Churches are no different from other places of gathering in that they need furniture and amenities available for those that attend.
It’s most likely that your first thoughts when thinking about furniture in a church is the altar, lectern, pulpit or perhaps the font.
These are the functional piece of furniture that are used for reading, prayers, christenings and Sunday services. The majority of furniture in a church is functional as well as decorative.
Despite these more historic pieces of furniture, churches also need furniture that can cater for the visitors, community groups and other events that are hosted in a churches space. It’s estimated that close to 90 per cent of churches are used for community purposes as well as for worship.
Things to consider when buying church chairs
Buying church chairs is not as simple as just finding a seat for a good price and going ahead with it. The chairs are going to be used for worship services, productions and other church activities so there are certain areas that need to be considered when buying church chairs and research should be conducted into the:
- Price
- Space of the room
- Comfortability
- Durability
Before taking the first steps, you should measure the size of the room that the chairs will be used. Think about how many people attend the church’s service and group events and how you’d like the seating to be arranged in the church. This should provide with the basis of how many chairs you will need and how many of each seat will fit into a row.
Because church-goers can spend hours seated through church service, comfortable seating is a must. Consider the benefits of wooden and upholstered seating: wooden may be more in keeping with the traditional appearance of a church but upholstery provides visitors with comfort during long services.
Perhaps ask your regular visitors what they would prefer in the church.
Like most furniture purposes, durability is key. Church chairs will be used frequently and for a range of activities, so it’s important that they are capable of withstanding use so that you don’t have to constantly replace them.
Switching from pews to chairs
Pews, the long benches traditional used in churches, are beginning to be withdrawn in favour of modern, more comfortable seating in churches. A Church of England court has ruled that replacing pews with comfortable seating would encourage more people to attend services.
Many churches and cathedrals are now introduced different seating as opposed to the traditional pews. These are the plans of St Margaret's Church in Rainham who plan to remove the pews and install stainless steel chairs which will be upholstered with blue fabric.
Before making changes to the appearance of the church, priests must apply to the local church court for permission. Pews are part of the history of the church and need to be replaced seamlessly, not to affect the appearance of the church.
It’s important that new seating is an appropriate design and colour to match with the character of the church. Like the Church of England said, replacing the seating could result in more people attending. Nevertheless, it’s a big decision to make.
Stacking church chairs
Stackable chairs and becoming increasingly popular for churches and cathedrals. More often than not, the church is at the heart of the community and used for meetings or as the venue for events, clubs and activities.
If the church has storage space, stacking chairs are an obvious option. By investing in stacking chairs, space is freed up in the centre of the church where pews were once present. This space opens up plenty of opportunities for a church.
Church furniture tips and recommendations
There is a range of stacking chairs available in a number of different designs. Some popular choices for churches are the Balmoral aluminium stacking chair and the Richmond stacking chair. The chairs come in different coloured frames and a choice of coloured fabrics. This means that the church can alter the chair’s design to match the building’s interior.
The comfort that these stacking chairs provide will be a welcome addition for many churchgoers. The ability to stack ten chairs high is perfect for storing away and using the space for other reasons and cleaning the church.
If a church wants to maintain the structured layout that pews provide, linking clips enable chairs to be temporarily connected in a row.
For churches that want to keep the appearance of pews whilst providing more comfortable seating, settle seating is a popular choice. The Killarney Settle can be upholstered in a range of fabrics and has an authentic appearance.
Where to buy church furniture
Trent Furniture is proud to be the chosen supplier of furniture for churches across the UK. With so many key decision makers in place at a church, the process can be long and it can be hard to please every member but at Trent Furniture there is a chair design for everyone.
What’s more, we offer a free chair trolley on order of more than 100 stacking chairs.
For more information about our church furniture or your requirements, call our team today on 0116 2986 185.