The Upper Room Chapel sits at the heart of The Upper Room’s international headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee. The Chapel is open for scheduled self-guided tours on Wednesdays between 10:00 a.m. through 1:00 p.m. (Central Time). We are not able to accommodate unscheduled tours. To make a reservation, please email [email protected] or call (615) 340-7215 at least 24 hours in advance. You will receive an email to confirm your visit along with additional details. We are ADA-compliant for wheelchair users. For all questions and concerns, please email us at [email protected].
Please note: As of January 2019, The Upper Room Museum and Bookstore are permanently closed to the public. As a result, we no longer have an art collection or our seasonal Nativities and Easter exhibits. The Upper Room Chapel and Agape Garden continue to be open to visitors.
Since The Upper Room Chapel’s opening in April 1953, it has hosted millions of visitors. The chapel was built as a sacred space for prayer and worship, open to all. While we have in recent years added beautiful art and religious iconography to reflect the value we place on multicultural artistic representation and interpretation, the chapel features two primary art installations created especially for the chapel. Each depicts a holy moment that occurred in the biblical upper room: Jesus’ last supper with the disciples and the arrival of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. These two events, sitting prayerfully with Jesus and going out into the world to share God’s love, have long provided the framework for the mission and spiritual vision of The Upper Room.
Explore the archive of our weekly Chapel services on our Facebook and YouTube pages!
We held our final live stream on Wednesday, November 15, 2023. Join us in praying for divine inspiration as we work to transform this vital ministry.
Rev. Dr. Amy E. Steele, former Dean of The Upper Room Chapel, offers a brief, 15-minute video meditation on The Last Supper, using The Upper Room Chapel’s woodcarving replica of da Vinci’s masterpiece. This video was produced in celebration of The Upper Room Chapel’s 70th Anniversary.
The Last Supper Woodcarving reveals a bit of the social history of The Upper Room Chapel—a place “open to all people for the worship of God.” The artwork captures the moment when Jesus says to the disciples, “One of you will betray me.” Their immediate responses are revealed in the expressions of their faces, hands, and bodies. All the while, Jesus remains calm with his hands open to welcome all who are weary and burdened.
The focal point of The Upper Room Chapel is a large woodcarving and replica of Leonardo da Vinci's painting, The Last Supper. Commissioned for the opening of chapel in 1953, the woodcarving is 17’ wide and 8’ high with an amazing sense of depth, color, and dimension. Fifty craftspersons worked for 14 months under the direction of sculptor Ernest Pellegrini to create the work, which captures the moment when Jesus says to the disciples, “One of you will betray me.” Their immediate responses are revealed in the expressions of their faces, hands, and bodies. And, yet Jesus remains calm with his feet rested on the floor, and his hands open to welcome all who are weary and burdened.
The chancel of the chapel is patterned after the carving, as the ceiling, tapestries, and altar table are designed to reflect the setting in Pellegrini's work.
At the back of the Chapel, visible from Grand Avenue, is The World Christian Fellowship Window. Created by D’Ascenzo Studios in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, this beautiful stained-glass window commemorates the presence of the Holy Spirit in the biblical upper room (Acts 2). The window is 20’ high and 8’ wide and includes over 9,000 pieces of glass. Along with the Pentecost event and the sending out of the first disciples into the world, the window honors the work of historical Christian servants who were instrumental in spreading the gospel. These include John Wesley, Martin Luther, St. Augustine, George Washington Carver, and Florence Nightingale, among others. The World Christian Fellowship Window was dedicated on Pentecost Sunday, May 17, 1959, six years after the opening of The Upper Room Chapel.