I just found out that our Ward’s block meeting time is going to change from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. in January. And I was talking with some friends, and they informed me that in January they’re being switched to the 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. slot.
Is anyone else switching meeting times? And what are your feelings about the switch?
Whether or not you are switching this time around, what is your favorite block time? Is there anyone in creation who likes the 1:00 slot? How about the 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. slot?
I’m guessing that preferences may depend on whether one has kids (but is there any good three-hour block of time for little ones?) and whether one likes to stay out late on Saturdays and accordingly sleep in on Sundays. (I recall I was more likely to stay up and watch Saturday Night Live back when we had the 11:00 slot).
My own preference is for the 9:00 a.m. slot. But of course, that means our bishopric usually starts their meetings at 6:00 a.m. so maybe it’s not such a good deal for them.
What do you think? Which is the plum slot, and why?
By Common Consent, a Mormon Blog 
The 9 am slot is best for young children because they don’t miss their afternoon nap. My little children could not tolerate the 1 pm time when they were little. Now that they’re older, it doesn’t matter so much but my favorite is the 11 to 2, because I like to be lazy on Sunday mornings.
Our ward switches every January with the other ward in our building- one of us gets 9a.m., the other gets 1p.m.
Starting next week, it’s our turn to have the 1-4 slot. I’m tearing up just at the thought of how wonderful SM will be with three little kids right at nap time.
If I had my ‘druthers, I would stick with 9-12 forever.
11-2. Sleep in a little, have some time after. We get it every three years. 9-12 is next, cause you get it over with. 1-4 sucks because you get out so late.
I’m with Tracy. However, the WORST time for mothers with little children is 11 to 2. Come on! Not only are they missing lunch, but it spans two nap times… Grr…
Luckily, we’re switching from the 1PM slot to the 9AM slot. Hooray!! That’s my favorite…
I’m a student at Washington State University in one of two single student wards. Growing up I always enjoyed going to the 9:00 time because I was able to come back do homework and listen to football games on the radio while the house went into quiet mode until the early afternoon.
Now, as stated previously, I’m a college student moving from the 1pm time-slot to the 9am time-slot. I wish I could schedule my own worship services the same way I schedule my classes… None of which begin before 10:30.
On a different note. This is my first time commenting, and I’d like to say that I quite enjoy this community and the publications on this blog.
Keep it up!
11-2! Sleeping in yet you still feel like you have a good amount of the day to do other stuff if needed.
For my family, 10:00-1:00.
I don’t like 6AM leadership meetings, and my wife doesn’t like prodding children (of any age) into getting ready before 8:00. (and we no longer have napping little ones)
For my current and former callings, 2:00-5:00.
Most of the units in our stake meet in the morning. My teenagers like to go with me when I attend or speak in various wards (to see their friends in the stake), but I don’t always let them if it conflicts with our own meetings. I also am a Church geek who loves to speak in Sacrament Meeting (shocker to everyone, I know), and the afternoon schedule allows me to substitute for others who can’t make a speaking assignment for whatever reason.
However, since my wife ultimately is the boss, my favorite block is 10:00-1:00. After all, in the end, “Yes, Dear,” is the fundamental motto of my universe.
My favorite time slot? 9:30 to 10:00 a.m. at the chapel and 10:30 to 11:30 at the soup kitchen for priesthood and Sunday School lessons by e-mail.
I freely admit my favorite block is 1:00-4:00. 2:00-5:00 is slightly better. Before stones are thrown, I obviously no longer have a child who requires napping. Well, she’s a teenager, so she thinks differently.
The reason I love the later block is because, for me, it is much easier to keep the Sabbath holy. We tend to use the morning hours doing Sunday things. For whatever reason, it’s harder to remember the reason for the day when church is over at 12:00.
Dh, on the other hand, hates later church because his meetings still start at 7:00am. When asked why, he laughs maniacally and mutters something about meetings begetting meetings.
