While you wait for the pictures to load, let us tell you that this is the latest but not the only, attempt to make the congregational experience more intimate and fulfilling. (If you want to know more about our other church home, check out the History page.) There have been a number of pew setups over the years. In the early years South Church even rented pews as a way to support the church, and remnants of that system remain in the numbers and card holders on the end of the pews, and the roster in the bell tower lobby. Before the airlock was erected, one large center aisle ran from the front doors directly to the alter, with the pews aranged on either side. Most recently before the reconfiguaration the pews were seperated into the three sections we have today, but the outside sections were straight line continuations of the center aisle rows.
After much deliberation, the decision was made to angle the side pews to face more directly to the alter table and center of worship, as close to "theatre in the round" as we could get in a rectangular room! You'll also notice a number of areas throughout the sanctuary where we didn't put the pews back! We want to make room for our handicapped members and visitors in the midst of the congregation, not just at the back. The new setup was an immediate hit. People feel it is a more intimate and centering worship experience, and we hope it makes you feel welcome as well.
By the way, sit whereever you want. There are no assigned pews anymore, not in this century, anyway!
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