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I love to watch the EWTN show The Journey Home where converts are interviewed and have a chance to tell their stories. It is common to hear the converts speak of how difficult it is to give up congregations that were warm, friendly, and welcoming for a Catholic parish where they seemed invisible and no one seemed to care that they are there.
When my (then) new husband suggested I consider entering the Catholic Church, I was reluctant to even consider it based on the initial “feeling” I sensed when entering the building for Mass. People didn’t speak to one another, they seemed aloof and cold. It took me a while to learn that sanctuaries were never meant to be social halls and that, at its core, Catholic liturgy was more structured and contemplative than many other churches.
I consider it a great blessing that I came to love the liturgy and contemplative nature of our Faith, but I still struggle . . .
I have discussed the whole “no one ever speaks to each other at Mass” issue with folks who explained that some of our churches are so big with so many Masses, it is easy to go a while without ever seeing the same person twice, so no wonder. For me more recently, my daughter prefers to not linger after Mass, so even though my extroverted self would love to chat folks up in the social hall, I most often defer to her wishes. When my nest is empty, I plan to stay as long as I like.
There is, however, another trait of our Catholic-Church-going culture that I think is unwelcoming and even after 22 years of regular Mass going, I honestly don’t understand it. I bring it up, though, because I believe that with just a bit of mindful kindness, we could vastly improve how we treat each other when we come together as a faith family.
I have lived and travelled all over the US and see this dynamic everywhere.
The issue on my mind is “end-squatting”.
Our culture loves our personal space. If you enter a sanctuary 10 minutes before Mass you will likely see every pew with the ends occupied on both sides and vast unclaimed real estate in the center.
At its worst, I have many times received stink eye or death stare from the end squatters who seem seriously annoyed that I would dare try to get by. This genuinely puzzles me as I simply cannot grasp how people at the end of a pew can convince themselves that no one will need to get by.
Just today I saw an older gentleman nearly fall trying to get past two able bodied people who, at first held fast to their prime seats and then had a change of heart and decide to move in. What a kindness they could have given him if they had simply left him an open spot.
It also seems to me that the same folks who give the stink eye to young families who have to fall over themselves trying to file into the center of the pew also glare at the parents who then can\’t easily get out of that same pew when one little one shrieks and another has to pee. Let the parent with the squirmy loud baby sit on the end in case they feel the need to make a quick exit.
My heart hurts at the thought of folks who are really struggling and sensitive to nasty scowls and unwelcoming attitudes. They might be returning to Church after a long absence. They may have anxiety problems. Or maybe they have never been in a Catholic Church before. I wince at the message I fear we send to visitors about how much we value each other\’s presence.
Even when overt hostility is not involved, the end-squatter-passing always seems much harder than it needs to be. How much easier it would be if we simply filled the pews from the center outward while treating our fellow parishioners like the treasures they are rather than competitors in a land grab.
We are encouraged to get ourselves into a prayerful state of mind prior to Mass. For some, that includes kneeling, eyes closed and hands folded. It is human nature when we come across a person in such a posture to not want to disturb him or her so we stand in the aisle and await a break in the prayer to try to settle ourselves. Imagine how much easier it will be if the pray-er just scoots into the center and prays undisturbed.
So what do I suggest? Well, surely some people need an easy exit…the folks with special tasks in Mass often already have special seating, but among the normal congregation, there are all sorts of people who might really need to sit on the end for reasonable and valid reasons. With that understood, if every able bodied person with no little kids (especially the ones who arrive early) come in and sit in the center of the pew, imagine how welcoming our sanctuaries would feel and look to those juggling kids, visiting for the first time, or struggling with too much anxiety to ask a stranger to move.
I get that we like the end spot; its convenient and comfy. What I’m suggesting is a little sacrifice for the greater good. The homily that the welcomed visitor hears might be exactly what the visitor needed. The flustered parent who is at the end of the rope might feel like given a kind chance to regroup. You can smile at and greet a new person who might have otherwise stood alone along a wall.
When my physical spot in Mass feels like a burden, I reflect on the many people in the world who don’t have the freedom or opportunity to participate in Mass the way we have come to expect. There are so many in our long history who have genuinely suffered to attend Mass, my little inconvenience is a way for me to remember their greater sacrifices and reflect how blessed I am to get a chance to go to Mass at all.
