Pounding is a ritual in

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

in which a new

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

or minister is given gifts by members of the congregation of that church at which he is assigned to preach. The practice can be traced back to at least the 19th century, when communicants of a church visited the

parsonage A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically own ...

and dropped off a pound of an item, such as "coffee, sugar, flour or honey." When dropping off items to help the new clergyman out, congregants would spend time with him, also getting to know his family in cases of Christian denominations that permit married clerics. The practice of pounding takes place across

Christendom Christendom historically refers to the Christian states, Christian-majority countries and the countries in which Christianity dominates, prevails,SeMerriam-Webster.com : dictionary, "Christendom"/ref> or is culturally or historically intertwine ...

, in the countries of Africa as well as those of North America. It is done throughout many

Christian denomination A Christian denomination is a distinct religious body within Christianity that comprises all church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadership, theological doctrine, worsh ...

s, including the

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

, United Brethren, and

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

traditions, among others.

References

{{reflist

External links

An Old-Fashioned Pounding by Samantha Ewing
(description of pounding) Christian practices Christian clergy