“Festive” In Clericals

Generic Italian greeting! Bacci!

I got this call for help on Facebook today. Gillian writes,

Trying to come up w/ a variation on clericals to wear to tonight’s pasta dinner that simultaneously says “festive” and “I’m the priest” and is also something that allows me to move freely for set-up and take down and that I don’t care if a plate of spaghetti sauce gets spilled on. A sartorial challenge! Oh PeaceBang, where art thou? 🙂

I am RIGHT HERE, using a Bruno Tonioli accent to answer this question!
(Can I just say that I love him? And that all of the judges on “Dancing With The Stars” are wonderful, as are the pros? And that the costume and hair and production people rock my world every week, even when they put together a super cheesy couples dance to “My Heart Will Go On?” I love that show. I love the “journey” of the stars being all stiff and insecure and resistant and defensive and then immersing themselves in the discipline of rehearsing and trusting their pro, and getting back out there and feeling themselves and having Len Goodman imperiously critique them and then crying and then getting all determined to do better, and then working their butts off and then knocking it out of the park their next dance? Len Goodman is my world. But I love them all).

BACK ON TOPIC.

So, dear Gillian. A friend of yours recommended that you wear a Hawaiian shirt to this event.
Nooooooooooooo!
You live in Rhode Island! This is a spaghetti dinner, not a luau. It is not summer. You are not on a beach or near one. You are not wasting away in Margaritaville. There are other options for festive gatherings.

I’ve written plenty on why we should not re-design clericals to express our individuality or conform to an occasion. They’re a symbol and an identifier. So no, Gillian, you can’t paint meatballs on yours for the evening.

Seriously, though, how about this? Sleeveless clericals with a bright cardigan over it (maybe even a bold autumnal floral?), pencil skirt and flats, and bright lipstick and a white waiter’s apron for when you’re helping out?

A spaghetti supper seems informal enough that a cardigan is appropriate. What do you think? If you were hosting a reception for, for example, Haitian relief, you could upgrade to a blazer for the welcome and any presentation, eat in that, and then pull a Mr. Rogers and throw on a cardigan for clearing and washing up.

I’ve done that switcheroo a lot: at community Passover seders, Stewardship Campaign Kick-off suppers, and other times when I knew I wouldn’t need to be visiting through the whole event. You can literally roll up your sleeves in a cardigan, it doesn’t flap around when you wash dishes or pick up messy plates, and it’s still polished enough to go with clericals.

And ultimately, what’s festive is YOU, your attitude, your smile, your presence and attention to folks, your praising of the sketti, your laughter and love for the ministry and your people. You could wear charcoal grey and black top to bottom and still convey festivity. But you won’t, right? It’s too early for black and bling season, that reliable combo.

Have a smashing time!

—- Update—

HEY! Gillian done good! Click the photo to enlarge:

gillian

This seems 100% terrific to me. The jacket has a tiny bit of wildness factor, red is a great color for a Sketti Dinner (sauce will blend right in), she’s a skotch more formal than others are likely to be, which I always think is a fine choice to make. It says, “This is fun and social but I’m still at work.” I really appreciate that message, myself. if I see a minister in a T shirt and shorts whooping it up with the crowd, I hesitate to approach him about anything church-related. And if I have come to a church for the first time through a social event, I appreciate the non-verbal signal that yes, this may be a non-Sunday event but I am still on-duty.

In an era where lots of folks are entering our doors for the first time through non-worship programming, this bears some consideration. If I saw a pastor in a Hawaiian shirt, I’d be like, “Oh, he’s in party mode. Better not bother him.”

MESSAGING! It’s a real thing!

P.S. I totally want some spaghetti now.

2 Replies to ““Festive” In Clericals”

  1. Your comment about being a bit dressier signaling that I’m really on the job, not just relaxing, is very apropos. One of the tables last night was an extended family which has had several pastoral issues over the past year or so, but the matriarch hasn’t been able to get to church very often. As folks were saying goodbye, one of the daughters asked me if I could give the matriarch communion. So as the last of the tables was being wiped down, I dashed to the sacristy for a chalice and pyx from a home communion kit and to the church to get some reserved Sacrament. The family and I had a short but profoundly meaningful and holy “home communion” gathered around one of the tables, which I introduced by the words, ” Jesus shared a festive meal with his friends, and after the meal was over, he took some bread and wine and said, ‘As often as you do this, do it in remembrance of me.’ The Body of Christ ….” It truly was the essence of the sacrament, and of priestly ministry, and I felt very much like a priest.

Leave a Reply

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