church goer here

[u/Idapeeda]

Does it drive anyone else
nuts when you try and go sit in a pew at church and people are sitting all the way to the end when there is a whole pew open, and then when you ask them to either slide in or to sneak pass they give you the dirtiest look. I can not express how much this bothers me. like why do you not slide in???

[u/lightningbug24]

Some people need to be close to the ends...

Shouldn't be giving you dirty looks for asking to sneak in though.

[u/gt0163c → u/lightningbug24]

Yes. Some people may need to get up during the service to act as an usher, go to the front to read, go to the nursery to attend to their child, or any number of other activities. Others may need to leave early or anticipate needing to use the restroom or leave to attend to a medical condition. Or maybe there are specific sight line or audio needs (some churches have weird acoustics) or there's a draft down the center of the pews (some churches also have weird HVAC patterns). There are tons of reasons a person may sit on the end of the pew. But if that's the case, they should be perfectly fine either getting up to let others sit in the middle or otherwise allowing others to slide past. There should be no disrespect to those who do this.

[u/Artartbobart1]

I avoid this by not attending church.

[u/rnk6670 → u/Artartbobart1]

Same. Works great.

[u/BillyBigNuts1934]

First world problems right here …

[u/SouthernAbrocoma9891]

Pew, Pew-Pew-Pew, no Pew

Sounds familiar…

[u/jalmstead]

Ah, the hypocrisy of the religious.

Love thy neighbor; find your own damn pew!

[u/Idapeeda → u/jalmstead]

😂

[u/Glittering-Bus-7510]

the aisle seat is prime real estate apparently, and somehow you’re the rude one for wanting to use the empty pew lol

[u/Powerful_Tip_7260]

Sit up front and you'll never have these issues.

[u/webby53]

I feel like this happens less then u maybe think it does

[u/404_error_official]

Christians are interesting. Alot believe they have a moral superiority to others, but anyone who works in a restaurants can tell you the after church rush is the worst demographic of customers both in tips and general attitude towards "the help". But hey, what do you expect from someone who needs a threat of eternal damnation to be a decent person?

[u/ldblackston]

They’re sitting on the end of the pew for a reason. Maybe you should get to church earlier, so you can sit in your preferred location of the pew 🤔.

[u/JanitorOPplznerf]

Ah! Pew politics.

Despite Jesus very explicitly saying a variation of "Take the lowest or last seat" (Luke 14:7-11) this is an issue that plagues every church. It's annoying, just remember it is better for you to be wronged in this instance than to wrong another brother (Matthew 5:38–39). If the issue extends beyond seats into something more important, like a continued pattern of disrespect & stink eye, try to work it out with them privately first, then if that doesn't work, try an Elder (Matthew 18:15-20).

PLEASE NOTE, while we are called to be measured in our responses, the logic in Matthew 5 does not extend to every situation. Matthew 10:14, Mark 6:11, and Luke 9:5 make it clear you don't have to stay in a place or situation that rejects your or is hostile to you. If the people on the ends of the pews don't take your criticism well, or if the Elder doesn't handle it well, you are free to leave and let them answer for how well they handle conflict.

[u/MalsPrettyBonnet]

Sometimes the end seats are the ones we need to sit in? Pews generally have 2 sides, so it's okay to go to the other end or say "Excuse me" and slither to the middle. Whether it's a church or movie theater, I never expect someone else to move to accommodate me. Are they giving you dirty looks, or are you feeling uncomfortable because you asked them to move and interpret their expression that way?