Has anyone else heard of being "Churched" after the birth of a baby.?

try it. you might find yourself running to church.

Greatnan!

Words don't fail me, but forum etiquette means I cannot say them!

I remember when my children were baptised, there was a prayer said for the mother, which blessed her, and offered thanksgiving for the birth. I think the origins are about purification, but those old meanings have long gone. It was rather lovely, actually, and I felt better afterwards!

And me.....

Words fail me. for a change.

my mum was churched in 1962, after brother was born. i went through the service myself, privately, in 1982 after being beset by demons in the liminal phase after childbirth. think of that what you will!

When our son was born in 1966 Mother-in-law was horrified we did not have him christened. We told her that we did not believe and it would be up to him when he was old enough to decide for himself what he believed. She was concerned they would not bury him in the churchyard! OH pointed out they would not "leave him on top".

She also thought I should be "churched" even though she hated religious people - Nuns in particular (a long story) and had no time for religion

Hello NurseNancy and welcome to Gransnet. Is this your first post?

I was churched when my daughter was born she is now. 45 I did not know it still happend from nurse nancy

I am afraid the attitude of nearly every major religion towards women is still deplorable. After all, the first story we have of man is Adam whining 'It wasn't me, Gov, she made me do it'.

When my first baby was christened in 1975, my husband's auntie, a health visitor, stepped up to me and said I should be 'churched' whilst I was there at the church. I asked what that was and she explained it was because I was 'unclean' until I'd been given a blessing by the vicar. I walked away from her, got outside the church and in a series of four letter words told my husband to tell his auntie where she could get off - he didn't, of course, but she got the message and never bothered me when I had the rest of my children.

Not guilty, chadsky - I wouldn't use any church for anything. I was married in a registry office, my children were not christened and I will have a Humanist funeral.

When I had my daughter, 1979 - my mother in law at the time mentioned being churched - to give thanks to god for the safe arrival of the baby. until thien I had never heard of it. I never did at the time, and there was no exclusion or anything -
It seems funny that people who did not think of God or church except for hatches ( christenings) matches (weddings) or dispatches( Funerals) - and we are all guilty of that in some ways were so pedantic about being churched

My MIL told me that my baby would not have a name because she was not being baptised. I pointed out that her birth had been registered.

I have to point out that 'conceived without sin' does not imply that the act of conceiving is sinful, but that Mary and Jesus were born without original sin!

My mum said to me after I had my first child when am I going to be `churched` I asked her what did it mean and she had to admit she wasn't too sure be she had been `churched ` after the bith of all her children and the reason she did it was because it was the done thing and it was what was expected of her at the time .
I told her I wasn't going to do something I didn't understand ( still don't) she thought I had made the wrong choice but I was sure I hadn't.
Up to this very day I don't think I have missed out on anything !

My sister had a baby, out of wedlock, in 1950. My superstitious catholic mother asked her to get churched and she went along with it, even though she was an atheist. The priest refused to do it because she was not married.
Cleansed of what? I loathe the attitude of the Abrahamic faiths to sex and women. If I were forced to choose a religion, it would be one of the pagan types, where the only thing to be revered is nature and the earth itself.

Why is it always said that we should respect all faiths - some involve beating the devil out of children!

I attended a convent grammar school and whist we were constantly indoctrinated and questioning was considered sinful, the Old Testament was very little used- we mostly had to read the New Testament and learn the catechism. I find I usually know much more about catholicism than most practising catholics - know thine enemy! For example, you cannot just confess your sins and be forgiven - you have to have 'a firm purpose of amendment' - i.e. you have to mean sincerely not to sin that way again.

My children are aged from 48 down to 40, five of them, and I remember being "churched" at the end of each of their baptism services, don`t know if I had the right to refuse, but would have been too timid to do so anyway. I always remember that part of it was giving thanks for being brought through the "dangers and perils of childbirth", which mildly amused me, as giving birth, to me anyway, was just like shelling peas!

Grumpyoldwoman, You reminded me that the hospital chaplain visited after the births of both my children. I was the only woman on the ward willing to talk to him. See thread on talking to strangers!!!

My Mother told me she was "churched "after having me in the 50s & I think I can remember her going to church with my baby sister in '61. C of E not Catholic Mum & Nan asked me if I was going to be churched after birth of my first baby in '84 but I just said it wasn't done any more. No idea when the practice did die out. I always understood it to be a combination of thanksgiving, blessing and cleansing.

Dorsetpennt..you have just reminded me that the lovely minister (who married us) came to visit me in hospital after the birth of our first baby (the birth that caused all the hassle in the first place).
He said he was visiting in the hospital and had popped in to see me. He thought it was wonderful that my husband was at the birth and then said we should say little prayer to give thanks for a safe delivery.

SO maybe I had been ''Churched'' after all !!!! Never even thought about that until now !!!! 39 yrs later !!!!

Just to add onto my remarks . Most of the Gransnet contributors seem to be either Christian or non - believers so no remarks have been made about other religion's traditions towards childbirth and all things related to that part of a woman's life. In Orthodox Jewish life woman are 'cleansed' by having a ritual bath after her period has ceased, having removed herself from her husband during her period. Also she is unclean for some time after the birth of her baby and again has a ritual bath. This is especially done with the Hasidim faction. I don't know about Muslims are other faiths. I'd be interested to know.

I had my first child in 1964. Whilst still in hospital - ten days for a first baby then - some of us were 'churched'. I don't remember anything about my being unclean or sinful - the vicar talked about us coming through pregnancy and birth safely. He pointed out that when he was a young vicar in the East End before the war being delivered safely meant something. As JessM said that was the reason . Maybe it was different for Catholics - whose babies used to be full of sin until christened. An RC friend said it was good if a baby cried during being anointed as it meant the devil had left its body. Also if an unbaptised baby died it went into Limbo! If thats the case my whole family will end up there looking after all those babies. I shan't mind as long as they aren't too colicky.

That was a response to super's post.

Glad I didn't have your experience, expat. I think we do get stronger and better at saying no to what we think is unreasonable as we get older.

Indeed. The Wheel of Life. And no gods required.