of active ACIM groups, most of them by phone. Each listing has a contact link for the group host, and if nothing on the list suits you, the site has a “Let us help” option where the office will try to match you with something. I trained with Pathways of Light myself, so I can tell you the people behind that list are real and they answer.
The groups skew toward teleconference rather than in-person. Do not let that put you off before you try one. The first phone group I sat in on, I had my coffee, no shoes, and I cried through half of it with the mute button on. You cannot do that in a church basement.
2. Meetup, Searched by City
Meetup is where in-person ACIM groups tend to list themselves, and the search only works if you narrow it. Search “a course in miracles” with your city set, then widen the radius to fifty miles before you give up. A lot of groups are listed under names that never say ACIM, things like “Miracle Minds” or “Tuesday Forgiveness Circle,” so scan the descriptions rather than the titles.
One warning from experience. Meetup listings go stale. A group that last posted in 2019 is probably not meeting. Message the organizer before you drive anywhere.
3. Unity Churches, Centers for Spiritual Living, and Metaphysical Bookstores
This is the category the directories miss completely. Plenty of ACIM groups meet in a back room somewhere and have never listed themselves online because the eight people who come already know about it. Call the Unity church nearest you and ask. Call the independent bookstore that sells crystals and tarot decks and ask what meets there on weeknights. Ask the person at the desk, not the website.
This is how I found my first group. Somebody at a bookstore counter wrote a time and a street name on the back of a receipt.
4. Ask the Community You Are Already In
If you are in an online ACIM group, a book club, or a membership community, ask there. Our Happy Miracle Membership members find each other this way constantly, and half the time they discover somebody studying the same lesson twenty minutes from their house.
Why “Near Me” Matters Less Than It Used To
I want to gently challenge the search you typed in.
When I started, “near me” meant everything, because a group meant driving somewhere. Now the majority of active groups meet by phone or video. Pathways of Light describes the phone format plainly: you dial a number, you enter an access code, you can mute yourself whenever you want, and you can join from anywhere in the world.
What that changes is the size of your pool. If you are willing to meet by phone or video, you are not choosing from the three groups within driving distance of your town. You are choosing from every group, and you can pick one based on whether the people in it actually help you, rather than on whether it is Tuesday and the drive is short.
| What you get | In-person group | Phone or video group |
|---|---|---|
| How many groups you can choose from | Whatever is within driving distance | Every listed group, anywhere |
| Typical way to find it | Meetup, Unity church, local bookstore | Pathways of Light group list |
| Effort to attend | Travel time and fuel | Dial in from home |
| Someone notices if you disappear | Usually yes | Depends on the group size |
| Can you listen without speaking | Harder, you are in the room | Easy, you can stay muted |
| Best for | People who need the in-person connection | People who need consistency and range |
There is a real trade. In-person groups give you hugs, eye contact, and somebody noticing when you have not shown up in three weeks. Video groups give you range and consistency. I would rather you be in a phone group you love than an in-person group you tolerate.
What Actually Happens in a Study Group
Nobody tells you this part, so I will.
Most groups follow one of three shapes. Some work through the Text a section at a time. Some follow the Workbook lesson by lesson, one lesson per meeting or one week’s worth per meeting. Some are open sharing, where people bring whatever is happening in their life and the group looks at it through the lens of forgiveness.
A typical meeting runs an hour to ninety minutes. Someone usually reads a passage aloud. Then people share. Nobody is going to call on you. In my experience the people who say the least in their first month end up being the ones who change the most, so do not measure yourself by how much you talk.
What a group is not is a class with a teacher who has the answers. Forgiveness in this Course is not something a facilitator can do on your behalf. The group holds the space. You do the practice.
How to Tell a Good Group From One That Will Not Serve You
Visit before you commit, and pay attention to a few things.
Does one person do most of the talking? A facilitator who lectures for fifty minutes has made the group about themselves. Does anybody correct people’s interpretations? The Course is not a doctrine you can get wrong in front of the class. Is the language still the Course’s language, or has it drifted into something else entirely?
And the simplest test. Do you feel more peaceful walking out than you did walking in? Not happier necessarily, because sometimes a good meeting stirs things up. But more peaceful underneath. That is the one I trust.
If a group is not right, leave without a story about it. You are allowed.
If There Is Nothing Near You, Start One
This sounds bigger than it is. A study group is two people, a copy of the book, and a recurring time.
Pick a format first, because “we will see where it goes” tends to go nowhere. One lesson a week from the Workbook is the easiest place to begin, since the structure is already written for you. Then pick a time and protect it. Then find your one other person. Post in a local spiritual group, tell the bookstore, mention it to the friend who keeps asking what you have been reading.
Two people meeting every Tuesday for a year will take you further than a group of thirty that meets when everyone remembers. If you are not sure where to start with the material itself, the Workbook and my notes on which books to begin with will give you something to hand your first member.
Pathways of Light also trains facilitators, so if leading a group is something you keep feeling pulled toward, that is a real path and not a presumptuous one.
A Note on Timing
If you are looking for a group because you are going through something hard right now, I want to say one thing clearly. A study group is spiritual companionship, not counseling or medical care. It is wonderful at what it does. It is not a substitute for a therapist or a doctor, and the best groups I know will tell you the same thing without making you feel small for needing both.
FAQ
How do I find A Course in Miracles study group near me?
Check the Pathways of Light ACIM group list, search Meetup using your city with a fifty mile radius, and call the Unity church, Center for Spiritual Living or metaphysical bookstore closest to you. The third one finds groups the directories never list.
Are most ACIM study groups in person or online?
Most active groups today meet by phone or video. Pathways of Light lists primarily teleconference groups, where you dial a number, enter an access code, and can mute yourself at any time. In-person groups still exist and tend to list on Meetup or through local churches and bookstores.
Do ACIM study groups cost money?
Most are free or ask for a small voluntary contribution to cover the room or the call. If a group charges a real fee, ask what the money covers before you join. Plenty of excellent groups charge nothing at all.
What happens at a Course in Miracles study group meeting?
A meeting usually runs an hour to ninety minutes. Someone reads a passage from the Text or the day’s Workbook lesson aloud, then people share how the material is showing up in their life. Nobody will call on you, and listening quietly for your first few meetings is completely normal.
Can I join a study group if I am new to A Course in Miracles?
Yes, and I would encourage it. You do not need to have finished the Text or understand the vocabulary first. Groups that follow the Workbook lesson by lesson are the gentlest entry point, because the structure carries you and you only need one lesson at a time.
What if there is no ACIM group near me at all?
Join a phone or video group, which removes distance from the equation entirely, or start your own. A study group is two people, a copy of the book and a recurring weekly time. Choosing one Workbook lesson a week gives you a format without having to invent one.
How do I know if a study group is a good fit?
Visit once before committing. Watch whether one person dominates the talking, whether anyone corrects other people’s interpretations, and whether the group still speaks the Course’s own language. Then ask yourself if you feel more peaceful leaving than you did arriving.
