What does your minister wear in the pulpit?

[Andres]

Had a nice discussion with some brothers last Lord's Day about different options of dress for ministers in the pulpit. We concluded (I think) that there isn't really a right/wrong answer, within reason. It seems most ministers have varying reasons for their choice, so out of curiosity, I'd like to know: 1) what does your minister wear in the pulpit? 2) If you are a minister, what is your reasoning for your choice of attire in the pulpit?

 

[Jack K]

Slacks, dress shirt and tie. In my town, this makes him more formally dressed that 95% of people you'll encounter downtown on a weekday. So he's clearly dressing up for the task, yet by staying in shirt sleeves he's not overdoing it. Seems right to me.

 

[ZackF]

Suit and tie for Sunday AM. PM service he wears slacks and shirt.

 

[Kevin]

Jeans and a collared shirt. No tie. Sometimes a jacket, sometimes a sweater, sometimes just a shirt.

I live in a very casual place. Even bankers wear jeans with a jacket and no tie. I am trying to avoid distraction with my dress.

On weekdays I occasionally wear a clergy shirt with jeans.

If I could wear what I preferred then Probably a Geneva gown.

 

[Gforce9]

Suit, summer or winter.

 

[Andres]

If I could wear what I preferred then Probably a Geneva gown.

Does this mean that your congregation prefers you not wear the Geneva gown? Have they vocalized this and what was their reasoning if you don't mind me asking?

 

[SolaScriptura]

I typically wear dress casual - nice pants, long sleeve button down shirt, no tie. I keep suit-wearing to a minimum.

 

[PreservedKillick]

Our pastors wear very conservative suits and ties (dark suits, ties with nothing more exciting than stripes.) Many of the men in the congregation wear suits or at least sport coats, so they don't really stand out.

 

[earl40]

I typically wear dress casual - nice pants, long sleeve button down shirt, no tie. I keep suit-wearing to a minimum.

Do you have a camouflage suit?

 

[Matthew1344]

Wears stuff from gap and old Navy I think. He doesn't dress sloppy.

 

[Edward]

I typically wear dress casual - nice pants, long sleeve button down shirt, no tie. I keep suit-wearing to a minimum.

You don't wear a uniform?

 

[Kevin]

If I could wear what I preferred then Probably a Geneva gown.

Does this mean that your congregation prefers you not wear the Geneva gown? Have they vocalized this and what was their reasoning if you don't mind me asking?

Andres, other than my wife I doubt anyone even knows what a geneva Gown is! My congregation is only a bit over 2 years old. And only my own children have been raised in a presbyterian or reformed church. Of the 50 or so that we have now I have baptized 1/3 of them. Since the majority are new converts or previously unchurched xns none are aware of the various varieties of clergy dress or the reasons for or against nany position.

For our local context I am considered "dressed up" each Sunday. To dress differently would be to stand out and make my attire the focus rather than the message.

 

[Bill The Baptist]

If I could wear what I preferred then Probably a Geneva gown.

Does this mean that your congregation prefers you not wear the Geneva gown? Have they vocalized this and what was their reasoning if you don't mind me asking?

Andres, other than my wife I doubt anyone even knows what a geneva Gown is! My congregation is only a bit over 2 years old. And only my own children have been raised in a presbyterian or reformed church. Of the 50 or so that we have now I have baptized 1/3 of them. Since the majority are new converts or previously unchurched xns none are aware of the various varieties of clergy dress or the reasons for or against nany position.

For our local context I am considered "dressed up" each Sunday. To dress differently would be to stand out and make my attire the focus rather than the message.

Since Scripture does not give a clear mandate on dress in the pulpit, the guiding principle should be not to distract from the message. In some congregations, not wearing a suit and tie would be very distracting. In others, like mine, wearing a suit and tie would make me stick out like a sore thumb.

 

[Jake]

He wears usually a suit and tie; occasionally a sports coat or blazer instead (with a tie and slacks).

