The Noise Factor and Your Parish

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Another non-scientific poll. I’m just curious how members on these boards feel about the noise level in their Church, from a conversational/social aspect.

How do you feel about the ability to pray in silence in your parish?

If you attend multiple parishes, choose one and explain your choice. Also, describe the parish you are polling on so we understand it. Tell us about the liturgical experience.

Have you ever left a parish, with the noise factor being one of your “top 3 reasons”. Was it ever the number one reason you changed parishes?

NOTE: I did not want to include noise during Mass as that could bring in too many other issues. I think before/after is a pretty good indicator for my purposes.

Very quiet before, after and between Masses is defined as no audible voices. If 300 people are awaiting Mass and if no babies were crying, you would think you were all alone with God .

Somewhat noisy is defined as periodic noisiness, such as when there are lots of visitors, or maybe only at certain Masses, or it happens, but not every single time.

Very noisy is defined as regular noisiness, much like you are in a social hall or at the mall.
 
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Lux_et_veritas:
Another non-scientific poll. I’m just curious how members on these boards feel about the noise level in their Church, for a conversational/social aspect.

How do you feel about the ability to pray in silence in your parish?
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Much of the time, my parish is so silent, barring an occasional crying baby, that I feel I am alone with God whenI close my eyes. People converse and socialize alot outside of the Mass and outside of the Church, but rarely do I witness or hear a conversation taking place in the Church. Most will head to an exit or the vestibule if they must converse. Of course, there is always an occasional talker, but this is rare. We also get visitors for various events and most of them respect the silence. Then again, there are signs posted asking people to ovbserve silence in the Church out of respect for the Blessed Sacrament.

Sometimes, there is a little exit noise as kneelers slam and the like, and until the ushers close the back vestibule doors, which happens about 5 minutes after Mass, then you could hear a pin drop.

To truly greet and socialize with each other during the winter, parishioners must head across a parking lot to a school building where there is grilled food and donuts each Sunday. The back vestibule is small and the side ones next to the sacristy entrances are even smaller. In the summer, people hang out all over the place socializing since we have an outdoor cemetary and grotto. People will often eat BBQ’d burgers, sausages and hot dogs out on the school patio where they are grilled. Table are set up for socializing.
If you attend multiple parishes, choose one and explain your choice. Also, describe the parish you are polling on so we understand it. Tell us about the liturgical experience.

Have you ever left a parish, with the noise factor being one of your “top 3 reasons”. Was it ever the number one reason you changed parishes?
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I have never left a parish, but now that I’ve had a taste of holy silence, I find myself very agitated when I visit my old parish or other parishes where silence in the Church is not observed. Especially if it turns into a full blown social.
 
Diane
your response makes me hungry, what to eat?

By the definitions given my parish should be somewhat quiet, especially for 700+ there is remarkably little noise. The entrance area is where all the priests and deacons greet people every sunday, but this also doubles as the crying area and baptismal font is there, this area is enclosed by glass but some noise can filter in.
 
You could hear a pin drop in my parish. Most people are praying the Rosary or another devotion silently prior to mass.
 
My parish is very noisy before and after Mass. It’s been that way since the beginning. Anyone who wishes to quietly pray before or after Mass usually goes to the Blessed Sacrament chapel where people are very reverent.

(Our parish split off from the other parish in town back in 1988. Since then it has pretty much been the case that our parish attracts the chatty, community oriented types while the older parish attracts the somewhat more traditional types. The older parish has the tabernacle in the main body of the church.)

Once Mass starts (and all the latecomers have filed in) the people are usually very attentive. However once the final hymn is finished they go back to chatting and visiting.

We have one of those churches in the round (octagonal, actually). It has kind of an inner circle, an aisle and then an outer ring, three parts of which are stair-stepped up kind of like bleachers for choir usage. The choir only uses one so the other two are available for parishioners.

There can be a noticable difference between the behavior of the people who are in the inner circle and outer ring. Those in the inner circle tend to be more reverent, quiet, and attentive than those in the outer part. But somehow, whether by conditioning or because of the design of the church, those in the inner part tend not to be distracted by what is happening in the outer part.
 
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SMHW:
My parish is very noisy before and after Mass. It’s been that way since the beginning. Anyone who wishes to quietly pray before or after Mass usually goes to the Blessed Sacrament chapel where people are very reverent.

