Somewhere in my files I have a column interviewing a nun about her experiences when she began, after years in secular dress, to wear a traditional habit once again. Her experiences were so, so moving....
In DC, one church ran a coffee shop that was right next to Union Station, the key transport hub for commuters and locals. It had a downstairs with a small stage. A meeting room. Etc.
I was a bivocational Lutheran Pastor for my first 25 years of ministry. I was a retired Paramedic, I taught human anatomy & physiology at the local community college, and I served churches that couldn’t afford a “real” Pastor. I mixed it up with “ordinary folks” every day. I wore my clerical collar about half of the days every week…I had a college President ask me not to wear it so students wouldn’t think they were seeing a Priest when they came for advising….my response was two-fold: How am I leas a priest when wearing a polo shirt, and there are no dress codes for faculty, so if you would like me to challenge that…..she backed down. And now in retirement I still serve a parish where I am the only Pastor who owns a clerical collar….I still wear it because it is so much more effective in settings outside of the church building.
I was a bivocational Lutheran Pastor for my first 25 years of ministry. I was a retired Paramedic, I taught human anatomy & physiology at the local community college, and I served churches that couldn’t afford a “real” Pastor. I mixed it up with “ordinary folks” every day. I wore my clerical collar about half of the days every week…I had a college President ask me not to wear it so students wouldn’t think they were seeing a Priest when they came for advising….my response was two-fold: How am I leas a priest when wearing a polo shirt, and there are no dress codes for faculty, so if you would like me to challenge that…..she backed down. And now in retirement I still serve a parish where I am the only Pastor who owns a clerical collar….I still wear it because it is so much more effective in settings outside of the church building.
My code for that is I'm always looking for "the hall of Tyrannus (Acts 19:9)." That's where the Apostle Paul set up shop after getting booted from the Ephesian synagogue. I've often had the sly thought that the modern non-denom mega church is basically that hall. If you are in a small town, every small town has that one place. But the suburbs are tough. They aren't really pub places. Everything is geared to the utilitarian. The big gulp at the QT. Workouts, with earphones to shut people out, at the gym. The various eateries looking to turn the tables. Even McDonalds with their unfriendly redesigns and Starbucks seem to have given up the 3rd place vision. If I was setting up a parish today, I'd probably build a rec center as a hub, the current congregations as the spokes/preaching stations, and have those ministers maintain "office hours" in that public space. But that would require congregational polities to act in a churchly manner.
Somewhere in my files I have a column interviewing a nun about her experiences when she began, after years in secular dress, to wear a traditional habit once again. Her experiences were so, so moving....
In DC, one church ran a coffee shop that was right next to Union Station, the key transport hub for commuters and locals. It had a downstairs with a small stage. A meeting room. Etc.
I was a bivocational Lutheran Pastor for my first 25 years of ministry. I was a retired Paramedic, I taught human anatomy & physiology at the local community college, and I served churches that couldn’t afford a “real” Pastor. I mixed it up with “ordinary folks” every day. I wore my clerical collar about half of the days every week…I had a college President ask me not to wear it so students wouldn’t think they were seeing a Priest when they came for advising….my response was two-fold: How am I leas a priest when wearing a polo shirt, and there are no dress codes for faculty, so if you would like me to challenge that…..she backed down. And now in retirement I still serve a parish where I am the only Pastor who owns a clerical collar….I still wear it because it is so much more effective in settings outside of the church building.
I was a bivocational Lutheran Pastor for my first 25 years of ministry. I was a retired Paramedic, I taught human anatomy & physiology at the local community college, and I served churches that couldn’t afford a “real” Pastor. I mixed it up with “ordinary folks” every day. I wore my clerical collar about half of the days every week…I had a college President ask me not to wear it so students wouldn’t think they were seeing a Priest when they came for advising….my response was two-fold: How am I leas a priest when wearing a polo shirt, and there are no dress codes for faculty, so if you would like me to challenge that…..she backed down. And now in retirement I still serve a parish where I am the only Pastor who owns a clerical collar….I still wear it because it is so much more effective in settings outside of the church building.
A thought provoking post. And, as an aside, I am very fond for Fr. Stephen and regularly frequent his blog, "Glory to God for All Things".
My code for that is I'm always looking for "the hall of Tyrannus (Acts 19:9)." That's where the Apostle Paul set up shop after getting booted from the Ephesian synagogue. I've often had the sly thought that the modern non-denom mega church is basically that hall. If you are in a small town, every small town has that one place. But the suburbs are tough. They aren't really pub places. Everything is geared to the utilitarian. The big gulp at the QT. Workouts, with earphones to shut people out, at the gym. The various eateries looking to turn the tables. Even McDonalds with their unfriendly redesigns and Starbucks seem to have given up the 3rd place vision. If I was setting up a parish today, I'd probably build a rec center as a hub, the current congregations as the spokes/preaching stations, and have those ministers maintain "office hours" in that public space. But that would require congregational polities to act in a churchly manner.