Breastfeeding In The Church

[Spinach]

I won't do quotes, but I'll just say that I agree with Ann. Thank you, Joshua, for your posts as well.

 

[saturneptune]

I guess we figure we can add words like "culture" "discrete" to our behavior and make it alright. There are a number of activities that we do with out bodies that are necessary. But many of them never need be done in public. Then of course we can add the idea of feeding a child and then what ever means we take to accomplish that should just be flaunted in the faces of others.

We intentionally cover parts of our bodies for a reason. This began in Genesis. BF in public is not necessary and it is rather odd that anyone should insist on doing it. Especially at the moment of the worship of God.

This post justifies my comments on the previous page.

 

[Bro. Curtis]

A teenage boy. (whom I once was) would have a very hard time concentrating on a sermon, prayer, or hymn, just by knowing there is a chance he could catch a glimpse of a natural feeding dispenser. Just the way it is. Most churches have nurseries, I thought that was what they were for. Teenage boys, (whom I once was) were not allowed in the nursery.

I think a breast could turn into a stumbling block.

Sorry, just my 2 cents. I probably overcharged.

Going back to the cellar, now.

 

[menageriekeeper]

LOL! 11 pages on whether a woman should breastfeed in public! :laugh:

Sheeesh! I am always amazed at the number of 'rules' Christians can justify from one little bitty passage of scripture that doesn't even pertain to the subject!

Rev. M, you either don't have children or your wife bottlefed. Which was it?

Jim, you may have hit on the crux of the matter: Not whether or not the scriptures say anything but how one was raised to view BF.

Ann has already told ya'll this, but I'm going share "family secrets" too. My parents, who are in their 70's, were married in the 50's. They married without Dad meeting Mother's parents who at the time lived in Arkansas just across the river from Memphis.

Their first trip down my grandmother was nursing her 14th. Yep. You read that right. My mother was number 6 out of 14. So when the baby got hungry, gramma did just what she had done for the other 13. Sat down popped the plug into the socket and nursed her, right in front of Dad, God and creation. After all, why do you suppose God gave women breasts? (Men! Always thinking God had their interests in mind when creating females )

Dad was quite shocked, though he recovered quickly. He had been born and raised in the North and was all but the baby of the family (the baby was adopted so he hadn't seen her be nursed). However, upon discussing this with my Dad's mother, she said that women in her generation in the north were relatively discreet. But, when she was a child, women nursed right out in the open, using a cloth to cover any modesty issues.

Now my own mother was horrified upon finding out that I was going to breastfeed. "only poor people breastfeed!" was her comment (and yes her parents were very poor). Modesty had nothing to do with her decision to bottlefeed us.

So here we are 4 generations of women covering well over 100 years of history (my grandmothers were both born right around 1900) and we have run the gamut of cultural ideals on BF.

Btw, Rev. M. My dad was amazed that I could latch my baby on right in front of him and he couldn't see a thing. (see I learned from my gramma that dad didn't appreciate just having it flopped out with no warning. :laugh: ) He thought it was great that I didn't expect him to leave the room when the baby needed fed.

Someone in the last 11 pages made the comment that down here in the south we still understand why a woman shouldn't breast feed in public. Well, I live in the Heart of Dixie. It's about as south as you can get without getting north again. I breastfed three children, in public, out of public, in church, in the car, in the park, you name it and I fed all them in the south! This is not a right or whong issue. It is not a public health issue (as urinating or defacating inpublic would be). This is an issue of what is best for our children within the structure of each individual family.

So if you don't want to see a woman breastfeeding in public, look in another direction (if you can even tell). But give us mothers a break for doing what is certainly best for our younguns.

 

[Jim1999]

I shall do that next time I preach........look to the baptistry and pound away.

Cheers,

Jim

 

[menageriekeeper]

You know Jim, back when I sang in quite a few church related competitions we kids were taught to look just above the tops of the heads of the people in the audience. Why? Because it gives the illusion of eye contact without having to know what those people are really doing, besides paying rapt attention to a bunch of loud kids who thought they could sing. You might try it.

 

[TCGreek]

Does your church have a policy about this? Does it bother you to see a woman breastfeeding her baby in the sanctuary?

I've been in churches where breastfeeding mothers were sent to the nursery. I'm not for it. I've nursed my babies in the sanctuary discreetly----so discreet in fact that no one even knew.

It's not even an issue over here, but it was in the States.

Opinions?

That's up to the church.

"Sanctuary" in the biblical sense of the word refers to the church, not a building.

Time for us to get our terms correct and stop fighting over nonsense.

 

[Jim1999]

sanctuary in the 21st century refers to that area of the church (building) where the congregation meets to worship.

Do we have to remind people what century we live in?

Cheers,

Jim

 

[Beth]

Bob

I was going to stay out of this and I'm sure later I'll wish I had.
Each church, town, county, state and country has their culture. I have always tried to go with the culture of where I have been or slip on out and not make a fuss.

