Church Meeting Houses in Early America

[Pergamum]

In early America, the church “Meeting Houses” had their seating arranged by order of importance. In this practice of “dignifying the seats” more important people were generally given seats toward the front and even children were separated from parents and husbands from wives.

How did they defend this? Anything written for or against?

 

[jason d]

Here is a writing against:

James 2:1-13 (New American Standard Bible)

James 2

The Sin of Partiality

1My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism.
2For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes,

3and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, "You sit here in a good place," and you say to the poor man, "You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,"

4have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives?

5Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?

6But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court?

7Do they not blaspheme the fair name by which you have been called?

8If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF," you are doing well.

9But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

10For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.

11For He who said, "DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY," also said, "DO NOT COMMIT MURDER." Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.

12So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty.

13For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.

 

[Pergamum]

Jason, yes, I thought that too.

But, these were very biblical men and so had to have a good reason. So I am wondering why this never became an issue and, if there were no issues with it, why and when did it stop?

 

[Pilgrim Standard]

Jason, yes, I thought that too.

But, these were very biblical men and so had to have a good reason. So I am wondering why this never became an issue and, if there were no issues with it, why and when did it stop?

If I am not mistaken, was not one of the primary reasons for creation of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) due to forcing of Black Christians to sit in segregated gallery usually balcony seats that lacked proper air flow and were quite Hot in the Summer?

All in all my point is that the practice has its consequences eventually.

 

[pepper]

There were two different groups in the early days. The Separatist and the Puritans. The Separatist were the ones that came to America in 1620. They did have the meeting house as a reponse to the big church buildings in Europe. They did separate the women from the men during worship. They were in the same building but they did not sit with each other. Later, in the 1630's, the Puritans came. They were not like the Separatist. The Separatist used the Geneva 1560 English translation only. The Puritans brought the KJV with them. By the early 1700's they began to build church buildings like we know them today. However, they did appoint sitting according to status in the community. Elders and Deacons first then community leaders and those with money.

 

[jwithnell]

It is difficult for us to see the world through the eyes of those who lived in Colonial America. The seating according to rank was by family (although I'm not sure of the differences stated earlier re: separatists and puritans). These folks brought with them the idea of social rank and believed it was in keeping with the 5th commandment to engage either as a superior (with gentleness and caring) or as an inferior (with due respect). Existing without regard to rank in society is rather unique to the American experiment and to the modern era.

In modern times, we've gone so far to the other extreme that we have our own set of issues to address. Given the cultural influences, I'm not entirely sure what it looks like to be submissive to my husband or church authority. We've had separate PB discussions recently regarding political commentary and respect for the civil authority.

 

[Backwoods Presbyterian]

 

[Don Kistler]

It wasn't the New England churches that started this. It was much the same in Old England. I've been in churches in England where there was a little trap door for the street/poor children to come in and go out so they wouldn't be seen by the refined folk, and which also eliminated the possibility that one of these "dirty" kids might actually touch the higher-ups.

In the New England meeting houses, the balcony was normally for the single people, the floor boxes for families. The single men and women were kept separate during the service to eliminate any temptation caused by mingling the sexes.

It really wasn't as nefarious as some make it sound.

 

[Pergamum]

Dr Don, do you have sources for this? Or a list of recommended books? When of my passions is trying to find out how "normal people" lives during various ages of history.

 

[kvanlaan]

As I understand it, the front pews and box seats went to the wealthy because they paid for them. Pew rental was a way of supporting the pastor and church expenses (and you could be as late as you wanted to on Sunday and no one would sit in your seat!) I've also read (though not in an academic work per se) that while the singles would sit up in the gallery, a deacon was up there as well, cane in hand, to keep order and stop any chatting if need be.

 

[Don Kistler]

My sources are more my visits to such churches and speaking with local historians. I've visited many of the New England meeting houses personally
and spoken to the curators. I've also done the same with many of the old
Puritan churches in England and been told these tales.

 

[reformedminister]

This is one of the reasons the Free Methodist Church got started. They were against the idea of charging for a seat in church.

 

[seajayrice]

There are some very old church buildings here in RI. Oldest Baptist Church and Synagogue in the nation. As someone noted, not all the "preference" was so nefarious.

Trinity, Newport RI - A BRIEF HISTORY, AND A FEW HIGHLIGHTS OF OUR LOVELY OLD CHURCH

The Anglican Church came relatively late to Newport; early settlers moved here to get away from the Church of England. By 1698, however, there were enough Anglicans, joined by Huguenots and Quakers, to form Trinity's first congregation.

The congregation quickly outgrew its 1701 home, and in 1726 built the church in which it worships today. The box pews helped to keep warmth during the winter. Their various shapes and sizes reflect the individuality of the members of the congregation, who paid for their own pews as a way of defraying the cost of the building. The first and second bays at the altar end were added in 1762, as the congregation continued to expand.

A striking feature in Trinity Church is the wine-glass or chalice-shaped pulpit. It indicates the importance of preaching during the colonial period, and the sermon at Sunday services is still given from it today. Most colonial churches had central pulpits, but many later moved them to the side. This is the only center-aisle, freestanding, triple-decked pulpit left in America today.