Edinburgh - The problem of filling empty pews in Scottish churches could be solved by getting rid of the pews, Douglas Fraser reports.
The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland next month is to discuss a proposal to replace pews with chairs, accepting that the one-time aim of fitting as many people in for an address by the preacher is no longer the priority. Individual seats are not new for Scottish Presbyterian churches. At the High Kirk in Edinburgh in 1637, chairs were reportedly hurled at Episcopalian clerics using the English Book of Common Prayer.