Comfort & Choice in our Worship

Some of our seating options during Family Chapel & Village Church 

Incorporating Comfort and Choice into Worship

If you walk into a classroom nowadays, you will not find neat, straight rows of desks and chairs. Rather, you’ll find table groups, floor tables, reading nooks, wobble stools, and possibly even bean bag chairs! If you’re not familiar with recent research around child development and learning styles, it may seem excessive or unnecessary to provide “fun” chairs, however, it makes a world of difference. 

Our latest research demonstrates that by providing children with flexible seating they are eager and ready to learn, collaborate, and engage with what they are learning. The space becomes centered on the learner when this shift in seating occurs. So, when I was examining our worship spaces this August, my mind started to churn. Why can’t we apply these same principles to a church environment and worship? 

Our church space can seem akin to that old classroom set up, pews in long straight rows, all facing forward. It may work for adults, but it is not the best practice for our children. If you join us for Family Chapel or Village Church, you’ll have a choice in how to sit and engage with our service. You can use a wobble stool, which allows you to move and engage your core while worshiping. You can pick a floor chair, which provides you back support while you sit on the floor. You can pick a wobble cushion, which provides sensory input and the ability to move while you participate. These chairs made a rapid transformation in our worship. Our children went from acting like they had to sit still to be “good” to moving, laying down, adjusting, and looking genuinely comfortable in our worship spaces. Stillness does not necessarily equate with serenity, meditation, or prayer, it can also mean a child is disengaged or bored. Movement does not necessarily mean that a child is “playing around” or misbehaving. Children learn and worship through movement, interactions, conversations, and flexibility, much like we all do when we’re given open choices. 

Wobble Cushions

These are now available for kids (& adults!) to use in our Sanctuary. They provide sensory input as well as the option to move while sitting. They help engage your core, which helps keep you alert while sitting.

Another important element that flexible seating brings is empowerment and ownership! Children feel empowered when they get to choose where and how to sit for Family Chapel. They can learn what their body needs to stay engaged and focused. They begin to feel like they belong and are invested in our space together. It is beautiful and meaningful. 

I hope this short article provides information to broaden your understanding of what our youngest parishioners need in our space. That by understanding how they learn differently, you can welcome them into our Sanctuary with an open heart and mind, without the expectation of stillness.