I have never seen a child bf in church or any place in public but I have been brought up in a rather conservitive home and I still am. If it happen in your church and I saw it and it made me uncomfortable, I would try and not to look, and keep my mouth shut, but in my home or place I would ask you to go in this room so you and your child and other would have privacy.

I found out how conservitive I was when I was in the service in parts of Europe and Africa, I had never seen as many breast showing before or after, but it must have been alright in their culture. Now over 40 years later I was in Italy for a few day and saw on TV more than I had seen in person or TV since my service days. I handled that well, we didn't turn the TV back on.

But back to the main point, I would say it is a culture thing and I would not go to your place and try and change the culture and I wouldn't want you to come to my place and try and change mind.

You misunderstood me....we nursed in private at church, in the pastor's office. The sermon was piped in for all the nursing mothers. Personally, I didn't have a problem going in there. My babies needed the quiet.

 

[Bob Alkire]

You misunderstood me....we nursed in private at church, in the pastor's office. The sermon was piped in for all the nursing mothers. Personally, I didn't have a problem going in there. My babies needed the quiet.

No Beth, I think I understood you correctly, I was in agreement with you.

In the years that I was a pastor, I had never had bf in the auditorium come up. We did have a room for them as you have brought up, where they were able to hear the sermon. It is why I say it must be a culture thing. The first time I ever saw a women bf a child in public was when I was in the service over seas.

In the part of the country where I lived and live the women wanted to bf in private or that was how they were taught. My wife never bf our children in public and she was from Ky. I ask her about why she didn't bf in public when our children were of that age and she said she would not have felt comfortable doing it. A lot has to do with what one wants to do and a lot on culture.

 

[TCGreek]

I shall do that next time I preach........look to the baptistry and pound away.

Cheers,

Jim

But because we label the worship area "sanctuary" it has become sacred and certain acts done there are considered sacrilegious.

 

[Jim1999]

As it should be.

Cheers,

Jim

 

[Beth]

ok

No Beth, I think I understood you correctly, I was in agreement with you.

In the years that I was a pastor, I had never had bf in the auditorium come up. We did have a room for them as you have brought up, where they were able to hear the sermon. It is why I say it must be a culture thing. The first time I ever saw a women bf a child in public was when I was in the service over seas.

In the part of the country where I lived and live the women wanted to bf in private or that was how they were taught. My wife never bf our children in public and she was from Ky. I ask her about why she didn't bf in public when our children were of that age and she said she would not have felt comfortable doing it. A lot has to do with what one wants to do and a lot on culture.

ok, lol....I agree with ya.

 

[Spinach]

SO breastfeeding is sacreligious? Or am I misunderstanding?

 

[annsni]

SO breastfeeding is sacreligious? Or am I misunderstanding?

Absolutely! Didn't you know that a woman's breasts are, have been and always will be a s3xual organ and the fact that they can also nourish and comfort a baby is secondary to their primary purpose? And we wouldn't want to do anything s3xual in the church - anything like having a woman flop them out in public (possibly hitting someone) and doing something so disgusting as FEEDING A BABY!! *shudder*






(yeah - that tongue in cheek does hurt)

 

[Spinach]

It does bother me that it's made out to be sexual. A lot, actually.

 

[saturneptune]

It does bother me that it's made out to be sexual. A lot, actually.

The way I think of this whole issue is, that the louder one shouts it is wrong in church, the more it makes me wonder about the mindset of their thought pattern in general.

 

[NaasPreacher (C4K)]

It does bother me that it's made out to be sexual. A lot, actually.

I can't for the life of me begin to see how breastfeeding as any equation with indecency or sexu@lity. I really don't get it.

Does that mean I don't battle lust? I wish.

 

[Bro. Curtis]

Well, I am glad that the women in our church go elsewhere to breastfeed. I was glad to install a P.A. in the room where they do it. If that makes me weak in some eyes, then I'm weak. Silly me for thinking church would be the one place I wouldn't be tempted to sneak a peek And by the very women who would judge me for doing so.

And I'm speaking from the 14-17 year old male perspective. It's too much for some to handle. What's wrong with walking 100 yards to the nursery ? Should we instead build a pen for pubescent teens to be evangelized ?

 

[annsni]

And I'm speaking from the 14-17 year old male perspective. It's too much for some to handle. What's wrong with walking 100 yards to the nursery ? Should we instead build a pen for pubescent teens to be evangelized ?

And what would be wrong with that?? If it's their perception issue (and trust me, there's NOTHING s3xual at all about breastfeeding - quite the opposite in my experience), then maybe THEY should be someplace else. If, in a room of 100 people, 2 complain and the other 98 don't, do we have to change everything for the 2?

ETA: If they don't see anything, and the mother is actually more covered up than wearing a regular sweater like I'm wearing in my avatar, then what's the problem?