62 thoughts on “To the Pew End-Squatters, Move Over”
Some people like a nice comfortable 72 degrees; others consider 72 much too chilly, especially some among our older population, whose circulation may not be working as efficiently as it once did. When the church reaches 77 degrees, some people love it and say it’s the perfect temperature; others are removing their jackets, mopping their brows, and fanning themselves in true misery. Next, in our cars, I’m a “messy”; my husband is a “neat freak,” He loathes the clutter in my car’s trunk; I can’t abide his fussiness. Then, the men in my family seem to enjoy “atmospheric” lighting – meaning hardly any lights on at all. They take the phrase “man cave” literally: “cave” is right! The women in my family like nice, bright, sunny indoor spaces during the day, and plenty of illumination at night. Then, some people don’t give a hoot about personal space, and don’t mind practically sitting in the lap of a stranger if that’s how the seating is set up; others of us very much need our personal space and also a handy quick exit route; having a stranger too close or being without an exit route sets our teeth on edge. All of these affinities are more than simply whims or preferences that may be discarded at will; people of opposite affinities as to light, space, temperature, may both suffer genuine discomfort when their environment isn’t working for them. It’s easy for those without a strong affinity in any of these areas to say, “Get over it!” but to say that is to be in denial about the level of this genuine discomfort.
I’m a confirmed, old, claustrophobic pew end sitter, and I agree that Catholic churches may seem unwelcoming at times, which I agree needs to change. So, when people approach the pew in which I am sitting, and let me know they want “in,” I rise to my feet quickly, and slip out into the aisle, while whispering to the newcomers, “excuse me, please go in.”
As an aside: I will say for the record that at my church, there are sometimes lots and lots of seats available – both middles and ends – by the time Father approaches the altar, and that therefore any competition for end seats heats up *after* Mass begins. Who but the most unreasonable of martinets would fail to make allowances for a family with young children or any individual running a few minutes late for Mass from time to time? . . . but every Sunday I would say that close to 1/4 of the final congregation filters in after Mass begins – and infrequent happenstance doesn’t explain these numbers of tardy attendees.
I wish people would be more lenient and sympathetic toward pew end sitters’ need for space and access to an exit, and I wish pew end sitters would reciprocate by behaving in an impeccably gracious manner toward those who approach them and let it be known they wish to enter their pew. Such behavior would be to rise to one’s feet with alacrity, and with a pleasant countenance to step into the aisle and invite the newcomers to enter the pew.
To scowl at others for no good reason is not only extremely rude, it’s unChristian.
40 years ago this was not an issue. No one “hogged” the end seats. If they did, the ushers made them move in. No one should have to crawl over someone else to be able to sit down at Mass. It’s not a stadium and they did not buy tickets for those specific seats. It’s just doggone rude!
How much easier it would be for those that need a corner seat to get to Mass as early as needed and secure it, don’t you think? Some people need to sit by the corner because they have special needs. There are many reasons that compel the securing of that position. It is kind of judgmental to assume that those who sit in the corner and refuse to move do it out of spite or out of an entitlement attitude.
I’ve said it and said it and said it that Im not trying to make harsh demands on the sick, elderly and disabled…we SHOULD make spots available for them. What Im speaking about is something akin to this comment on this thread:
“I do love my end spot and I’m not giving it up. : ”
Im speaking to those who lay a white knuckle claim to the end spot simply for preference. Im asking them to make their decision mindfully taking a moment to consider others.
Maybe your parish is populated by large families who (like someone mentioned) prefer to take up the whole middle and prefer singletons to sit at the end…well then, that leads to an easy considerate mindful decision. Your suggestion that everyone needing an end spot arrive early and sit on the ends really clogs everything up. If the able bodied folks sat inward there would be plenty of end spots for the ones who need them to claim.
Anybody who is upset by this post has clearly never been affected by this issue. Sure, I like an end spot too, but that’s not the point. It’s not the fact that you are sitting there, it’s the way it feels when you get to Mass with your 3-4 (or more) little kids and wonder who you should disturb because every pew has one or two people in it, all sitting on the ends. You finally choose someone you think might be accommodating, only to realize you were very wrong as she glares at you like you just committed the unforgivable sin. In addition, every time one of the kids makes noise, drops a hymnal, or breathes too loudly, you get another glare. This happened too me more than once as a young mother. Thankfully, I never took it personally, but I know people who are insecure and that would be enough to make them never come back. I could never understand, if you are at Mass alone, why can’t you go 3-4 people to a pew? Sure you might have to give up your end spot once in a while but do you really need half a pew to yourself? Thank you for calling attention to this. Unfortunately, it seems like many of the people who need to hear it, may not be humble enough to accept a piece of friendly advice.
