Reserved seating, exceptionally annoyed

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Cecilia_Dympna said:
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Xanthippe_Voorhees:
when I was nursing my husband
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I’m very pro breastfeeding, but even I would draw the line at this.😂😃:grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:
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Ooops. Puncuation matters. When I was nursing, COMMA my husband…

Going to edit that now
 
MeInMississippi said:
We went up to the pew, genuflected, but the man and his wife wouldn’t scoot down. I kind of stood there waiting for him to move. He impolitely said, “go around us.” He and his wife made no attempt to get up to let us go to the middle.
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It sounds like there is a good chance that they were just being difficult for no reason. However, it’s also possible that they had a good reason why they needed to sit on the end. Maybe one of them was serving as a lector at that Mass, or maybe they were bringing up the gifts, so they needed to be on the end where they could get out easily. Or maybe one of them has a medical issue where he needs to be able to get to the bathroom quickly if needed.

However, I do believe that many people sit on the end for no good reason. In my experience, it’s not uncommon to enter a Catholic church, and to find that most of the empty seats are in the middle of pews, because everyone is sitting on the ends. I do find that rather frustrating, because while some of those people may have good reason for sitting at the end of the pew, I doubt that all of them do.
 
For regular mass, I scoot down unless I’m an EM, in which case I move out of the pew so that the others can go in and sit in the middle and I usually explain that I need to get out easily at Communion.

If I’m attending a wedding and I get there early enough to get an aisle seat then I don’t scoot down, BUT i do get up and give them room to maneuver in the pew.
 
This year we are having a separate Mass for FHC - Saturday mid morning. The rules will still apply about photography.
 
I agree when we were told head of time that seats(a row or more if needed) would be reserved for our families so we didn’t have this problem. BUT I agree with Allie1 that to “reserve” seats for those coming to the service late is wrong and using hymnals as a"reserve sign" is wrong I say if they come late than tuff they get the last seats available if any or stand. But that’s just me.
 
You must be referring to someone else. I never said I approve of the practice.

We have Mass televised into the Center.
It works. And it’s legit.

We also don’t separate the Catholic school kids form the public school kids, There’s enough jealousy an elitism going on between those groups. They’re all PARISHIONERS, they receive together. Bilingually.

Pastors doe what is best for their flock.
The Archbishop himself has Mass televised form the Cathedral to the Cathedral Hall.

Anyone who disagrees is free to ring him up. :roll_eyes:
 
I do understand people needing to sit on the end, but my issue wasn’t sitting in the middle, it was the fact that they wouldn’t even get up and try to make it easier to get around them to get in the middle. I don’t want myself of my kids to get hurt or conversely hurt them trying to maneuver that very small space. I could see them not moving much in the middle of Mass, but this was a good 20 minutes before Mass started. I was willing to give, this man was not. I had seen this man and his wife many times before in church, so I know they didn’t have any physical limitations that would keep them from standing and letting people move around them.
 
I understand the mama stance and agree there should be some type of seating assignments. I’m just kinda of amused at the “faux song book reservation signs” term. I’ve used hymnals, Bibles, coats, purses, programs, and recently my missal (whatever it takes). But again, it was not in a situation where my child was receiving First Communion.
 
Imo, unless there is an official “Reserved” sign there, the pew is not reserved by anyone. A couple of spaces is one thing. An entire pew is another. Unless you are told by an usher or the priest that you have to move, you don’t have to even if someone who allegedly “reserved” the seat wants you to.

Our late priest used to come out and beckon people to move to the front two pews when there was no more seating available. My mother would get so embarrassed since she prefers the last row. Of course, for a First Holy Communion Mass, certain areas will be reserved for the children and their families. But definitely not the way you described.
 
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It’s all about manners - forgive us our trespasses are we forgive those who trespass against us.
 
I think Brittany is saying the forum is about answers and solutions, not a place to rant/vent/complain. Unfortunately, these things happen and everyone can’t sit in the front row. Hopefully her parish will now be aware and plan differently next year.
 
Oooo! Sharing this! Is this just a Catholic thing?

Unless there’s a physical or other compelling, pragmatic need, (e.g. a baby who could get loud and fussy), scoot in!
 
First off, I think people like the idea that if they need to go to the bathroom, they don’t have to crawl over anyone.

But yes, the seats on the aisle towards the back tend to fill up first. It actually may have to do with learning this from your parents when you are small, because parents do want to be able to get fussy babies to the vestibule as quickly as they can. A lot of churches even reserve the back two or three pews for parents with small children.

Really, the aisle seats sometimes fill up in ballparks and airplanes first, too. People somehow feel trapped when there is a stranger between them and the exit.
 
I agree that it’s annoying. I think you would have been justified in sliding the songbook over and sitting down anyway, but I don’t know if I would have had the chutzpah to do so myself. I saw someone do this at an open seating concert once when an early arrival tried to block off the best seats for her friends. Once one person sat down despite her having “called” those seats, others realized that her claim meant nothing and began sitting in the other seats she’d saved. Fortunately no fights ensued.
 
blackforest said:
Oooo! Sharing this! Is this just a Catholic thing?

Unless there’s a physical or other compelling, pragmatic need, (e.g. a baby who could get loud and fussy), scoot in!
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No, it’s definitely not unique to the Catholics. I saw plenty of the same as a Protestant. And it was no less annoying.

Reminds me of the resorts I’ve been to in Cyprus and in Dubai where there’s a massive sign in no less than three languages (I’m not kidding) telling people you can’t reserve a lounge chair in advance just by draping a towel across it. No kidding. It’s not even a church thing.
 
Pup7 said:
No, it’s definitely not unique to the Catholics.
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It’s not even a church thing.
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Exactly. It’s a human behavior that you see exhibited in Church as in just about any other human “social” gathering.
 
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Happened to me on Sunday, and the person in question didn’t even get up to receive Communion.
So I climbed over them twice (actually thrice now that I think about it because of the pillar on the end) and thanked the Lord for letting me choose my super flat shoes over even the smallest heel. 😁

I didn’t dwell on it, but it made me chuckle a bit at human nature.
 
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I agree I would have given them the business about their songbook markers! If I was there by myself.

But… I think she did the right thing by not pushing it when her husband decided they would sit elsewhere. That way they were united in the decision of how to handle the situation. Sometimes marital harmony is more important…
 
Sometimes there is a reason. DH has CHF. He takes heavy doses of diuretics every day. Sitting at the end of the pew is important because when he has to go, he has to GO.
 
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