11-2 is my favorite. It’s late enough to sleep in a little, to leave plenty of time to get everyone out the door, or to write those primary talks we always seem to forget. It’s early enough that it makes it possible to do something with my non-member family in the afternoon (like an Easter Egg Hunt).
I’ve yet to see a 3 hour time slot that works with babies. 9-12 hits morning nap, lunch, and two nursings. 11-2 hits morning nap, afternoon nap, lunch and two nursings. 1-4 hits afternoon nap and two nursings. 2am-5am would hit that middle of the night nap and two nursings…
11-2 is good.
I also don’t mind starting at 1. But I am in college, so more time to sleep beforehand is nice (I also have meetings beforehand as well, so it gives plenty of buffer time).
We’re in the 10:00-1:00 slot. Our only child still at home is eight, so nobody misses naptime. I’ve taken to doing the one-hour block again, which means I have a nice lunch ready for DH and The Kid when they get home.
I really tried to get choir to happen from 9-9:45, but nobody would come. So we have to go back for choir at 4:00, which is a pain.
We only have one ward in our building, which makes scheduling nice. Although it’s no way to build a Zion people.
Any three hour time slot beats priesthood 8-9, Sunday School 10-11:30 and sacrament meeting from 4 to whenever the last speaker finally shut up. Or, if we were on the later schedule, we didn’t get home till close to 8pm!
Anytime anyone complains about the three hour block I just think of what was and am grateful for what is.
9-12 — maybe a holdover preference from pre-block days. We’re just finishing a year of 11-2 which was okay but not ideal.
I was afraid we were going to be stuck with the 1-4 slot next year, but I think the singles ward in our building gets that permanently.
10 to 11. that’s it.
as we have young kids we’ve disliked 1-4pm for nap reasons, but we realized rather late this year that it’s a perfect schedule for having guests over for a waffle breakfast. makes the day fun and spares them having to make their own breakfast. the kids were in a much better mood for church. (a much fancier version of the Methodist love feast, and without all the confessing).
#15 – Why…why…Steve. I’m shocked. Is everything OK?
I prefer 10-1 because I can sleep in a bit but still have a free afternoon. I don’t like 1-4 because I feel like I don’t have time for family time or personal devotions. Right now, my ward meets at 9:30, which is pretty good. We’re not changing when the new year starts.
My ward swiches between 9-12 and 12:30-3:30, and I don’t really like either option. In an ideal world I’d have 10-1 or 11-2, but I suppose it could be worse. If I had 2-5, I just don’t think I could handle it.
You people should try my ward…the Bishop announces every week what our time schedule will be for the next week. It might be 10:30-1:30, it might be 9-11, it might be 2:15-5:15. We have to keep changing the times so we won’t be caught meeting on a regular schedule. Crazy.
My wife loves the 2-5 schedule. It doesn’t screw with nap time, meetings aren’t at the crack of dawn, and we have plenty of time to get ready without rushing (we can even do laundry if we need to). In the hours before Church, we put on Church video, the children can write letters to relatives, etc. It’s just a less-rushed day.
We would probably prefer 1-4, but it’s not an option. Parking is a problem in our area and mandates 2-5.
Re: #20 – I think I will count my blessings.
I love 9-12. Get up, eat, get dressed, go to church. Plenty of time afterwards for a family activity or to invite friends over.
I hate 1-4. Get up, eat, get dressed, annoy each other, get dressed for church, eat just before you leave spilling food on someone’s clothes in the process, go to church, get back too late to do anything.
But the worst really is 10-2 and I’m grateful I haven’t been in a triple-share building for awhile. Napping destroyed and when are we supposed to eat? It’s like jet lag every week. Hate it.
In the Manhattan singles ward (back when there was still only one), we had the 3-6 pm block for years. I think singles automatically get the one that works least for families.
I always liked it — plenty of time for sleeping late, and it was perfect for going out to dinner with ward friends afterward in one of the many good restaurants in that area. OTOH, it seemed to make Monday mornings come more quickly.
Only 1 ward in my building. 9:30 – 12:30 works just great!
