Clergy gals,
I hear that wearing the dog collar is a commitment that can feel onerous at times. I have written many posts stating my position that clericals should be worn with classic garments, and only in black or blue, else risking a conflicted public image, ie, “Hi! I’m an ordained religious leader but I’m really desperate to assert my individuality, too! So, like, although my clericals communicate my vocational commitment really powerfully, I’m going to let my super stylin’ jacket loudly broadcast how snappy and fashionable I am! Because I really can’t handle it if you miss that important fact about me!”
All of which has the end result of communicating immaturity and inner conflict. I know it’s hard, pigeons. I have compassion. But I also don’t want you running around undermining your pastoral authority and power of presence by appearing to place a higher priority on being a hip chick than being a self-respecting priest or minister. By all means be chic and fashionable. Just be careful not to look like you’re trying too hard.
Here is a neckline that is very hot nowadays that I think would look fantastic with a collar:
I’m being treated for Lyme disease and man, I can’t even make it until 10 PM these days. You should see me get ready for bed. My head alway feels cold so I wear a little cotton cap to sleep in. As I pad around in my robe shutting things down for the night I look like an Amish woman, or maybe Jean Paul Marat.
I’ve always loved you as Jean Paul Marat. [This made me giggle a lot.- PB]
Sure hope you feel better soon – Lyme disease can knock your energy way down.. take care and get lots of rest… and I loved the photos with this post. Even though I don’t have to wear a collar, these jackets would look great with one.
For church events requiring some formality I’ll wear black, grey or navy suits with my collar. (I find the dog collar descriptions – which I only heard this year for the first time – offensive. The piety of my first ordaining community was that the collar was a yoke wherein we felt the hand of God leading/guiding/restraining us at all times, so it was supposed to be tight. I still have some of that in me. And clericals were black or white; I still maintain that.)
At other times I wear jeweled toned suits – I’m partial to shantung and other shimmers – embodying my my call in my black woman’s body and culture. I’m in a fairly hierarchal religious and cultural tradition, and have my own issues with clericalism. Wearing church lady suits sometimes or Fortune 500 suits in which I also teach in sans collar allows me to live out my vocation in a way that is authentic to me. [Sorry about the dog collar reference. I thought it was offensive years ago but I keep hearing Christian clergy referring affectionately to their clericals that way and I adopted it. I don’t like it either, and you’ve persuaded me to drop it. – PB]
Womenspirit had Janies on back order, so I just received mine, weeks wearing a clerical collar almost daily for public witness with the Chicago Public School teachers’ union strike. I had worn a second-hand gift of a black shirt and tab that I received from a Presbyterian colleague many years ago. He was/is a small man, and the shirt fit reasonably well, though it was clearly not made for a female body. When I ran into him at a restaurant, I jokingly said, “Phil, you need some DARTS, man.” He didn’t bat an eye and said, “No, YOU need darts.” God bless Womenspirit. God bless the UU tradition that gives us some clergy wardrobe flexibility. And God bless you for helping me understand how to wear a clerical collar for public witness with dignity and respect. Thanks!
And healing mercies, Darlin’.
Whoops, that’s “weeks AFTER wearing a clerical collar almost daily…”
Sorry to hear about the Lyme disease. I hope your energy returns soon.
Sorry to hear about the Lyme disease. Keep warm, and think of Leonhard Euler… [Ha ha ha!!! Love it! – PB]
Lyme disease has a long recovery period — plese take care of yourself.
I’m just very glad you got diagnosed! Now you can get it completely cleared, as hard as that is on a body too. I hope you’re being religious (!!) with probiotics to balance out the havoc in your poor body. Please take good care through the holiday/Holy Day season…and keep us posted.
First, eeek! regarding the Lyme disease and echoing the “take care of yourself” chorus, PB!
What brought me back to the conversation, though, was Rev. Dr. Wil’s comment regarding the clerical collar and the language used to refer to it in the original post. On the one hand, as a lay person (even one discerning a call to ministry) in a tradition whose clergy don’t usually wear clericals, I’ve hardly got any standing to comment on the subject. On the other hand, this being the internet… I’ve read the use of irreverent language regarding clerical collars as a way to acknowledge the tension that’s inherent in the role: it’s a small thing on a physical level, but the stiffness of the collar or the weight of the stole has almost nothing to do with the material it’s made of. There’s a very human urge to take such things lightly, lest they become too heavy to carry…
It’s a privilege to listen in on these conversations, standing on tiptoe with my nose against the window from this side of the window.
I’m so sorry to hear you have Lyme Disease. Please take good care of yourself. [I don’t have it! It was a false alarm! But thank you! – PB]