 

[SolaScriptura]

I typically wear dress casual - nice pants, long sleeve button down shirt, no tie. I keep suit-wearing to a minimum.

You don't wear a uniform?

I only preach in uniform when I'm in the field or deployed. In a chapel worship context we wear civilian attire.

 

[Quatchu]

Geneva Gown, when I first started at the church a suit and tie. However about 2 years ago the switch was made.

 

[whirlingmerc]

More high church Presbyterians tend to view the Geneva gown as having more dignity. Churches leaning toward respectfully going at least business casual go suit or tie. Churches trying to reach out to younger people and have people feel more comfortable in church tend to go casual

It's not a right or wrong. Allot has to do with the audience and their cultural perception. What is seen as necessary to honor God by some might be a barrier alienating others

The gown is seen as a special dignity for some and might alienate others as anachronistic Some groups who might be more casual all week, Koreans and Blacks might really dress in their best suits on Sunday No tie is welcoming to some people particularly younger people and might alienate some who see it as undignified and alienate If I pray or read scripture I would probably wear suit or tie, but I almost always wear at least a tie to church but that's more because I'm comfortable that way. If I thought a church would be uncomfortable with me wearing a tie I would not wear it.

 

[Unoriginalname]

Oddly enough the only time I had a pastor who wore a geneva gown was as a child when I was a baptist. My pastor tends to where suits.

 

[Andres]

My congregation is only a bit over 2 years old. And only my own children have been raised in a presbyterian or reformed church. Of the 50 or so that we have now I have baptized 1/3 of them. Since the majority are new converts or previously unchurched xns none are aware of the various varieties of clergy dress or the reasons for or against nany position.

That's wonderful to hear!

 

[Backwoods Presbyterian]

I wear a Geneva gown with a shirt and tie underneath.

 

[nicnap]

I wear a Geneva gown with a shirt and tie underneath.

Same here, but I wear pants and shoes too.

 

[Backwoods Presbyterian]

 

[N. Eshelman]

I wear a suit and a tie. Maybe twice a year I wear Khakis, tie, and a jacket. I would not be opposed to wearing a Genevan gown, but it is a rare sight in a Reformed Presbyterian Church in the US and Canada.

 

[Puritan Sailor]

Suit and tie during the winter, same suit and tie (minus the jacket) in the summer.

 

[Narthex]

Sports coat
Untucked collared shirt
Jeans

 

[Reformed Covenanter]

I prefer the clergy to wear clerical collars. Since it is culturally recognised as the standard form of clerical dress in Northern Ireland, I see no good reason for men to depart from it. Although I would agree with Andrew that, in the final analysis, it is not really important as long as the standard of dress is modest.

 

[NaphtaliPress]

When did PCUSA ministers begin to wear the Genevan gown? It doesn't look like Miller, Alexander or Hodge wore them as they are pictured with collars. Did this, contrary to the name, actually come in with the liturgical innovations (church calendar, liturgical colors, etc.) of the early 20th century? I have an anecdotal story from probably the 1920s. Apparently when they got a new minister at the First PCUSA of El Paso he brought the practice of wearing a gown. My great grandfather and my mother's family attended there. The story goes that his reaction was to say "this smacks of the pope!" I can only assume it was a Genevan gown but it may have been more than that?

 

[Backwoods Presbyterian]

I asked my grandfather about this before he died and he told me that in the PCUS, in West Virginia at least, it was a post-WWII thing. They also brought in the stoles (which are ubiquitous now).

 

[NaphtaliPress]

So, the theory might be advanced that the tradition of a "Genevan" gown conservative Presbyterians may take from the PCUSA has just as odious a history as other practices Presbyterians never had before the liberal decline? Church calendar, colors, more liturgical worship, etc.

 

[KMK]

Why isn't there a Hawaiian shirt option? Typical East Coast bias!