Thank you for this article! Even though I have been Catholic for five years now, this still bothers me sometimes. I try to follow this myself, in part because it is just common courtesy and in part because I once was that newcomer. While there is no one magic answer for how to make seating more reasonable, I think it has to involve first this kind of personal charity to one another, but also an occasional pre-mass announcement to encourage or remind people to do this.
Good subject, Tammy. I cannot express how heartily I agree with this article. It has been years since we’ve been able to get past an end-squatter without a child tripping, or bumping into those on the end. Perhaps, when an end-squatter wants to keep his place, he would simply stand up and let us pass by into the center and then resume his position.
“if every able bodied person with no little kids (especially the ones
who arrive early) come in and sit in the center of the pew, imagine how
welcoming our sanctuaries would feel”… Well, I thought so too, until a teenager I didn’t know grumbled about my “always taking up the middle of the pew so there isn’t enough room for a family on either side”. (sigh) No good deed goes unpunished. I now sit on the end but offer to slide over rather than be crawled over if late-comers need to access a seat.
Im not surprised all that often these days, but your post (with Ms Smithson’s above with the same sentiment) genuinely surprised me…especially since I do see a lot of “families” at Church but equally as many singles and couples. I guess you learn something new every day.
So this opens the topic as to how we can all shuffle into Church in a reasonable way without making each other feel forgotten, discounted, or us appearing selfish. Maybe I dont have the magic answer.
As an adult single I always sit at the end of the pew. If I were to dare sit in the middle I would get scorned for taking up space that could belong to a big family. If big families weren’t so obsessed with everyone sitting together maybe I wouldn’t be pushed to the end, but how horrible would that be to spilt up a family in church!
Now that is interesting…when I wrote this piece, I was curious if anyone would tell me something I really didn’t expect (Im more than willing to learn). I fully expected the “I like my spot and I got here first” responses but I hadn’t considered what you describe. My daughter experienced this recently…she was sitting by herself and a family came in and the folks to her other side refused to tighten in so she was literally forced out of her seat and had to stand.
At its biggest our family was only 5 people (we’ve since dwindled to 2) so I cant say Ive ever tried to find a spot for 6+ people, Im sure it has its challenges too.
I wonder though if we as a subculture could find a way to interact with each other in a way so that the needs of each group could be respected in love and compassion. I will likely never be a fan of the “this is my spot and you cant have it” mentality…Im more of a “how can we make this work and that person isnt going to bite you so quit acting like he has leprosy” mentality.
Thanks for sharing your experience
It was interesting to read all the responses to my original article…my responses were slow because I was for a few days in an internet free zone on the top of a mountain where my middle son lives.
I learned that I should have (but didn’t) submit a title for this piece…my working title was “Please Skooch Over” which is a lot softer than “move over” which might have set more of the tone I was looking for.
I will be honest that the responses which assumed that I didn’t understand that people had special needs were a challenge to me I am neither mean or stupid (no sometimes Im stupid but less frequently mean). I had considered listing all the reasons I could think of that people would NEED to sit on the end but I thought that
“there are all sorts of people who might really need to sit on the end for reasonable and valid reasons” would do the trick and I was wrong.
Im not sure if everyone else attends Mass where it is so full that standers are a constant, but for those of you who do…I would propose that (while there are a few outliers who might stand if there were engraved invitations for them) I propose that empty seats in the middle while many people stand is a sign of some sort of dysfunction. SOMETHING is not working in those situations and as a family it is incumbent upon us to consider everyone.
If you are willing, try just one week to leave the end spot open and see what happens. See who God puts in that spot…I hope you feel encouraged and enriched.
At times when I feel particularly put off by annoying aspects of catholic life I remind myself of things like the following:
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/blog/conception-in-rape-determination-in-love/
DO NOT MISS TOM’s LINK….which has a link to a complete version of the nun’s letter at the end…a nun who was raped and chose motherhood and leaving her loved religious life rather than give the child away from his roots…her. This is irreplaceable and a letter to be saved. Thanks Tom Reichardt.
Excellent article, Tammy.
