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Dress-Down Sundays: Church Considers Making Clerical Dress Optional
The Daily Telegraph (UK) ^ | 1/29/16 | John Bingham

Posted on 01/29/2016 5:20:52 PM PST by marshmallow

Heavenly hoodies? Church of England takes first step to relaxing clerical dress rules in effort to become more "relevant" to 21st Century

Vicars could be free to conduct services in track suits and hoodies under new proposals by the Church of England to be seen as "relevant" in the modern world.

The Church's House of Bishops has launched an official consultation about the possibility of relaxing canon law, which currently requires priests to wear traditional clerical robes when leading communion or special services such as weddings, baptisms or funerals.

It is the first formal step by the Church towards easing clerical vesture regulations which maintain a tradition dating back to late Roman times.

The move follows a debate in the Church's decision-making General Synod in 2014 in which members called for the idea to be considered.

But opponents of a relaxation warned at the time that abandoning the legal requirement could leave the Church looking "slovenly".

The current rules say that priests must wear an alb - similar to a cassock - or surplice - a thin white gown - with clerical scarf at communion services and would "normally" also do so at special services.

(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Mainline Protestant; Worship
KEYWORDS:

1 posted on 01/29/2016 5:20:52 PM PST by marshmallow
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To: marshmallow

We don’t need no stinking Sharia crap to muddy the belief of those that believe.


2 posted on 01/29/2016 5:23:08 PM PST by soycd
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To: marshmallow

God help the Anglican Church.


3 posted on 01/29/2016 5:23:26 PM PST by Cicero (Marcus Tullius)
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To: marshmallow

Sick.


4 posted on 01/29/2016 5:26:31 PM PST by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: Cicero

I want to go on record with God that I do NOT agree with this.

I am doing my best to get to you. If am worthy, i will be able to enjoy your glory. I have work to go.


5 posted on 01/29/2016 5:30:11 PM PST by Dacula (Southern lives matter!)
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To: marshmallow

Garments, as long as they are decent enough for an occasion, ought to be the least that Christians need to worry about. What matters is what’s inside.


6 posted on 01/29/2016 5:32:27 PM PST by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: marshmallow

Pajama bottoms?


7 posted on 01/29/2016 5:34:56 PM PST by SamAdams76
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To: marshmallow

Maybe they should pajamas!


8 posted on 01/29/2016 5:38:27 PM PST by Jack Hydrazine (Pubbies = national collectivists; Dems = international collectivists; We need a second party!)
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To: marshmallow

I would not meet the Queen of England in my pjs.


9 posted on 01/29/2016 5:57:40 PM PST by calico_thompson (Vanity sarcasm)
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To: marshmallow
The more relevant they are, the more irrelevant they become.
10 posted on 01/29/2016 6:04:18 PM PST by miss marmelstein (Richard the Third: With my own people alone I should like to drive away the Turks (Muslims))
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To: marshmallow

Interesting piece of info: several years ago I moved East. While living in fly-over America I attended a medium sized church with formal liturgy and music which has been in place for several hundreds of years. The leadership of the church decided to become more contemporary and made a Sunday a month a contemporary service to get people used to the change - modern music instead of the old hymns of the church, and some change in the order. Also dressing down the vestments. Even the choir dressed in street clothes.

The changes were quickly rejected. Attendance dropped by more than 30% on those Sundays and collections by the same. And guess who was complaining about the change? It was not the old folks. It was the 20’s, 30’s,40’s - the young families. Their primary objection was that they were raised in the church in which they loved and wanted to raise their children. The young adults liked the liturgy and music with which they were raised. So that ended the move to the modern.


11 posted on 01/29/2016 6:17:53 PM PST by elpadre (AfganistaMr Obama said the goal was to "disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-hereQaeda" and its allies.)
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To: miss marmelstein

Attended a 6pm wedding at a church (which used to be considered formal) and a friend of the groom came in with shorts and flipflops. I leaned up to the ladies in front of me who I knew and said....”My mom would’ve slapped me three ways to Sunday if I came to wedding dressed like that.” They all laughed. They know my mom. ;)

Don’t get me wrong. I get that some people can’t afford ‘Sunday Best’. Have a friend who can only afford overalls. But when he attends church functions....he puts a jacket on over them. And those overalls are PRESSED with creases. I kid you not. One of my fave people on this planet.


12 posted on 01/29/2016 6:21:43 PM PST by RushIsMyTeddyBear (I'm fed up.)
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To: elpadre

We have 3 services at our church. Three. Contemp....Early Traditional (fire and brimstone, which I love) and the 11:00 which is “happy, happy, snowflake happy”. I don’t know half the people in our church.


13 posted on 01/29/2016 6:29:20 PM PST by RushIsMyTeddyBear (I'm fed up.)
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To: marshmallow

I can no longer distinguish between satire and real news.

The world is THAT screwed up....


14 posted on 01/29/2016 6:29:42 PM PST by Finalapproach29er (luke 6:38)
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To: Finalapproach29er

The robes and all conceal to some extent the portliness of many middle-aged female clerics.


15 posted on 01/29/2016 7:34:29 PM PST by mathurine
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To: marshmallow

The God of Israel very clearly showed his desire that those consecrated to his liturgical and priestly ministry should be set apart by special clothing. He spends a great deal of time describing it in the Book of Exodus, chapter 28. Not only does it set apart those who serve him in a special and exclusive way, but the beauty and richness of the garb is meant to give glory back to him.


16 posted on 01/29/2016 7:40:45 PM PST by fidelis (Zonie and USAF Cold Warrior)
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To: marshmallow

Aren’t those guys all pasty-faced middle-aged liberals?

They stopped being “relevant” long ago.

Better keep the vestments, it’s the only SHRED of dignity they have left.


17 posted on 01/30/2016 1:45:41 AM PST by opus1 (i'm new... hi)
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To: RushIsMyTeddyBear

Your friend sounds like a gent. Flip-flop man should be slapped around the earhole.


18 posted on 01/30/2016 4:37:50 AM PST by miss marmelstein (Richard the Third: With my own people alone I should like to drive away the Turks (Muslims))
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