This Week in Aspen History

“Chapel nears completion,” declared The Aspen Times on April 24, 1969. “Rising at the Maroon Creek-Castle Creek junction west of Aspen, the Chapel of the Prince of Peace at Aspen stands at the near-fruition of many men’s dreams. Dedicated to ecuminity, the chapel was developed under the leadership of E.M. Yost, Overseer Emeritus of the Rocky Mountain Mennonite Conference. Bishop Yost was intrigued by what he saw on a visit to ‘The Mill of Peace’ in France, an old flour mill restructured to provide a place for meditation and spiritual renewal. He envisioned a similar chapel in the Roaring Fork Valley as an outgrowth of the Aspen Hospital ministry. Among Aspenites, Bishop Yost found others who also dreamed of erecting here ‘an architecture to evoke the ideal functioning of a concept, a concept of engaging religious faith in conversation with the world.’ The site for the building was donated by William Chambers and J.W. Vandeveer, and an addition to the site was given by the late Leonard Thomas. Additional functions of the Chapel include its use as a center for retreats, for meditations, for special worship services open to all, for musical presentations, for drama, for exhibits of art and literature, poetical readings- all effort to seek paths leading to brotherhood and peace. It is felt that the individuality and intellectual climate of Aspen make it the ideal site for a project with the goals of the Chapel’s many-faceted program. The development of the Chapel program with be insured by the involvement and participation of an interested cross-section of society, individuals, business and industry, religious and education institutions, and foundations.”