It’s been years since I had children young enough to require us to sit in the back of church.
Nowadays, we mostly sit in the middle, despite the urging of presiders everywhere to encourage members of their congregations to move towards the front. I’ve even heard families with little kids encouraged to move closer, told that God welcomes all, even crying babies.
I’m sure that’s true — about God, that is — but I’m not so sure my fellow worshippers would all agree. Especially not when the crying baby is emitting earsplitting screams that would convince anyone but her parents that she is being tortured and death is imminent. Her parents likely know she’s dropped her pacifier, and must wait for one of them to give it a quick wipe and a prayer before giving it back.
That doesn’t even consider the toddlers who want to demonstrate just how fast their feet can carry them. Being confined to a pew in the front can frustrate them, and lead them to let everyone know just how loud their feet can be. Sitting in the back, well, there’s space behind the pews to explore, and if they break containment and start to make it down the aisle, there’s a long runway before they actually get to the sanctuary.
The advantages of sitting in the back aren’t all for the parents of young children, of course. Those of us who are far enough from those days to miss them can enjoy playing peek-a-boo with the baby looking at us over his dad’s shoulder, and admire our 5-year-old neighbor’s sparkly pink cowboy boots.
I’m joking, of course. At least a little bit. Little kids really do get the best fashion choices. But the back of the church — right by the doors that Pope Francis urged us to go through to minister to the people on the margins — is where a lot of people who feel on the margins of the church end up.
It’s families with kids who make noise and might need to make a quick escape, either for a diaper change, some fresh air or both. It’s also people who don’t have Mass cemented into their weekly schedule and come in late. People who know others might not see them as properly dressed, in their work uniforms or jeans and T-shirts. The person who sells StreetWise outside the church when Mass lets out. The people that we are called to be in community with.
The view those people get of the church is different from the view from the front. In a lot of churches, especially older ones, the altar, where the priest is, and where the Eucharist is, can look awfully far away. In between, depending on the day and the parish, there is a sea of pews or a sea of people. A good sound system helps people in the back at least feel a part of what is happening up in front.
But they also see the beauty of the church in a way that maybe those in the front miss. They see all the windows, all the stations of the cross, the images of Mary under her various names, the statues of St. Joseph and parish patrons, and, when the church is full, all the people praying together.