We can probably spend the next hour telling humorous and outrageous stories about seating.  From seats at school, seats on airplanes, and stories of being seated at wedding receptions with folks that are, …what can I say?  “Unique” seems like a good word. We even have stories about seats at church.

Did you know that until the early/mid twentieth century, it was common practice in Anglican, Catholic, and Presbyterian churches to rent pews in churches to families or individuals as a means of raising income? This was especially common in the United States where, unlike Europe, churches lacked governmental financial support. So, churches rented pews to families, which of course enforced a sort of social status in church seating within a parish. It led to all kinds of problems. Should the pew rents simply be renegotiated, should they occasionally be subject to auction, can they be included in the will, bequeathed to the next generation?