(Our parish split off from the other parish in town back in 1988. Since then it has pretty much been the case that our parish attracts the chatty, community oriented types while the older parish attracts the somewhat more traditional types. The older parish has the tabernacle in the main body of the church.)

Once Mass starts (and all the latecomers have filed in) the people are usually very attentive. However once the final hymn is finished they go back to chatting and visiting.

We have one of those churches in the round (octagonal, actually). It has kind of an inner circle, an aisle and then an outer ring, three parts of which are stair-stepped up kind of like bleachers for choir usage. The choir only uses one so the other two are available for parishioners.

There can be a noticable difference between the behavior of the people who are in the inner circle and outer ring. Those in the inner circle tend to be more reverent, quiet, and attentive than those in the outer part. But somehow, whether by conditioning or because of the design of the church, those in the inner part tend not to be distracted by what is happening in the outer part.
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Hmmmm - the fact that you go to a side chapel or adoration chapel where the Blessed Sacrament is at, made me wonder if parishes that did this wanted more focus on “community” than on God at Holy Mass. I hadn’t really pondered why this practice began before now. I just knew some parishes had this and I know I don’t like not have the Blessed Sacrament in the Sanctuary.

I would imagine such parishes probably are noisy because if the Blessed Sacrament is not present, then certainly people would feel free to converse. But, how sad folks must head to a chapel for silence before the Blessed Sacrament.

ALL: Please clarify if the Blessed Sacrament is in the sanctuary or off in another chapel of some kind. This will clarify some responses.
 
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Lux_et_veritas:
ALL: Please clarify if the Blessed Sacrament is in the sanctuary or off in another chapel of some kind. This will clarify some responses.
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The Blessed Sacrament is in the Santuary right behind the altar, it is nice not to have to search for the sanctuary lamp.
 
Our parish seems pretty noisy. The choir practices up front to the right of the altar up until the processional, even while a few people are kneeling and trying to pray. It’s very uncomfortable. Most people are milling around and having conversations loudly, and greeting each other, like it’s coffee hour. Last Sunday we even had a cell phone go off loudly. I was stunned. And the tabernacle is right behind the altar-so all this is happening right infront of Jesus; it’s like he’s being ignored by most, (though not all). Last Sunday 2 men even had a loud lets-catch-up conversation just off to the side of the altar. One of them had to run down to his seat as the processional came in.

Yup, it’s noisy. And sad. Sorry to babble on about it, but it bothers me. I’m just stating observations, and trying not to be judgemental.

Andrea
 
The noise level at our parish has decreased a little over the last few months. The pastor has been trying to encourage more reverence, thank goodness (less talking, less applause, etc.). There are still parishioners who are either unaware of the pastor’s desire or they are just defiant and continue to talk and clap in Mass.

The other day after Mass someone made a remark about people clapping in Mass and another person responded by saying that"the people are just so full of Clap".
 
The Tabernacle is behind the Altar??? Wow. 👍 I miss that. Our parish is loud, too, with people standing up, waving, and shouting to friends, sometimes, to sit “over here.” (before mass) I miss the “sacred silence” time before mass.

If the president or someone else of worldly importance was present, there would be more respect, yet not when God Himself is in the room! It makes me sad. I, too, try not to judge. I bet many folks just don’t understand. 😦
 
When I take my daughter to sing, I am there almost an hour before, it is never quiet. From the moment the choir starts to practice till everyone files in. Chatting, catchup from the week before. Chatting starts right after the processional starts, and continues until the church is empty, Nope, not a quiet place to pray, just a noisy get together, oh God just happens to be sandwiched in the middle, and even that is rarely quiet. We have lots of little ones, who won’t, don’t aren’t made to sit down, and when they are they wail and the parents just ignore them. Oh well, they are God’s kids too.

scared
 
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Hawthorne:
The Tabernacle is behind the Altar??? Wow. 👍 I miss that.
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It is nice.

There is a parish down the road that has the Tabernacle in the hallway between the men’s and women’s bathrooms. :mad:
 
The parish at which I am actually registered may as well be a high school pep rally prior to Mass. It is so disturbingly noisy it makes me sick! I seldomly attend Mass there.

