"Churched" ?

[FionaO]

Hi All,

Just curious about a phrase used by my Grandmother and wondered if anybody knows if it denotes a particular religion or area as it's not a saying I've heard before.

She said about her son "we got Graham churched at Parish Church in Rotherham before he could visit anyone in their own home.”

My Grandmother was born Hartlepool (1907), lived in and around Newcastle before gradually moving down to Doncaster and then Rotherham where Graham was born in 1934. She was never particularly religious, has both C of E and Catholics in her tree, took the pledge and encouraged said Graham to join the Salvation Army (they wouldn't let him play the trumpet/drum so he declined).

Any thoughts?

Fionaoh

[Marmalady]

Women used to be "churched" after giving birth in earlier times -- to cleanse them of the "sin" of sexual activity need to produce a child
Tho why it was a sin for the woman and not the man -- or even why it was a sin at all as marriage was designed for the procreation of children -- i  don't know

I hadn't heard of the custom lasting into the 1900's before

[arthurk]

It sounds as though there may have been some confusion or incorrect terminology on the part of your grandmother. Churching was done to the mother, and a baby would be baptised (or christened), but both would have happened at around the same time. It would be worth looking for a baptism at Rotherham Parish Church, if you don't have it already.

Arthur

[Berlin-Bob]

There are several other RootsChat topics about Churching in the
RootsChat Reference Library => Lexicon

You can find more details and some external links there.

regards,
Bob


Updated: I have now added this topic to the Lexicon, too.

[FionaO]

Thanks All,

The comment was made and noted (thanks to a cousin) in the 1980's and we'd always assumed she meant christened but thought I'd ask if it was a phrase which was used in the local area just to add a little flesh to the bones, so to speak.

Oooh, and I've bookmarked that link Berlin-Bob as it does look very useful.

Thanks again

Fionaohthereissomuchmoretothissitethanithought

[behindthefrogs]

Churched often applied to a child that was baptised at home usually because it was sickly and not expected to survive.  The original baptism was often recorded in the register as half baptised.  This sometimes led to a second entry in the register and the child appearing to be baptised twice.

[FionaO]

Not sure Graham was a sickly child but I do know the whole family moved from Rotherham to London when he was 6 weeks old.  Could it be they just wanted it done quickly?

Fionao

[SmallTownGirl]

Women used to be "churched" after giving birth in earlier times -- to cleanse them of the "sin" of sexual activity need to produce a child

In the CoE it's "The Thanksgiving of Woman after Child-Birth, commonly called The Churching of Women".  The service says

"Forasmuch as it hath pleased Almighty God of his goodness to give you safe deliverance, and hath preserved you in the great danger of childbirth: You shall therefore give hearty thanks unto God and say .....  [priest then reads Psalm 116 or Psalm 127 ..... Lord's Prayer .... couple of other prayers]  ... Almighty God, we give thee humble thanks or that thou hast vouchsafed to deliver this woman thy servant from the great pain and peril of child-birth: Grant, we beseech thee, most merciful Father, that she through they help may both faithfully live and walk according to thy will in this life present: and also may be partaker of everlasting glory in the life to come; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen"

[stanmapstone]

Women used to be "churched" after giving birth in earlier times -- to cleanse them of the "sin" of sexual activity need to produce a child
Tho why it was a sin for the woman and not the man -- or even why it was a sin at all as marriage was designed for the procreation of children -- i  don't know

I hadn't heard of the custom lasting into the 1900's before

Churching of Women in the Christian Church was a service of thanksgiving and nothing to do with 'uncleaness'

This site gives a comprehensive explanation of 'Churching'  http://users.ox.ac.uk/~mikef/church.html#intro

In Jewish Law the 'uncleaness' came from the bleeding, not from the birth. The period of uncleaness after the birth of a baby boy, 40 days, was half the period of for a girl, 80 days. After 40 days(or 80days) the time of purification was completed, and the woman went to the priest with a sacrificial offering after which she was ceremonially clean from her flow of blood.