ATLANTA — Ordained a United Methodist minister, the Rev. Chester Cook has now become a jack of all faiths.

On a recent day, Cook welcomed a Christian Army chaplain, a Muslim family and a Buddhist ticket agent to his interfaith chapel at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Across the country, chapels in bustling airports are making changes: removing denomination-specific decor and adding accommodations geared to the increasingly diverse travelers flying with faith.

In Atlanta, it means a simple stained-glass window marking the entrance to the chapel. Inside there's room for 30, and a library with everything from Gideon Bibles to Jewish mystical texts. A large floor mat is a cushiony spot to kneel for prayer; it's not set aside for any specific faith.

"There are Buddhists in their orange robes, there are some Hindus ... I helped a Wiccan one time," said Cook. About 1,500 people a week visit the chapel, a fraction of the 250,000 people a day who pass through the world's busiest airport.

On a recent day, baggage checker William Lowe stood and raised his hands for his multiple daily prayers as a Muslim.

Moments later, Army chaplain Al Spitler ducked into the chapel to thumb through a Bible and pray for guidance as he prepared to return to Iraq duties.

The Rev. John A. Jamnicky, a former chaplain at Chicago's O'Hare airport, said airport chapels date back to the 1940s when the explosion of commercial aviation combined with a surplus of military chaplains home from World War II. Airport chapels became largely Catholic in northern cities like Chicago, and Protestant in southern cities like Atlanta, Jamnicky said.

Now the airport chapel in Atlanta is one-size-fits-all. A silhouette of a person kneeling is the only prominent icon in the chapel. Spare rosaries, yarmulkes, prayer shawls and a Catholic Mass kit are available.

A large compass on the chapel floor was created with multiple faiths in mind. Jews and Muslims, for example, face east for prayer.

A Muslim family recently slipped off their sneakers for prayer before their flight back to Los Angeles. They were pleased to have an alternative to praying in a corner of the crowded terminal among onlookers.

"Sometimes they don't know what you're doing," said Maher Subeh, adding that since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks the ritual draws uncomfortable attention.

As they trundled out, a ticket agent who frequents the chapel to meditate slipped in.