I feel the pain. I have some slight anxiety issues that make large crowded masses very uncomfortable for me…especially if I get “trapped” in the middle. I much prefer to seek out smaller masses when I can. Christmas and Easter are the worst. However, when I am at the local large suburban parish with those extra-long pews…I suck it up for Jesus. I move just close enough to the center to allow 1.5 persons to sit comfortably at the end. This “nails down” the pew until all the other “preferred end seats” are “taken”. Then I hope nobody comes and sits by me…but they always do. I slide over just a bit
if it’s a couple…often they are late comers…and seem grateful they found a good spot. Then at some time during the mass I will say a little prayer for them…because they are the lucky ones I was saving the spot for. I find providing this little service makes everyone, especially me, feel better about having to sit in the middle. (Which was probably going to happen anyway…)
Your act of loving sacrifice is exactly the mode of thinking I was hoping to encourage with my piece. We all have preferences that we would like to indulge but when are we willing to give those up for the genuine good of another? Maybe that newcomer has never been to a Catholic Church and one glare would send them retreating never to return…imagine what we would be depriving them of.
The article about the nun who was raped reminds us that some are called to great suffering in our faith journey. Maybe we can learn to handle some of life’s bigger sufferings by better handling the small ones and not sitting exactly where we would prefer in Mass in order to serve another is a great place to start.
Amen sister! I too have seen some that are unfriendly, and this is very difficult for someone that is new to the Catholic Church. I’ll have to stop being a hypocrite though and slide over from my end spot! God bless.
I do love my end spot and I’m not giving it up. :
In many Protestant churches, people stay on the lookout for visitors who are then welcomed with a smile and an invitation to sit down.
Imagine for a second that you are in the spot you like and a visitor who has never been to a Catholic Church before enters and looks around to see where s/he might sit only to find that every single open spot is in the center and our strange “seating habits” are totally foreign to them. This person may easily mistake our collective grumpy territorial habits as a message that they are not welcome in the Church in any way. They may miss out on the fullness of the faith because we were self absorbed and that would be awful.
You love your end spot…maybe its precisely because you love it that it would be so meaningful for you to share it.
Most American Catholics are unwelcoming. Can’t argue with that.
Im somewhat refreshed that people are willing to admit this but also sad that we as a Church family have degraded to a place where unfriendliness is expected.
Im stuck now in a cycle where my family is so annoyed by the unfriendliness that they want to bolt from Church the second its over which then creates its own “unfriendliness”.
Let there be Peace on earth and let it begin with me
Ahhh… such territorial responses. Yes, we like to get there early and sit in our 2nd pew from the front on the left, whenever possible. However, if someone else wants to sit down, there is no reason, we can’t scoot down and let them in. Rather than making people climb over us to get to the middle, we scoot and let them join us. Usually when sitting that close to the front, we don’t have too many requests to sit with is, since we’re Catholics and no one likes to sit in the front… 😉 I agree with Tami that it would be more inviting for people to come in and not feel like they’re intruding on someone else. I’ve seen the glare she’s talked about, but not usually directed towards me or my family.
“To the Pew End-Squatters, Move Over”
No. Rather come one in – your welcome to come sit in the center of the pew!
As I noted above – We prefer the end and that is fine. Some prefer the center. One normally ought NOT to have to “move over” -one ought not to have to “move to the center”. That is why others have feet. If they wish they may arrive more than 30 seconds before Mass – or rather 5 minutes after Mass has begun (Yes I know exceptions happen -but when they do find the seat one can find -do not make those who have come early move from where they are sitting – they ought to let you by with a smile). Of course there are some who have say medical needs and need the end -then just like other kinds of such exceptions in life – they ought to be given the seat they need. But do not on the norm say “move over”. Just come on in.
Im curious….the comments here have clearly established that plenty of folks have needs to sit on the end for reasons that may not be obvious. You welcome people to join you by moving to the middle since you “prefer” the end (and you got there earlier). How can you tell if the person asking to sit at the end of you pew “needs” to be there or not? A young person may have anxiety or colitis but look perfectly well. If you are able bodied and don’t have a squirmy screaming baby you might have to make a quick exit with, wouldn’t it be kinder to scoot over and make space for them?
My wife and I (with kids) very much enjoy -yes having an “end spot” such is not in order to exit sooner. It is the end towards the center! People who wish to enter may certainly do so (and when we have wished to enter at times when we have not usual place to sit – others are kind in letting us pass. To wish to sit on the end is perfectly fine -and persons need not “fill from the center”. That would be very disheartening. For we prefer the end. All with peace and brotherly love. If one wishes a particular place (as we do) – come early and sit and pray. That is perfectly fine. Then if someone wishes to sit in that same row – let them in kindly with a smile.
