An ode to sleeping in church
Church should be a space of comfort and safety, which means it might also be a space for sleep.
What is it about church that makes some people more apt to “check their eyelids for leaks,” as the father of our minister, Rev. Heather Malnick, used to say? And how do those in church leadership feel when they observe congregants dozing?
Rev. Michael Barnes, retired Presbyterian minister, remembers the difficulty he had attending night school. After working full-time, he’d struggle with staying awake during evening classes. Some students around him would fall fully asleep.
“At one point,” Barnes says, “I asked the professor [about it]. She simply said she realized that they had worked all day and their inability to stay awake was understandable; it didn’t bother her. She also expressed an appreciation for their willingness to work toward a degree. I thought, ‘What a great attitude.’ It influenced my outlook on those who slept while I was speaking in formal settings.”
Rev. Malnick is equally gracious. “The reasons why people fall asleep at church may be mundane. . . Are they sick? Are they dealing with anxiety or stress?” Or, she ponders hopefully, “perhaps church is a place where people feel comfortable, protected and under the watchful and loving eyes of God and God’s children, so much so that they feel safe enough to close their eyes and nod off for awhile.” Either way it’s a beautiful picture of church as a place of rest, safety and peace. “Is this the first opportunity they’ve had all week to simply sit and receive spiritual nourishment?”
