A church in Pennsylvania has sparked widespread debate after publicly welcoming noisy children during worship.
The Mt Washington United Brethren Church, enacted a new policy with a memo that stated: "We are committed to transparency and accountability in all matters of church life" before detailing "comprehensive procedures regarding loud children in worship".
The church asked members to consider the memo their "official notice of policy clarification" before posting the new rules:
"Effective immediately, if a family is considering visiting Mt. Washington Church and they have a loud kid, the following options are available:
Option 1: The family should bring the kid.
Option 2: The family should make sure they bring the kid.
Option 3: The family is to see that the child is brought to church."
Pastor Alan Harbold explained the intention behind the policy, telling Fox News Digital that the church wanted to reassure parents that their children belonged in church.
The memo from the church said: “The sound of children in worship is not a distraction. It is evidence of life, growth, and the future of the church.”
It continued: “If your child makes noise, you are not bothering us. You are blessing us.”
After the message spread across social media, reactions were sharply divided. Some critics argued church was not a daycare and said children should be taught to sit quietly during services. Others praised the church’s approach as a more compassionate reflection of Christian values.
Harbold said: "We were thrilled to see the idea of this post gaining so much traction not just from our posting, but the sharing and re-creations of the post, drawing the attention of many people to the idea of how important it is to have families worship together. Jesus Himself in the book of Matthew says to let the little children come to Him."
While addressing the fact that it's important for parents should be parenting their kids, Harbold reiterated that "the most important part is getting the kids to church in the first place, and we want to have an atmosphere that welcomes families to come and worship without fear of being ‘annoying’ or ‘too much".
Retired child and adolescent psychiatrist Dr Steve Grcevich wrote on his Child Psychiatry for Christians Substack that the response showed how deeply the issue resonated with families.
He suggested the discussion could become a “catalyst for change in the church’s approach with families of kids with big emotions and behaviors”.
Harbold said the goal was simple: to ensure parents felt welcome bringing their children to worship without fearing they were being a distraction.