I Live in The Woodlands TX, and we’ll be starting at 8:30am in the new year…can anyone match or beat that for early?
Our new ward not only changes Sunday blocks, we also trade the nights (Tuesday/Wednesday) when we hae YM/YW/scouts/activity days. Apparently Wednesday is considered the plum night and 9am Sunday the plum block so if you have 9am church you have Tuesday night for activities and if you have 1pm church you get Wednesdays.
It’s a real pain to have to completely rearrange everything but I’m trying to have a good attitude about it this first time and pray a ward split moves us into a new building soon.
I think I’ve done just about every possible time slot over the years, including a 4:00 to 7:00 slot when our building in Utah had four wards. That was my least favorite. We are switching from my favorite, 12:30 to 3:30, to 9 AM to Noon, but it has no impact on me, as HC starts at 6 AM regardless, and my current assignment will take me to the other ward in our building for the 12:30 block.
As it is, I can go to HC meeting, come home for breakfast most weeks and a short nap, make part of our ward’s block, and then hit my ward assignment after that. Like Ray, I have to admit being a church geek. Some meetings are a waste, but I love our HC meetings. Best learning experience I’ve ever had in the church.
9-12. easiest. Leaves the rest of the day
1:30-4:30 Worst. Will spend all AM getting ready and then the rest of the day is shot.
11-2 is doable
We have three wards in our building so we rotate every year.
Queno: Your stake needs another building. That chapel in Keller is simply to small to accomodate you all. I mean there is a trafic jam for heavens sake.
We’re switching from 11-2 to 9-12 in January. We haven’t had the 9-12 for a while, which has been nice, because getting kids ready (while getting yourself ready) for 9 am church is not fun–I still remember constantly being late the last time we had that schedule. Now that my kids are older, I think it will work better for us, so I’m kind of looking forward to it because it leaves more of the day for family time after church. I hate 1-4 and 2-5. I think 10-1 is about ideal.
I have another question: We have always had Sacrament Meeting last, whereas it seems to me that most people have it first. Does anyone know what the rough percentages are on that? Is it true that the majority of people have SM first? I prefer having it last, but I suspect that we will eventually be on a schedule where it is first.
Ann, things are fine (though I am sleepy — see today’s firestorm). I still think we should go to the 2 hr block.
Steve,
Our ward did two hours this past Sunday, sacrament followed by 45 minutes of RS/EQ. I’d have to say that at this point nothing short of a godly bolt of lightening could convince me that we need that third hour.
We switch times every year between 9am and 1 pm with the ward we share the building with. The 1 pm does mess with nap time, but since I am ward clerk, It is better than having to be at a 6:30 meeting…
My ward meets at 10:00 and never changes (we’re the only ward in the building) and I love it. I get to sleep in, but it’s still early enough that the entire day isn’t wasted just waiting until church starts.
I actually am not in favor of a 2 hour block.
I think the primary kids need a sharing time and class time for both JR and SR. (large primaries)
Also I think the teenagers need a SS class and YM/YW
I can’t believe anyone would prefer the 11-2pm time slot. Lunch AND nap time obliterated. It’s the worst.
I like the 1-4pm block. You can sleep in, and Sunday’s done before you know it.
MCQ (#30), I suspect that sacrament meeting first is more common. I actually had no idea that having sacrament meeting last was an option until I went to BYU, and even then I figured it was just a weird BYU thing until I went on a mission and saw normal wards that did it that way. My current ward has sacrament meeting last, and I like it. However, I understand how it is more difficult for families with young kids who are sick of church and sitting quietly by the time sacrament meeting even starts. I think that sacrament meeting first is more common, though I have absolutely no data to back that up, just my own observations.
They’re all problematic. 9-12 can be hard to get little kids moving, but they don’t miss any meals, so they might be better behaved. 11-2, really hard on little kids. When I was in the nursery, we brought lunch for them.
