Sitting in the back

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frenchbeatle

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I’ve always wondered why (in general) people sit towards the back at church. At every church I’ve gone too, it seems the majority of people sit in the back few pews. I prefer sitting up front, so that I can see everything going on around the altar.

Anyone have any ideas on why people tend to sit in the back?
 
frenchbeatle said:
I’ve always wondered why (in general) people sit towards the back at church. At every church I’ve gone too, it seems the majority of people sit in the back few pews. I prefer sitting up front, so that I can see everything going on around the altar.

Anyone have any ideas on why people tend to sit in the back?
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I love to sit in the back. There is really nothing to wonder about. Just people sitting where they like.
 
frenchbeatle said:
I’ve always wondered why (in general) people sit towards the back at church. At every church I’ve gone too, it seems the majority of people sit in the back few pews. I prefer sitting up front, so that I can see everything going on around the altar.

Anyone have any ideas on why people tend to sit in the back?
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Mark 12:39 might be a good place to start!
 
frenchbeatle said:
I’ve always wondered why (in general) people sit towards the back at church. At every church I’ve gone too, it seems the majority of people sit in the back few pews. I prefer sitting up front, so that I can see everything going on around the altar.

Anyone have any ideas on why people tend to sit in the back?
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It’s what Catholics do.

Myself, I normally like to sit about 2/3 of the way back but with the parish I’m at now the Mass and bus schedules offer me the choice of being 1/2 hr early or just in time – naturally I choose just in time (or two minutes late) and wind up way in back.
 
I prefer to sit in the back largely because that is where my husband and his family sit. That and I cantor, so being up front a lot and on the spot makes sitting in the back away from being seen by everyone a welcome change of pace.

I also admit that, probably due to my pentecostal background, I am a little more of a dynamic worshipper. I pray, sing, and experience the mass very emotionally and will move around a little (not alot! I don’t dance in the aisle or raise my hands! more like rocking or I’ll bow my head and my my hands on my heart) and have been known on occasion to be brought to tears by the worship or eucharist experience. I find its easier to experience those emotions if I sit in the back where people can’t see. I don’t want to be looked at if the Holy Spirit brings me to tears.

There is also the added bonus that I am the last to receive eucharist so I can sing with the hymns, and kneeling time afterwards is lessened so my bad knees don’t go south.
 
Whitacre_Girl said:
I also admit that, probably due to my pentecostal background, I am a little more of a dynamic worshipper. I pray, sing, and experience the mass very emotionally and will move around a little (not alot! I don’t dance in the aisle or raise my hands! more like rocking or I’ll bow my head and my my hands on my heart) and have been known on occasion to be brought to tears by the worship or eucharist experience.
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How cool is that! 👍 🙂
 
FightingFat said:
Mark 12:39 might be a good place to start!
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Well, that, and that in the story of the tax collector and the Pharisee, the tax collector “stood off at a distance.” So avoiding the place of honor is the reason for some.

There are also people who start out back there because they have small children who are prone to start screaming in the middle of Mass (or because they were that small child), have an active bladder, or have some other reason to foresee having to make a unobtrusive exit. Even when the problem resolves, it sometimes gets to be a habit for the family to be back there.

Some people feel a bit exposed to be in sight of everyone else. Some people want to leave the front seats for people who have trouble walking or people with well-behaved small children who want to be able to see. Some people just like the back better, just as people may have very different favorite seats in a movie theatre. There are lots of reasons.

Likewise, some people sit in front in order to leave the back open for those with small children, for the unobtrusive entry of those who were held up and come in late, and so on. Since the front is no longer a place of honor, one isn’t better than the other, assuming that the people who need to sit in a particular place are accomodated first.
 
A good priest once told me that in general, he can tell who is willing to give to the Church in the way of time and talent by where they sit in Mass. Those up front will do all they can, those in the back won’t sit foot on the grounds for anything outside of Mass.

It is soooooo loud in the back of Church, so many distractions, that I prefer to sit closer to the front. Most time it is SRO and I sit where there is a spot 😦
 
EasterJoy said:
Well, that, and that in the story of the tax collector and the Pharisee, the tax collector “stood off at a distance.” So avoiding the place of honor is the reason for some.

