This morning as I was getting ready to join an interfaith group collecting signatures for a petition that would bring a minimum wage increase and earned sick time question to the November ballot, it occurred to me that perhaps I should wear clericals.
And then I thought, “Well, no, I don’t want to be all, ‘I’M AN ORDAINED RELIGIOUS LEADER IN YOUR FACE WITH MY PETITION.'”
And I thought about how people react to me when I’m in clericals, which is that they have a bit of a reaction, you know how that is, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted that to interfere with being able to talk to people on the streets.
But then I thought, “Well, if I wear my clericals then it’s very clear that this is a moral issue and not just a political issue, and if people ask me why I support the ballot initiative I can talk about justice and equity and people will know that my commitments are faith-based.”
Because I was going to collect signatures as part of ECCO, an interfaith organization, I wound up wearing my clericals. I wore them with a casual hair twist and a denim blazer to communicate that I’m casual and approachable. That’s why I didn’t wear an evening gown. Just kidding.
We have to think about everything, don’t we?
I’m not leading the worship service tomorrow morning (it’s our Youth Bridging Ceremony) and I must say that it was truly fantastic to be out and relaxed on a Saturday. The whole world was out and about and folks were chatty and smiley, all of us so happy about the spring sunshine. I wasn’t preparing church in my mind, so I was able to be really present to life as it happened moment by moment and it was eye-opening for sure, and very rejuvenating. I am going to make sure to plan more Saturdays like this, where I can interact with the community without having the nagging guilt that I should be home making the worship service better or my sermon better (or getting it written in the first place, as happens on most busy weeks).
Saturdays are great! It makes you feel almost like a NORMAL PERSON if you get to spend a Saturday doing normal people things!
Amen and Amen – to both the efforts towards wage justice and to relaxing on a normal Saturday – though you were still doing God’s work!
I always look forward to a Saturday without sermon brain. Sermon brain being the condition that, as we know, means that not much else fits in because even if we’re procrastinating (like writing a comment on BTFM), it’s still very much taking energy and attention. The only way I experience a casual Saturday is when I am on vacation.