Church Annoyances
Posted on Sunday, March 7th, 2010 at 7:57 pmIt’s a good thing I’m sure that the church I belong to is true, because today might have been one of those days that would make me decide to not go anymore. Wow. Now that I see that in writing it looks kind of harsh. Let’s just say that I was really annoyed at church today. That shouldn’t be how I feel while I’m there. I’m pretty sure I go to feel the Spirit and be uplifted. I’m sure it was partly my attitude and my choosing to be annoyed, but that’s how I felt today. Plus, if any of you have ever gone to church with a crazy 11 month old and an emotional 4 year old, you might have some sort of idea what I’m talking about. But that’s just part of the problem. My main annoyance is our new ward (congregation). I really like everybody I have met, as individuals, but as a whole, I’m kind of struggling with the ward. The main reason is, it’s SO big. I don’t think we’ve ever been late, but every week, it’s a fight to find a seat. We sat down on the back row today because that’s what was left, and an old man walked in and said, halfway joking, “Don’t you know that you have to be older than 70 to sit on the back row?” I told him that we would be happy to move if he could find us another place to sit. We moved anyway. I also noticed a pew closer to the front that was empty. I walked up there and, of course, somebody had left their jackets and scriptures there to save the seat. It was still empty when the meeting started. It bothers me that people do that. If they want that seat, they need to be there, keeping it warm. These scenarios happen week after week. I know I need an attitude adjustment and none of these things are what the gospel is about at all. They’re just small things that make this already difficult transition a little bit harder.
I’m with you, Kierst. I’m having a REALLY hard time with our ward and we’ve been here a while. It’s kinda big with a high turnover rate (we have townhomes in the ward that are rented out). That combined with the fact that we don’t have kids (the average ward age is mid to late 30′s with at least two or three kids). I think the other problem is that I LOVED our last ward, so it’s been a really hard transition.
Saving seats in general is very annoying. That would also be hard going to a ward that has a huge congregation. Living right across the church has made it tempting to leave with a crying kid but I’ve stuck it out. Look on the bright side, though…maybe your ward will split soon and you’ll find a groove in your new ward within the first year.
Wow, annoying! The seat-saving kills me. PLEASE use your body to save the seat. If you don’t, you probably ought to forfeit it to someone who IS willing to use their body. Giminy! But the Church is still true. At least you have a testimony
It really is a gigantic ward! I think they do need to split it. We got there at least 5 mins. early yesterday and bearly got a seat. I’m 99% sure that the guy that said the thing to you about having to be over 70, was the same guy that said it to us our first Sunday there. Only we stood our ground and sat there. Kind of a rude thing to say really! Since he’s said on it 2 different occasions, he probably really means it too!
Next time, just move their stuff, and if they ask, just say you thought it was left there and you turned it into the lost and found.
I’m sorry Kierst, just try to stay positive, and I hope things get better.