Churches Take a Stand on Pews, Replacing Them With Chairs

The Windham First Church of the Nazarene congregation during the first service with chairs last month. Craig Dilger for The Wall Street Journal

Congregations See Shift as Versatile, Modern; Asking Unchurched Youths to Have a Seat

At first, it just didn't sit well with Nancy Shane when her church decided to switch from pews to chairs.

"My generation grew up in pews," the grandmother of three says. She worried the sanctuary of the Windham First Church of the Nazarene would resemble a movie theater.

Yet, when the pews were removed in September and replaced with burgundy-cushioned chairs, she says she decided God didn't care whether she prayed from a pew, a chair or even the floor.  Keep reading