It is a large parish (the largest in the Diocese, I believe) so I figured the priest was just not strong enough to maintain control of such a big group. However, I very nearly fell out of my seat one Sunday last year when in his homily he lauded everybody for being so noisy! He tried very hard to connect this characteristic of the parish with the Eucharist; we “feed” each other through such jovial conversation.
:eek:
I almost raised my hand and said, “Father, but what about GIRM paragraph 45?”

(We remain parish members only because this parish has a decent school and are planning for our children. However, another recent visit to this parish has nearly assured us that the best thing for them would be to find anouther school…)
 
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msproule:
(We remain parish members only because this parish has a decent school and are planning for our children. However, another recent visit to this parish has nearly assured us that the best thing for them would be to find anouther school…)
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Homeschool.
 
+JMJ+

My parish is not so noisy when it comes to talking per se but it is very noisy when it comes to music!I just cant stand when right after communion they start singing over the loud speaker.Sometimes it bothers me sometimes it dosent.But most of the time I just want QUITE!Yall know what I mean?Well anyway thats just my humble opinion! 🙂

God bless you and Mary keep you! 👍
 
I voted for “very quiet”, but maybe I should change it to “somewhat noisy”.

Our parish (tabernacle front and center behind the altar) is generally very quiet before Mass. A few whispered conversations on occassion, but even a whisper sticks out. Sometimes you hear the doors opening and closing or the traffic on the street, but that’s just life. This morning at daily Mass I could hear a distant train whistle.

After, Mass, though, people tend to socialize on their way out. That noise leaves pretty quickly, though.

I am very grateful for my parish after reading other’s descriptions.

I love how your parish, Dianne, socializes after Mass. More of us should do that.
 
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acadian:
I voted for “very quiet”, but maybe I should change it to “somewhat noisy”.

Our parish (tabernacle front and center behind the altar) is generally very quiet before Mass. A few whispered conversations on occassion, but even a whisper sticks out. Sometimes you hear the doors opening and closing or the traffic on the street, but that’s just life. This morning at daily Mass I could hear a distant train whistle.

After, Mass, though, people tend to socialize on their way out. That noise leaves pretty quickly, though.

I am very grateful for my parish after reading other’s descriptions.

I love how your parish, Dianne, socializes after Mass. More of us should do that.
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All it takes is a couple people and a BBQ. People didn’t ask or hold meetings for weeks on end to plan it out. It just happened. I started out with donuts weekly, then one of the women who loves to do organizing, decided to start boiling hot dogs and offering them weekly. Then one of the maintenance guys who is a parishioner, decided to start BBQ’g hamburgers and the hot dogs, and then later added polish sausage. He was doing this after our 9:30am Mass (ends around 11:00) and the Noon Mass, so someone’s husband decided to help out. Like I said, no planning. A buck for hot dogs, 2 bucks for hamburger or sausage. With families the size they are at Grotto, that’s a deal. Nothing like seeing someone’s dad pile 10 hamburgers on a tray for the brood, who are already playing basketball.
 
The Cathedral Bascillica is in a tourist town so we always have people walking in and out. Taking pictures and talking. They will sit down for a while and then walk over you to go out. One Sunday a girl about 12 years old walked over me twice to use the restroom. And you should see some of the beach clothes they come in. Our former pastor used to keep it so cold they would have to put something on to feel comfortable.

I work in the church so I see it all.

Peace
 
It depends on the mass, 8:00 am is quiet, it also has more elderly people attending. 10:00 am is noisier, more younger familys and babies. Some of those babies can really sing, which is beautiful.
 
I should write an essay “Why I drive 25 miles and am a member of the cathedral parish”. The cathedral, as you might expect, is relatively quiet. Five miles away from my house is the parish in which I reside. It is not a church. It is a clubhouse for the elderly. I have heard loud conversations about sales at Walmart, hemerhoids (sp?) *, boisterous greetings etc. And this is coming from 60+ year olds and I am no spring chicken myself! Then you have the “choir” up front messing around with the electronic keyboard and playing riffs on the guitar (I won’t even get into the music). To top it all off, Mass starts with a “turn around and greet your neighbor” setting off even more cacophony. You simply cannot kneel and pray in peace.

Far different story at the cathedral. The choir does not practice in church but in the parish hall. Five minutes before Mass starts, the organ plays softly. Just before Mass, the choir will sing a short choral introit. And cell phones going off in Mass get withering looks.

And yes, we normally have coffee and donuts but it is not at all unusual to have the KCs BBQing or other social events after Mass.*
 
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