I should have (but didn’t) submit a title for this piece…my working title was “Please Skooch Over” which is a lot softer than “move over” which might have set more of the tone I was looking for. I would not suggest that we be forced to fill in from the center as an edict but that (if we are able bodied) that we might choose to do so as a sacrificial act of love/kindness to our neighbors who might have a real(even if not easily known) need.
Please forgive me for being obtuse, but Im still confused. So if its clear that some folks might really need to be on the end (if they have limited mobility, anxiety/claustrophobia, nausea, urinary urgency or bowel problems, potty training or otherwise needy little ones, or a host of dozens of other things) Im still confused as to how we communicate “peace and brotherly love” if we still decide that our “preference” is our determining factor in how we share space with others.
I like sitting on the end. Some of us need to get to the bathroom and don’t have a minute to spare. Some of us are nervous and being pinned in is agony. Some of us have arthritis. Others don’t follow the new custom of waiting to the last minute to come in. It would be so much better if people simply minded their own business. You don’t know what problems someone else has.
This is the author of the piece – I tried numerous times to sign in and it didn’t work. I wrote clearly that:
“there are all sorts of people who might really need to sit on the end for reasonable and valid reasons”
which would include bathroom needs, kids, mobility issues, anxiety etc. I reality I am advocating for the people who have special needs, if you really need that spot and its taken by a person who simply likes to sit there, wouldn’t you want them to take your need into account? Us placing our own preferences over the genuine need of others and an overall welcoming spirit of the Church should be something that comes naturally to us but too often doesnt.
This is both hilarious and disheartening! And your second sentence made me (sort of) happy, to realize that I’m not a jerk for wondering why Catholics are so unfriendly.
Allison, thank you for getting the gist of my column. I think its a good challenge to ask people to mindfully consider what they do and why. As a subculture of Catholics, there are a lot of goofy habits we have collectively developed that are actually rather opposite of what we claim to value. We may have inherited those bad habits honestly from bad examples that were demonstrated to us as kids, but we don’t have to be trapped in them. Im sure that converts like us might be annoying when we challenge the status quo (of habits, not a challenge of Church Teaching) but maybe that is why God sent is here.
I would add, of Church teaching as well. There some grave errors in it’s dogmas.
Great advice Tammy.Thanks!
Certainly there is no reason for the end squatter to glare at others when they attempt to get by into the middle. I have never experienced that. “Glaring” is often in the eye of the beholder, so to speak. If it is happening, certainly that is bad.
But there are lots of valid reasons for people wanting to be end squatters. Perhaps they have a physical condition that would require them to leave mass at any time – they are sick and might vomit, they will have to go to the bathroom suddenly, or simply they have a bit of claustrophobia and sitting on the end makes them feel better because they feel they can quickly get out. Or, they know they are going to have to leave before the end of mass and they don’t want to have to disturb others or make a big show of it by making everyone move at a critical part of the mass.
What bothers me about this article is that she assumes that end squatters are mean people and are being rude. This attitude is a bad one. We all have our various annoyances about this, that, or the other thing at mass, and the people around us. I would think it is the better part of Christianity to suffer these little inconveniences and realize that we don’t know everything about the end squatters situation.
“there are all sorts of people who might really need to sit on the end for reasonable and valid reasons” – I could have probably written this in 25 point bold italics and still had people assume the worst in what I was trying to convey. Common sense would lead any of us to understand that there are some folks with genuine need, sometimes need that is not obvious or might be private. Perhaps this reality makes it all the more important that those of us with no real need are willing to make accommodations for others. For me, if that means that I sit in the middle regularly for the next 20 years, I hope that when its my time to need the end that there are folks willing to do that for me.
The folks I was hoping to reach are the “I like it and Im not giving it up” folks. A sanctuary full of a bunch of folks with that mindset makes entering a Catholic Church feel toxic compared to other places.
Look at the walls and back of Church during Mass…is it lined with people who would sooner stand than get into a turf war? The congregation is supposed to be a family in the best sense – at family gatherings we are supposed to welcome each other.
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Ah but if I wanted to sit, trapped in the middle of the pew I would’ve done that from the beginning.
you are speaking to me! Thank you, I needed to hear this. During many years of anxiety disorder, I would go early to get an “end” spot. Becoming choir director allows me to have “control” over my surroundings. I have come to realize how territorial I am and your article is wonderful, I am going to find new places to sit in each of the regular churches I attend. We have noticed when on vacation, that it is better to arrive early but hang around outside until nearly Mass time so we don’t accidentally take someone’s place and get the stink eye….
