Preferred Seating in a Church?

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we had pads on our old pews which were found to be indescribably filthy when removed for the installation of new pews. padded kneelers, definitely.

DH love DD’s parish because there are individual padded armchairs (padded kneelers were installed when they got a new pastor, thank goodness).
 
I have no particular preference.

My parish had individual unpadded chairs (joined together by means of missal holders. Some of the chairs had padded kneelers in back of them. (Front row gets no kneelers.)

We later added pads to the chairs outside of the choir, not for the sake of comfort, but because we had a problem with sound reverberation causing every third word the priest spoke to be inaudible and the padding helped.
 
puzzleannie said:
we had pads on our old pews which were found to be indescribably filthy when removed for the installation of new pews. padded kneelers, definitely.

DH love DD’s parish because there are individual padded armchairs (padded kneelers were installed when they got a new pastor, thank goodness).
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Armchairs? Good heavens, are they going to Mass in a theater?🤷
 
benedictgal said:
Armchairs? Good heavens, are they going to Mass in a theater?🤷
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I think seating like one enjoys in a theater is very appropriate as long as they have kneelers. I don’t miss padding or arms, but I might if I was older.

I also much prefer a gentle slope-up in the floor from the front to the back to aid viewing.
 
I go to an unremodeled church built in the early 1920s. We have wooden pews that have probably been there as long as the church. The kneelers are padded, but they are still intact and (name removed by moderator)lace.

As a side note and this may be one of my idiosyncracies but I prefer churches not to be carpeted. My parish has tiled and hard wood floors.

ChadS
 
I don’t like carpeting either. It’s unhealthy. (Mold spores, dust mites, etc.)
 
I prefer pews to any kind of individual chair because often, I’m sad to say, those individual chairs do not have enough room and my shoulders get cramped, or my butt doesn’t fit. Also, I think it’s hard to get out of an individual chair.
 
I’d prefer no pews or chairs, but that we sit cross legged on pillows, on the floor. 😃

Jim
 
JimR-OCDS said:
I’d prefer no pews or chairs, but that we sit cross legged on pillows, on the floor.
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Sad to say, we actually did that at our University’s Newman Center in 1970. Everybody sat on the floor cross legged (no pillows), while the priest walked around playing his guitar and singing during the Mass. We sang Simon and Garfunkel’s “I Am a Rock” for the Communion Song, and other pop songs at other times. The Eucharist was in the form of loaves of whole grain bread that everybody passed around and broke chunks off of, and after everybody drank the Precious Blood out of Dixie cups, we threw them into trash bags that were passed around.

Thankfully, the entire “Mass” was probably invalid, so our Lord wasn’t profaned in the Blessed Sacrament. I’m sure He wasn’t too pleased with the “Liturgy” though…🤷

Ooops…sorry to get off topic.
 
…i missed those churches where the kneelers were close to the seat that you basically ‘sat’ while kneeling 😃

but honestly, I dont really care. just as long the back of the seat isnt bad for your back. I had a few backaches due to bad seats 😦 .
 
I’ll take unpadded pews with padded kneelers, as long as the kneelers are padded with something easily washable such as a heavy-gauge vinyl. The pews should be placed far enough apart that we tall people can kneel properly. Our legs go under the pew as we kneel, and then BANG, the kneeler behind us gets knocked down by our feet if the distance is too short. I vote for bare floors, too – carpeting eats up sound and is too hard to keep clean.
 
Our new parish just had the pews and kneelers padded and it’s much better for my back and knees. But would not complain if there were no padding-wold offer it up.
 
Not any option in the poll, but unpadded pews with no kneelers. Getting on your knees to worship makes it feel more authentic, if you understand my tone.
 
I think this is a fascinating subject. There was a memorial at my parish for everyone who had passed while under local hospice care over the past year. Some of my Protestant and Jewish friends sat with me and said (in a joking way) “what’s with these unpadded pews – is this an example of Catholic mortification?” Maybe they weren’t too far from the truth?

Then it hit me. I have been in very few Catholic parishes that have padded pews and even fewer with padded chairs (although the parish across town stays in business just because of that – they have very well padded chairs with no kneelers and many people – particularly seniors appreciate that, but that’s another thread) I wonder why that is? Just a custom or is it a matter of mortification to some degree?

I reflected on some of the churches I admire, or at least find interesting. Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral in Los Angeles has gorgeous cherry wood pews with kneelers (made in Tiajuana Mexico) – but no padding. They also have a very innovative feature where some of the pews can be “flipped-up” to accommodate the handicapped which I appreciate. I also appreciate the sloping floor.

A bit further south the Protestant Crystal “Cathedral” has theater-style seating – individual padded chairs with no kneelers.

Most Catholic churches seem to have unpadded pews and padded kneelers however…
 
I voted for padded everything because my body is getting stiffer and creakier all the time.😊
 
I vote for unpadded pews and padded kneelers. When pews have padding on them, it destroys the acoustics of the church just like carpet does. Also, like carpet, the padding will eventually worn and dirty and will cost more money to replace. I personally find unpadded pews more comfortable, but I wish that American churches would install pews like those in Germany that have a flat top to rest your missal on. Pews should be spaced far enough apart so that us taller people don’t kick the kneelers behind us, and the kneeler in front of us should be far enough from the back of the next pew that those of us who aren’t gifted with a flat stomach can comfortably kneel upright.
 
**Being ‘older’ now, I find the wooden pews to be quite hard to sit on as they bother my back. And although our kneelers are padded, I find that the stand, sit, stand sit, kneel, stand, kneel, sit, stand to really be too much for me. Up/down, up/down, down/up LOL **
 
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