What Do People Wear to Church?

Sunday Clothes

In my last post, I explored what the clergy wear to church.  In this post, I want to explore what people (the laity) wear to church.

There is an old tradition often referred to as Sunday clothes, sometimes called Sunday best (or sometimes Sunday best clothes).  The idea is you put on your best clothes, sometimes your newest clothes, for going to church, whatever your tradition.  In this tradition, people often dressed to the hilt, in accordance to their means, when going to church on Sunday.

For many, this tradition showed respect for God, respect for the church, and respect for each other.  For those who continue in this tradition, it is similar to the requirement to dress well when going to court (the law still requires you to avoid overly casual clothes such as shorts, tank tops, sandals, etc. when you go to court - in order to show respect for the law, the court, and the judge.  The judge can hold you in contempt if you dress inappropriately.)  However, for those who uphold this tradition, it is more than a show of respect, it is a show of celebration and joy, yet with a touch of sobriety and solemnity.

This tradition is celebrated in the Broadway musical, Hello Dolly (1964 - music & lyrics by Jerry Herman - book by Michael Stewart), adapted into a film in 1969, in the song, Put On Your Sunday Clothes.  Though it doesn't put this tradition in the context of going to church, it speaks to the sheer joy of putting on your best clothes to get you out of your blues and to prepare you to go in style into town.


Unfortunately, at many churches that followed this tradition, if anyone came with long hair, blue jeans, or otherwise casually dressed, they were not only made unwelcome, but all too often asked to leave unless they returned appropriately dressed.  While many were not asked, they simply felt unwelcome.

This led to a different tradition in many contemporary churches where casual clothes are acceptable, and often welcomed, or even encouraged.  In some, this tradition has gone so far as to make you feel unwelcome if you get dressed up for Sunday.  (Sort of the opposite effect.)

Other churches have found some sort of a happy middle, where people are free to dress however they choose to, with some dressing tending more to what might be considered their Sunday best, while others dress more casually, with everyone seeming to get along as far as their attire goes.

I appreciate both traditions, especially after visiting all the churches in Petaluma.  I like dressing in my Sunday clothes as well as casually, depending on the church tradition I visited.  I am much more interested in what is in the inside of Christians than what they wear on the outside.

What Clergy Wear (Vestments)

While I visited the churches, I saw a great deal of diversity and freedom in the the Church of what the clergy wear during church services, though some traditions have very strict regulations that govern this.  It also tends to show the difference between liturgical and non-liturgical churches.

In liturgical churches (Catholics, Orthodox, Anglicans/Episcopalians, Lutherans, and others), the clergy almost always wear vestments (liturgical garments) during church services.  In Western churches, the vestment usually includes the Cassock (a long robe), the Alb (a garment worn over the Cassock) or the Cassock-Alb (a more modern combination of the two garments), and a Pectoral Cross.  Depending on the tradition, a number of other garments are worn.  In Eastern Churches, a whole other set of garments with other names are worn.  Each garment has a special significance, and an extensive study can be undertaken to understand the significance and relationship of all the garments worn by different traditions. Vestments tend to be colorful and often come in many different colors.  I visited several churches where the clergy wore vestments.

In history, many (not all) Protestant churches (especially Congregational, Presbyterian, and Reformed) gave up colorful vestments in favor of black preaching gowns - which look somewhat similar to a judge's robes.  The general idea was to simplify the vestments and to reflect a more sober and somber view of delivering God's words.  (However, some preaching gowns have color.)     I did not visit any churches where the minister still wears a black preaching gown (though some had pictures of clergy who did in the early days of their church).  In some churches, the minister wore a preaching gown (or robe) with colors.  It might be fun someday to visit a church that still observes the wearing of a black preaching gown.

At some point, Methodists clergy in England began wearing business suits (often with a collar). Over time, many clergy in non-liturgical churches have taken to wearing business suits during church services (and in many churches this is a requirement or simply expected).  The idea is to reflect what a serious person would wear in the surrounding culture.  I visited a number of churches where the pastor wore a business suit.

In churches that follow a more contemporary type of service, the pastor is given the freedom to come dressed in casual clothes - and sometimes they are dressed more casually than the congregants.  The general idea is that through faith in Christ, God is approachable and we can feel comfortable in his presence.  I visited several churches where the pastor wore casual attire.

Now many believers often have strong feelings or beliefs about how the clergy should be dressed, though Scripture has little to say on this point.  (Scripture did have much to say about how the priests in the Old Testament were to dress.)  Then again, many have strong feelings or beliefs about how others should dress in certain situations.  There is an interesting mix of customs, traditions, feelings, and freedoms about how we dress and how we dress in certain situations.  I tend to believe there is a great deal of freedom in this area as well as freedom for churches to set certain standards for their clergy to dress during church services.  I want to enjoy the rich diversity here rather than try to decide exactly which is correct here.

Penngrove Community Church - Update 1

Sad news to report: The pastor of Penngrove Community Church, Lowell Uhlig, has passed on to be with the Lord.  (Here is the obituary published in the local paper.) (Here is what I wrote when I previously visited Penngrove Community Church.)  Please pray for his family, as well the church, as they grieve (at their loss), celebrate his life (and transition to heaven), as well as the transition to new leadership in the church (the search and call for a new pastor).

Long before his death, I spoke with him about his time at Marin Covenant Church (in Terra Linda) and some of the brothers and sisters we knew there in common.

Update 2