Thank you for being willing to see what I was hoping to look at in my article. So often our territoriality starts innocent enough but if we let it go unchecked, it can take on a life of its own that might cause us to act in ways that are not how we want to treat others in a sacred place like Church. I commend you for putting your inclinations to good use by finding a purposeful task that allows you to direct your preference to doing good. It is a really healthy thing that you are able to honestly look at your own motivations…that is a rare but beneficial trait.
Well, I could not imagine the Last Supper without the apostles talking it up among each other and I could not imagine someone “Hogging” the end of the table….how far we have departed from the original First Mass. While we are on the subject of accommodation, would you not agree that every church have full handicap accessibility, ie. wheelchair ramps for those who are not bipedal, wheelchair cutouts at the end of pews to place a chair in a space other than sticking out of the main aisle, ASL “signers” for who cannot hear well or at all. Worship should be accessible to all…let’s go back to the original Mass, Staking out one’s place is pretty narcissistic and petty when it comes to places of worship….entitlement? Strange….
I can’t imagine the Last Supper WITH talking apostles. Talk about trying to take the Divine and make it mundane! Also, the apostles argued amongst themselves regarding who was greatest.. so selfish behavior is nothing new. Wheelchair cut outs are not needed as plenty of space exists at ends of pews or in the front/back. ASL “signers are a joke and need to be banned from all parishes – have you ever heard of a Missal? We do need to go back to the original Mass though, lets start at 1962 and go backwards.
I did not know that sermons were in a missal and to consider signing for the deaf and hard of a hearing “a joke” is simply demeaning to the disabled. To ash wheelchair bound people to sit in the aisle is equally demeaning and humiliating….obviously you know very little about the world of disability and accommodation …all attitudes prior to 1962. The cripples are less than human? Unbelievable for any human…..
I dont agree with all of Mr Dzialo’s posts, but Im with him on this one. A few shorter pews that would allow for wheelchairs to fit in easily should be a plan of every renovation. ASL signers don’t disturb a Mass and watching their movements can add to our own understanding of what is being said.
We are supposed to act like a welcoming family at Mass and while I have disagreed with how Mr Dzialo has (by his own accounts) communicated that expectation at times, I agree with him in theory.
Prior to Mr Cameron’s reference point of 1962 the disabled didn’t have to be considered because they were mostly in institutions but they aren’t any more, so lets welcome all members of our family.
and scooting over to make a spot for someone is a good way to take a baby step in that direction
Sort of a delayed response sorry: I don’t consider hearing the sermon during Mass as a necessity. Sermons are available in print everywhere and are far less distracting. If the end of a pew is demeaning for a person in a wheelchair I guess the back or front is equally demeaning? The “cripples” are not less than human Phil, nor are they more. I’m sure it’s all personal opinion and perspective, but to me these concerns seem trivial considering the bigger problems in the Church. Here is an analogy: A ship has sprung a leak, it’s been slowly filling up for 50 years and now a lot of people who were sure the leak would fix itself are getting nervous. But despite the serious situation the crew and passengers are arguing about handi-cap accessibility to the poop deck. You see the ship has been leaking for so long they no longer have proper perspective. When someone comes a long and points this out.. well they are reactionary at best.
Your response is clearly indicative of a metaphor of a sinking ship. The way that we treat the least of our brothers and sisters is the way we treat God. The ship is sinking because it has turned its back on the marginalized….read Matt 25 and you will see where you encounter Christ…the Parable of the Sheep and Goats is a sermon you don’t want to miss. The Church fails in its mission because it has totally strayed from the Christ’s work with the oppressed, the poor, the crippled, etc. Disability is a metaphor for a failure to meet God his ground. I am sorry for you….
No Phil, I think you are missing the boat entirely.. The reason the Church fails in it’s mission is because it has indeed totally strayed from what Christ taught. The oppressed and poor suffer because society suffers from the absence of Christ’s Church. The crippled are not necessarily oppressed or poor so I reject the blanket inclusion in your argument. One can be crippled and very powerful, ask FDR, ask Hawking. Yes my response is indicative of a sinking ship… when the ship sinks the crippled will be the first to die my friend.
No Nate, the Church and our society fail because of human indifference. Hawking and FDR are children of privilege and not indicative of the the oppression of the the disabled, poor, marginalized…re-read the parable of the Sheep and the Goats, Matt 25 and you will see the reason that the ship sinks. Human decency does not spring from religion, it precedes it.