There are also people who start out back there because they have small children who are prone to start screaming in the middle of Mass (or because they were that small child), have an active bladder, or have some other reason to foresee having to make a unobtrusive exit. Even when the problem resolves, it sometimes gets to be a habit for the family to be back there.

Some people feel a bit exposed to be in sight of everyone else. Some people want to leave the front seats for people who have trouble walking or people with well-behaved small children who want to be able to see. Some people just like the back better, just as people may have very different favorite seats in a movie theatre. There are lots of reasons.

Likewise, some people sit in front in order to leave the back open for those with small children, for the unobtrusive entry of those who were held up and come in late, and so on. Since the front is no longer a place of honor, one isn’t better than the other, assuming that the people who need to sit in a particular place are accomodated first.
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Conversely, I find that its better to sit at the front with my children so that they can see what’s going on and take more of an active part.
 
My church is big so sitting in the back ,it’s hard to see and noisy at times, b/c the little ones sit back there.( i love seeing the kids there but kids can be noisy, i know, i have 3)
I find sitting up front is the best place to be to experience the entire Mass:)
 
Thanks for the replies, everyone. Many of the reasons given make a lot of sense, like those with small children or who come in late. Many of the people I see are in the older age group, so maybe they want to be sure they can leave quickly so they won’t get run over. 😉

As someone who converted, I’m so glad that my parents always sat towards the front. I may not have understood what was going on, but at least I could see it! 😃
 
I’ve found just the opposite–it seems emptier in the back at my church. I walk with a crutch/cane and appreciate the extra room.

It’s not really a matter of having a shorter distance to walk, because I do force myself to go cane-less to receive the Eucharist, so I’m walking all the way up front and back anyway.

Miz
 
Then there’s the time when Jesus taught people to take the lowest seat at a dinner, so that if a more important guest came along, they wouldn’t be asked to move down to make room. Instead, the host might say, “Friend, come up higher.”

Betsy
 
I sit all the way in the back of the church. I have social anxiety and going to church is hard enough. Sitting in the back with no one next to me or to one side (the seat I like is against a wall and next to it there is a staircase leading to a small balcony which is normally locked unless it gets really full) of me really helps me to relax. Plus, I like to take in the whole church experience. I’ve found myself in awe of the beauty of watching a church full of people praying and praising God. 🙂
 
Groundskeeper said:
I sit all the way in the back of the church. I have social anxiety and going to church is hard enough. Sitting in the back with no one next to me or to one side (the seat I like is against a wall and next to it there is a staircase leading to a small balcony which is normally locked unless it gets really full) of me really helps me to relax. Plus, I like to take in the whole church experience. I’ve found myself in awe of the beauty of watching a church full of people praying and praising God. 🙂
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👍 This is awesome.
 
I like to sit in the last row at the back because I can’t kneel because of a knee injury and otherwise, I’ll be bumping up against someone kneeling behind me. Also, the way the church is constructed, there’s more windows near the back so it’s just more comfortable with fresh air.

I like to watch where people sit, too. There are a lot of people that week to week sit in their ‘usual spot’ and when it’s taken by someone else, it’s amusing to see their consternation.
 
FightingFat said:
Conversely, I find that its better to sit at the front with my children so that they can see what’s going on and take more of an active part.
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We used to sit in the very front, because the kids liked to see and behaved well enough to not be a distraction. Now that they’re older, we try to sit a bit farther back, so the littler ones like yours can have the closer seats.
 
baltobetsy said:
Then there’s the time when Jesus taught people to take the lowest seat at a dinner, so that if a more important guest came along, they wouldn’t be asked to move down to make room. Instead, the host might say, “Friend, come up higher.”

Betsy
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Yeah, well, in most parishes, there is no fighting going on for those first four or five rows! It’s as if the front rows were the “spit seats” at a big theatre with live actors. 😃

(Maybe I’ve just been lucky, and haven’t been in a parish with a priest who “projects” from the ambo. :rolleyes: ;))
 
As a newcomer, I started sitting in the back so I could learn by observing others; now, a year later, it’s just become home. My broad shoulders don’t block the view of anyone behind me and I have room for all the stuff I always seem to have with me.
 
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