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The Presbyterians spent the next two years making preparations to build. The one thing the elders didn't have to worry about, though, was sanctuary seating. A lifelong member of the church had promised to pay for pews.

The building committee decided to order movable pews for the sanctuary. The gentleman who had promised to pay for the pews heard about the decision. According to church notes, "heated discussions" followed. When the building committee prevailed, the congregation had to look elsewhere for pew funds.

Seating Changes
Until recently, most churches had stationary pews. At the time those pews were bolted into place, sanctuaries were busy places, hosting worship services on Sundays and prayer meetings during the week.

Today many churches are using their sanctuaries for other purposes besides worship. For them, fixed pews can be a problem. Bryan Feller, of Bertolini, Inc., which offers several types of church seating, approves the trend toward flexible seating. "The cost of church building is so expensive that it makes economic sense to use the sanctuary for other purposes during nonworship hours," he says.

Some congregations choose flexible seating because they object to the formality of pews. Some choose it because they don't want to reserve a large space just for worship. They may have to stack chairs to make room in the sanctuary for a Friday night basketball game.

Go-Anywhere Chairs
Church chairs offer comfort, style, and versatility. You can stack chairs (up to 10 per stack) to free up sanctuary space during the week for a daycare center or youth program.

The average cost for a good-quality padded chair is $30 to $35. Most vendors offer a wide range of metal finishes and fabric colors for chairs. The synthetic, commercial-grade fabric is pretreated for stain control.

Most chairs come with side loops that allow the chairs to be connected. Connected chairs look more orderly and allow easier exiting in an emergency.

Chair seating is flexible. You can alter rows of chairs as necessary and create aisles where you want them. You can also increase the space between rows to allow worshipers more room to maneuver.

Manufacturers offer more options for chairs, such as racks that can hold papers and books during a service. Metal bookracks can be installed underneath the seat, or fabric bookracks sewn onto the back of each chair.

Plan on $2 to $4 per chair for these options. For a more formal look, order arms for your chairs. This feature may be particularly helpful for seniors.

Ordering chairs is easy. Call several vendors and ask for information as well as a sample chair. Be prepared to place an order for a minimum number of chairs. Allow six to eight weeks for delivery.

Space-Saver Seating
Ron Ogden, of Alpha Church Interiors, says that many churches are putting in auditorium seats rather than pews. Properly planned, auditorium seating can accommodate up to 20 percent more people than pews.

That's because people who hesitate to move into other people's spaces tend to leave large gaps in pews. Auditorium seats, which have arms, clearly delineate where one seat ends and another begins, thereby reducing space between people. In addition, worshipers are generally more willing to move past people in such seats to the center of a row.

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