The Episcopal Church Welcomes You, but not in my pew

A couple of years ago, my sister and I spent a weekend in New York City seeing Broadway shows and a taping of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.  For Colbert, we sat in the second row, two seats in from the aisle, center stage right.  I now watch the show nearly every night to see, among other things, who is sitting in my seat.

So my eagerness to claim my same pew every Sunday shouldn't surprise anyone. Friends at St. Tim's have long teased me about my need to sit in my pew and seat--second row, two seats in from the aisle, center "stage" right.  (Or as my father would say, "gospel side.")  But when you look around, most people generally sit in the same seats each week, right?  Though, I'm probably the only one who actually frets about getting to church early enough to avoid missing out on my pew.

Pews came into use in churches after the Protestant Reformation when long sermons became central to Protestant worship.   Churchgoers wanted to hear the word of God, but sitting down.  When the Anglican Church came to America before the Revolution, churches were built with high-backed pews that often had a door to keep out drafts and undesirables (human and nonhuman.)  While churches in England were state supported, American churches needed to find other sources of income.  Selling or renting the best seats in the house became a way of raising cash for a church.   Families chose pews so they would have a good view of the service.  (Or so that others could have a good view of the family.)   Pews were often labeled with a brass plaque with the family's name, and were used by the family for several generations.  Pews could also be bought and sold at prevailing rates much like stock.  Imagine seeing the price of your pew fluctuate and guessing when to buy low and sell high.  A chart in the narthex would alert visitors to which pews were unclaimed. And woe to anyone who sat in a claimed pew.  Ushers in those days could be called upon to unwelcome a visitor.  The selling and renting of pews fell out of favor in the middle of the last century.  Because didn't Jesus say something about "...do not sit down at the place of honor...For all who exalt themselves will be humbled and and those who humble themselves will be exalted" and "Woe to you Pharisees!  For you love to have the seat of honor in the synagogues and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces"?

So don't be concerned if you see me in a different pew this Sunday.  While I don't mind being greeted with respect in the marketplaces, I'd rather not be counted among the Pharisees.  --Amy Phillips Witzke