I hate 9-12, which we have next year. I’m going to attend my old ward, which will meet at 1 pm, for sacrament. I have a lot of friends in that ward and I’m certain I will enjoy it. I’ll go to Relief Society at 11 am and skip Sunday School, which I do anyway.
I wish Bill would get put back on the high council so I could have some peaceful Sundays.
MCQ, I’m reasonably sure that sacrament first is the more common arrangement. In my stake, I think every ward does it that way. But I’ve seen Utah wards that do it the other way (this might be an issue where there are lots of wards sharing a building).
I like sacrament first because it’s what I’m used to, but sacrament last would sort of mimic the old pre-block schedules, so I could see that that would have a certain appeal to it.
My take is that if you have small kids, once they’ve been to primary, there is very little of interest to a six year old in Sacrament meeting, and it becomes boring pretty quickly. With Sacrament meeting first, at least they can look forward to primary, and something designed for them a their level. Keeps them better behaved, IMO.
(Spoken with the experience of six children. I hate to think how many miles I did in laps around the hallways of our standard plan buildings over the years, either lugging a kid, or chasing one.)
Because of our missionary calling, we attend the block of meetings from 11 to 2 in a Spanish-speaking branch. Then we make the two-minute trek to our home ward (yes, we live in Utah, why do you ask?) for the last two hours of that block. I swear this is by our children’s request — they sincerely like going to Primary/YW twice, with two sets of friends. (We have four children, ranging from 4 to 12, by the way. We also have a 16-year-old exchange student, who is less enthusiastic about the arrangement.) We have a quick snack in the van on the way from one meetinghouse to the other.
Next year every unit in the stake shifts two hours later, so we will have 9 to noon in the home ward and 1 to 4 in the branch. We haven’t decided whether to attend both sets of meetings. The kids would like to; we’ll see how long that lasts, I guess.
Our stake has sacrament meeting first, which is a blessing for families with children like ours.
There is no ideal block for little children. My personal favorite, I guess, is 11 to 2 because getting my kids ready for 9 a.m. church is like hell on Earth. But 1 to 4 is also OK by me. I’m a church geek.
Re: #26. I grew up near Sugarland and now live in the Dallas area. We too are going to 8:30 a.m. next year (from 11-2). I have a 10 y.o., 7 y.o. and 2 y.o. and am due the end of January. My husband was put in the bishopric a few months ago. Can you top that? I have no clue how I’m gonna do it! I see a lot of lateness in our future. I’m peeved because the pregnancy came a few months before the calling. I don’t appreciate being abandoned!
9 is too early and 1 is way too late. I have never heard of a 4pm ward, but I live in the South, so we never have that many wards meeting in a building. I even think that 11 is too late. I really like a 10am block, but I have only seen that in my former singles ward because no other units were meeting in the Institute building.
Re:42
You toped me. We only have a 3.5 y.o, and an 11 month old. None on the way as of that. I’m not in the bishopric, but I’m only 29…so I’ve got a lot of time left to try and avoid that calling.
We live in a country where we are the only ward.
Since we have to throw off the neighbors we change
our meeting times alternating 10:30am and 1:30pm. I preer
the morning schedule. We don’t like to met too early or too late. We hold seminary immediately afterwards on the morning schedule and immediately before on the morning schedule. My wife has a five and half hour block instead of three because of it. I just go home right after.I heard the church was going to a two hour block in some places but we don’t have that here.
We have a child who naps, so none of the choices are any good. I experience true spirituality on the days we skip out after sacrament so he can get his nap.
Re: 44
Yea, I told my husband he wasn’t sinning enough.
Our ward switches from 9am to 1pm, and I dread it. It just eats up the entire Sabbath…not much gets done in the morning,and it’s over by the time we get home. However, I have learned not to complain, after watching my sister in law, the one with 5 kids ages 3-14, and husband in the bishopric, navagate the construction in her building. They had EIGHT wards, and hers met 7-10pm for a year! They didn’t even try to schedule HFPE, Mutual, scouts etc, at the building, just met at homes or the public library’s conference room. How come knowing others have it worse never comforts me?