[Magdalen] Need chairs for nave!

[Roger Stokes]

On 20/01/2015 18:36, Jim Guthrie wrote:
>> And what do we do with our purses? Hats & gloves? Phones?
>> And where do we set our prayer books?
>
> Many Churches have moved to chairs and discarded the pews. Not only do 
> the
> chairs have bookracks and sometimes latches, but in smaller intimate 
> services
> they can be placed in a circle or different configuration which, at 
> least to my
> way of thinking, is the best way to do a quiet, intimate said Eucharist.

I agree that chairs gathered round the altar is good for a Eucharist 
with a small attendance.  Some years ago I attended such a Eucharist 
where the Peace was shared by us all holding hands in a rough circle to 
signify our being one body.

>
> These chairs tend to be quite a bit wider than the usual folding 
> chair, but can
> be stacked if need be.
>
> Chairs which allow all manner of reconfiguration for use of the Nave 
> for a variety of other uses -- solving the curse of terrible 
> stewardship of parishes which use the Nave for an hour or three on 
> Sunday morning, but need to keep it reasonably heated all week in 
> winter to prevent pipes from freezing.

There are a couple of points here.  One is that many heating systems 
have a frost protection setting which will fire up the boiler if there 
is a danger of the water in the pipes freezing.  The other is 
maintenance of the fabric which benefits from not too wide a range of 
temperature during the week.  There are also arguments that maintaining 
a certain relatively low temperature which is boosted on occasion is 
cheaper than heating the building from cold.  I know a priest who tried 
that and found it to be true.  Pipe organs are particularly susceptible 
to temperature variations so a more equable temperature throughout the 
week is good for them as well as the fabric of the building.

Roger