Sky Chapel at The Chicago Temple

Surprise! «Spirit in the Sky» takes on new meaning.
Sure, I’d looked upon The Chicago Temple building’s spire at night and marveled at its beauty. Sure, I heard the bells across Daley Plaza during last Winter’s Christkindl Market and more recently a few days ago as I did my donut inhalation exercises, looking up at the Picasso. But now, I looked beyond the Picasso, too, and recalled…
Somewhere between last winter and a few weeks ago, I’d stumbled upon the fact that there’s a chapel way up there… at the base of that marvelous spire!
Not only that… there are free tours of that chapel — offered Monday — Saturday at 2pm. No advance notice necessary. No religious affiliation required. Just show up at two pm sharp on the second floor and a kind member of the Methodist Church will take you up, up, up.
My group was two others, myself and Eric, our guide. Eric was wonderful, told us many facts about the religion, how it got its start, how it entwines with Chicago’s history and how the Sky Chapel came to be — dedicated on Easter Sunday, 1952 by the family of Charles Walgreen, in his memory.
You’ll want to set aside at least an hour for the tour. There’s a regular-​sized elevator ride, a tiny-​elevator ride (we, at four, I think could hold no more. Let me out! Oh.) Thankfully, we did take the stairs back down those several flights. I always think the able-​bodied should hoof it whenever feasible anyway; I’m not the least bit claustrophobic you know.
One gentleman in our group feared heights so though he could enjoy the Sky Chapel itself, he could not bring himself to gaze out or down upon the city. Jesus can. Jesus is up here, looking down over the city of Chicago. He really is. If you look at the gorgeous carved wood altar — in an attempt to unify with the altar in the church downstairs where He is on the mountaintop looking out over Jerusalem — the altar in the Sky Chapel depicts Jesus looking out over the carved skyline of Chicago, as it was in 1952. Study it, and then walk over to the eastward-​facing window and see how it’s changed since then. Revelation!
I greatly appreciate the Methodists opening their home to everyone because I truly believe is this a wonderful «must see» if you like history, religious history, Chicago history and/​or architecture and you can appreciate using an interior space to its highest good and good on high.
Now, my Daley donuts taste even better when I look up and a-​that-​away. The church bells peal as sweet as the maple glaze. Oh, these beautiful Chicago days.