Cheville Chapel

Coordinates: 40°37′00″N 93°55′42″W / 40.6168°N 93.9282°W / 40.6168; -93.9282

Cheville Chapel at Graceland University was dedicated in 1978 in honor of Roy Cheville, theologian, educator and former Presiding Patriarch of the Community of Christ. The structure was built for $325,000 and was funded by a restricted private bequest. In keeping with the desire for the chapel to be an accessible place of solitude, Graceland's president Frank Hough determined that the facility should remain unstaffed and open at all times.

The Chapel's relatively small seating capacity makes it an intimate setting for worship, theological education and the performance of sacred music. Known for its excellent acoustics, it has been used for small ensemble performances. It is used several times a week by campus groups for worship services, and as a place of individual prayer and reflection.

Architecturally, the postmodern brick structure is minimalist in its design. It is reminiscent of the exterior simplicity of the Rothko Chapel in Houston built only a few years earlier, while its twin steeple foreshadows the deconstructivism style in architecture that began a decade later. The chapel houses Aaron Sherer's "The Process of Becoming," a canvas wall hanging employing a mix of colorfully painted ribbons.