Grand Canyon chapel welcomes all faiths

GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK — Religion may be one of the last things on the minds of the 5 million visitors here annually, but church services representing five different faiths are readily available in the Grand Canyon Village year-round — if you know where to look.

Services for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, El Cristo Rey Catholic Church, Grand Canyon Community Church, Grand Canyon Baptist Church and the Grand Canyon Assembly of God all are held at the Shrine of the Ages multipurpose building.

As one of nature's jaw-dropping wonders, the Grand Canyon may help some foster a belief in God, but the National Park Service is careful not to promote or endorse any particular religion.

"Religious services are offered in the park and surrounding community," the National Park Service's official Grand Canyon guide states. "However, the National Park Service does not endorse any group or message."

Located at parking lot "A" between park headquarters and the village cemetery, along the westbound village route in the Grand Canyon Village, the Shrine is a rock-faced building. Otherwise, it is so plain that it is not likely to be noticed by most visitors. In fact, it is probably better-known as the location for Grand Canyon music festivals than for religious services.

The idea of an interfaith chapel at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon was discussed as early as 1917 by the U.S. Forest Service. The idea resurfaced in 1936 as a suggested project for the Civilian Conservation Crops, but still nothing happened.

A Shrine of the Ages Chapel Corp. began in 1952, with the hope of having an interfaith chapel right on the edge of the South Rim, with a window behind the pulpit letting churchgoers gaze out over the immense canyon view.

According to an Internet Grand Canyon history by Mark Neumann, "On the Rim: Looking for the Grand Canyon," a special hydraulic lift in the church was planned to raise three different church altars up to sanctuary level, when needed. There were to be retractable Jewish, Catholic and Protestant altars available.

However, the Sierra Club questioned a church at the Grand Canyon. It feared the building's circular design made it look too much like a spaceship, and that the building on the rim might become a tourist attraction of its own, a distraction for the natural beauty of the Grand Canyon.

Even though the Park Service and Congress favored the shrine on the rim, it was never built.