How’s Your Bag?

It is absolutely SHEETING down rain out there and although I’m thrilled because we’re really parched in these here parts, I know this is a remnant of Dorian. The images and video footage have been harrowing. My sincerest prayers have been with the Bahamas all day.

But we go on with our lives and right now I want to make sure that all of you have an appropriate bag for your work. No smashed up knapsacks, give those to your schoolkids. Wash and iron your cotton tote bags and store them in your reusable grocery bags to use to tote cans or keep library books in them. They don’t belong with your professional attire unless you want to secretly signal to the general public that you’re uncertain of your status as a mature adult and leader. Many of us have seen mayors and town leaders go into meetings with tote bags and I have always thought that was folksy and endearing, but it definitely says “I’m assured of my privileged place here due to my race, gender or family name.”
You can fight it out in the comments if you like; what do you think?

Here are some bags, just to get you thinking. I know you’re perfectly capable of researching totes and briefcases and such on your own but the sky here is a concerning shade of yellow and it soothes me to do some of that online legwork for you.

Vegan-Friendly Tote Very large and floppy for those more bohemian, unstructured types.

Madewell puts out classic items like this canvas tote. This is obviously not going to be the choice for someone who has a sophisticated ministry setting but it will certainly do the job for those of you on college campuses or smaller towns.

Madewell Canvas Tote

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Save this for summer vacation at the beach house. Unless you’re Clam Bake Chaplain it’s entirely unprofessional:

This is gerd-lerking!! Boconi Tote

This is under $40 on Amazon and claims to be actual leather. Nice, boxy design and a good neutral color that isn’t black:

To consider when you acquire a new bag: will it hold your preaching folio? Will it hold up to whatever elements you’re likely to be out in as you go from car or train station to work places? Does it have all the compartments for your individual needs (eg, I have a gorgeous Italian briefcase I bought 23 years ago in Rome but it could never fit my cosmetic bag and hairbrush in additiont to folders and folios so I wound up selling it). I can’t abide a bag for every day use that doesn’t have an external pocket for my phone, so that’s a feature I look for in all my bags. Know what you need, stick with classic designs and take good care of your investment. It will last for ages, I promise.

One Reply to “How’s Your Bag?”

  1. I found a really neat navy blue bag by EL at a local retail store. It holds everything that I need to transport between home and church (except books) as well as my laptop and tablet along with calendars, etc. It helps me to remember not to carry too much. I’ll probably use it for vacation too.

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