Halo of Praise: Ordination Edition

Alert Reader Beth B. sent this in awhile back, pic included:

Hello, hello! Don’t know how much snow you got down there, but over here it looks like spring–snow almost gone and mud everywhere. I’d rather have snow: it’s prettier and doesn’t get my hopes up that warm weather, longer days with more light and GREEN everywhere is soon to come. I’m a New England gal, I know the drill.

Attached is a picture of my friend’s ordination. Love his new robe–but what caught my attention was the woman standing next to him. I saw her and my immediate thought was, THAT’s how I want to look! Great shoes (fashionable but not too sexy), great skirt length, great tights, flattering jacket, fabulous hair and earrings. I have been weeding lots out of my wardrobe, but as of yet haven’t started replacing anything because I am intimidated (and ok, after paying my estimated clergy taxes for the first time, B-roke). I look so super-young (and work with youth), so I don’t want to dress frumpy or too casual, but I have very little fashion sense about how to put together outfits (and actually really don’t like shopping that much). So at the moment most days I’m sighing “I guess that’s fine” and shlepping off to work. I’m working on it, promise!

Anyway, the point of this e-mail was not to drone on about my lack of interesting appropriate wardrobe, but to share a picture of someone who I thought was a good example of the advice you give on BTFM.

Thanks for all you do for us fashion-challenged ministry types!

Shalom,
Beth

Dear Beth,
Thanks for the photo of such a happy occasion! I agree that the woman in the photo looks lovely, sharp and fashionable. I covet her fab shoes! Her skirt length is great, the tights are just right, the jacket fits, the earrings are dressy and festive, and she looks beautiful and appropriate to the occasion. If she were a participating clergyperson in street clothes, I would have added a scarf or higher neckline to cover up the chest a bit. Not because flesh is sinful or anything ridiculous like that, but an open neck in a cathedral setting ordination just feels a bit informal to me. For clergy, that is.

Halo of praise! The men look fantastic, too! (The Jewish mother in me wants to straighten out the priest’s stole, but I bet someone did the moment after you took the pic).

5 Replies to “Halo of Praise: Ordination Edition”

  1. hey there,
    I don’t think you would be able to straighten out that stole. If I’m looking at it right, it’s a panel sewn in. At least on the other robes like that I’ve seen, it’s attached.

    p.s.-I’ll call when my schedule is not so crazy.

  2. Kim’s right: those are panels on the gown. Someone probably helped him into it or gave it to him on the spot.

    Better to have a crooked gown than to be seen fiddling with it before God and the congregation. (A dresser, just for the ordination, wouldn’t hurt, though.)

  3. In my tradition, being vested is part of the ordination service- my “dressers” were the flock of kids who tossed a chausable covered in their handprints over my head (while I crouched).

    But since then? Always happy to have a motherly (Jewish or not) type straightening my robes as we pause before processing in.

    As for great tights?
    I’ve recently fallen in love with welovecolors.com
    So far I only have respectable grey and beige- but there are some actual colours calling my name.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *