While walking through busy, downtown, you may be surprised what you find when you look up. On Washington, between Dearborn and Clark, on the top of a skyscraper you'll see the world's tallest church!

Dating back to 1831, the congregation of the First United Methodist Church of Chicago is the oldest church in Chicago. Today in Chicago, the church is mostly known for its unusual building. After World War I, the First United Methodist Church of Chicago was urged to move out to the suburbs to a less-expensive, larger site. But the church leaders were committed to the center of the city, and they stayed their ground.

They hired renowned architects Holabird & Roche to build a Gothic skyscraper - quite the contradiction. The building has 21 floors, and, topped with a traditional church spire, it reaches 568 feet into the air. (Technically because the spire built on a skyscraper it is not considered the tallest church spire, but only the world's tallest church building.)

The first floor hosts the central sanctuary, which seats 1,000. While some of the stained glass in the sanctuary portrays traditional scenes from the Bible, two windows on the west wall depict the Chicago skyline and local seminaries and institutions that support the church. The second - fourth floors contain smaller sanctuaries and other church offices, while the rest, the fifth through twenty-first floors are leased to local businesses, mostly lawyers. But at the very top of the building, in the top spire, 400 feet above the noisy city streets, the Sky Chapel sits, the worlds highest church.

The Sky Chapel holds worship three times a week, as well as prayer and taize services throughout the week. This is about as close to the heavens as folks living in the windy city can get.