Casual Clothing is a New Trend in Worship
Wearing Less Formal Clothes to a Formal Worship Service
May 9, 2009
On April 4, 1953, illustrator Norman Rockwell debuted a Saturday Evening Post cover picture featuring a family walking to church, with the men in suits and the ladies wearing dresses, hats and gloves. These days, according to local church officials, the same church-going family might be dressed in jeans and T-shirts as informal church attire continues to grow in social acceptance.
In the Past
“I see more of it,” said Reverend Ben Taylor of Oxford United Methodist Church. “It's not like when I started. People wore suits. One time, we had a couple who would come to our first morning service in T-shirts, cut-off jeans and barefoot.”
“It's quite drastic from what it was ten years ago,” said Pastor William Stoner of Colerain Baptist Church, Kirkwood. “Middle-aged men now come in with sport shirts, and last Sunday a man came in wearing shorts. I don't see that too often.”
Interim Reverend Phoebe Kitson-Davis, of Parkesburg's First Presbyterian Church, agrees. “I've been a ordained Presbyterian reverend since 1991, and my first congregation was 25 miles from New York City. There, the ushers wore morning coats and men wouldn't darken the door without a coat and tie."
A Trend for Everyone
Pastor Simeon Straufer of Parkesburg's Full Gospel Assembly notes that casual dress is a trend for all ages, both male and female. “There's more acceptance across the board, but also more desired by the congregation. I see it in teens through the 40's – jeans, shorts on men, T-shirts, and overall, less formal attire.”
“In years past, we tended to be quite formal, but it's gradually became more casual,” said Reverend Hank White, who has been with Parkesburg's Episcopalian Church of the Ascension for the past eight years. “People are comfortable wearing jeans and T-shirts. The only time people get gussied up is for Christmas Eve and Easter, or baptisms.”
Overall, it was agreed that no one has truly minded the causal church attire trend. “It's not even an issue,” said Pastor Stoner.
“Our church is neat because you have both. Some people come in suits and ties through the hottest months of summer, and some people come in jeans. You can wear whatever you want as long as you come in ready to worship God. We're not one to draw distinctions, regardless of you are are, where you're from, or what you wear,” said Reverend Jason Link of Atglen's Penningtonville Presbyterian Church.
Acceptance Opens the Door
Some church officials have even gotten into the trend themselves. “We run the gantlet, from people in suits to people in cut-off jeans,” said Middle Octorara Presbyterian Minister Douglas Hileman. “We also see business informal – Dockers, Haggar, etc. When it started, it raised some eyebrows, but it's fine now. I started to dress that way to help people to feel at home in God's house.”
Sam Masteller, lead pastor of Twentyfourseven Student Ministries, echoes that sentiment. “We rarely ever wear suits and ties. Our goal is to remove barriers so one can experience God and what God has in store for them. The message doesn't change, but the methods continue to change.”
“I believe God is after our hearts, not our clothes. People wear clothes respectful of God and true to themselves,” agreed Reverend Kitson-Davis. “It's a come-as-you-are party to God!”
