Pay for Your Pew

Churches in the 19^th and 20^th centuries had a tradition that many today would scoff at: they would charge parishioners rent for their pews. Members would pay an annual rent, which would allow them to sit in the same pew each week at Sunday services. Not all pews at a church would be rented, to allow people who opted not to pay the rental fee to come and pray, but it is believed that many of the unrented pews were further in the back and without cushioned seating. At Saint Mark’s Church in Philadelphia, a meeting about pew rental was recorded in 1947. It went into detail about the privileges that those who opted to rent pews should have, while also explaining that the reservation of pews did not apply to special occasions and holidays. Pews in the front traditionally cost more to rent, as they had better access to the sound and a better view.