As most of my Anglican friends (and no small number of my other friends) know, I frequently post over at the StandFirm and T19 websites. This morning, a fellow poster, Conego, who I believe is an Anglican priest in Portugal, put up a response to questions about vestments and clerical attire from one of our more Evangelically minded friends who was not so familiar with such things. He related the several prayers the priest recites while vesting, which brought back memories of being in the sacristy with Dad when I was very young, which in turn has me musing on a related subject which has been a particular gripe of mine in recent years.
I think some of the decline in numbers in Western churches (Anglican, especially) is a direct result of the modern habit of clergy dressing in common "street clothes." Anglicans, especially, since their clericals tend to resemble Roman (although in recent years, many have taken to grey suits and pastel shirts even when wearing a collar, to look more "Protestant", I suppose), and they are often mistaken for Roman priests as a result. Which can lead to some snickering and whispering anytime an Anglican priest appears in public with his wife. The avoidance of such tittering has a lot to do with why they wear street clothes. But they miss so many chances for evangelism as a result. Every time it happens, one has the perfect opportunity to engage another person in a conversation explaining what Anglicanism is all about. Even as a kid, I can remember the various first days of school. "What does your father do?" the teacher would ask. I knew that if I answered "Dad is a priest" there would be inevitable laughter, but the teacher would also give me 5 minutes to explain how that could be. I doubt I brought anyone into the church at that age, but certainly Dad had the occasional success with people who were "shocked" to see him holding hands with Mom, or wondered why a priest was in the park with several small children ("Are those your nephews and niece, Father?")
It seems that in the modern day, too many clergy treat the priesthood as a "9 to 5" job, and think that the collar is a hindrance of some sort during their "free time" or "off hours." But they will still admonish the laity on Sunday morning for not being active in Evangelism or not volunteering enough of the laity's free time to church activities.
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Just yesterday, I was at the local "Rome Depot" (a Roman Catholic supply house, next to a large home improvement store). I was wearing my cassock as I'd just come from a funeral. I heard this behind me: "That cassock is a welcome sight in this day and age, Father."
ReplyDeleteI turned around - the man couldn't have been more than 35. We spoke for a few minutes and I had the chance to invite him to our worship. Will he come...probably not. He's a pretty committed Roman Catholic (which made him so excited about the cassock). But I've had lots of great conversations with people when I'm in clericals...and always more when I wear the full cassock (Sarum, of course). It's the cheapest advertising you can buy, and offers wonderful moments to speak with people. They have absolutely no shyness about letting a priest know what's on their mind!