Approachable or pastoral? Pastors weigh whether to wear clerical robes

On Christmas Eve, a little boy approached the Rev. Jeff Gannon, pastor of Chapel Hill United Methodist Church.

The question that came next was unexpected: “Where did you buy your dress?” the boy asked.

So Gannon seized the chance to explain just why pastors sometimes wear robes (not dresses) and why he does so only on special occasions like Christmas.

“I want to communicate as strongly as possible that what we’re doing is sacred,” Gannon said. “What we’re doing is divine. … When I experience vestments or liturgy being used well, it helps me know this is of God.”

Some denominations give their pastors leeway when it comes to dressing for the sermon. United Methodist pastors can decide whether or not to wear robes. The same holds true for Lutherans and some Presbyterians.

So that leaves pastors with a question: To robe or not to robe?

For some, wearing a robe is a way to keep the attention on God. For others, the robe can be a divider between the pastor and the parishioner — making it something best to skip.

Covering ‘a multitude of sins’

The Rev. Cindy Watson, senior pastor at First United Methodist Church, has always worn a robe. When she started ministry at age 23, many people didn’t take her seriously, she said. Wearing the robe said, “I’m the pastor.”

Watson also found another benefit of the robe: It took the focus off what she was wearing and how she, a woman, looked.

“A robe covers a multitude of sins,” Watson joked.

When a pastor puts on a robe, the congregation won’t be distracted by clothes, the pastor’s shape or how tall her heels are, Watson said. Just like female newscasters, female pastors face more criticism based on their appearance, she said.

“I didn’t want the focus to be on what I was wearing,” she said. “I wanted the focus to be on the word and the service and creating sacred and holy space.”

But Watson says she’s “enough of a girl” that she still wants beautiful vestments. She has stoles that are handmade by artists from all over.

The vestments can also tell a story: One stole in blues and silvers looks like flowing water, and she wears it for baptisms. Another shows the dove of the Holy Spirit in red, which she wears for Pentecost. One, a green stole, was made by a Palestinian Christian.

‘Approachable’

Although Gannon was wearing a robe that Christmas Eve, he doesn’t wear one on most Sundays. The exceptions include Easter and Confirmation Sundays.

Gannon said he used to wear a robe every Sunday but stopped doing so when Chapel Hill was started in 1995.

While often valuable, the robe can be used as a tool to tell people to stay away, that “I’m a pastor and you’re not,” he said. That’s why he skips the robe on normal Sundays.

“I can still have serious regard for the call and recognize the ‘why’ of vestments and yet be perceived as somebody who is, in the words of Pope Francis, familiar with the smell of the sheep,” Gannon said. “I want to be perceived as somebody who’s approachable.”

Compromise

At Eastminster Presbyterian Church, the Rev. Stan Van Den Berg has found a compromise when it comes to wearing robes.

He wears a robe during the church’s two traditional services.

“But in my contemporary service there are people who will see that black academic robe and they’ll think, hey, there’s Harry Potter,” Van Den Berg said. “I am willing to adapt my appearance for the sake of bringing people to Christ.”

He also doesn’t wear a robe during the heat of summer.

When he does wear a robe, it’s a simple academic robe, harking back to Presbyterian roots in academia.

“When I put on that robe, I’m not just Stan who you just played golf with,” Van Den Berg said. “Now I’m leading God’s people into the presence of God and I’m claiming to speak for Christ from the scriptures. That robe, when I put that on, says that to the people.”

This story was originally published July 2, 2017 at 2:22 PM with the headline "Approachable or pastoral? Pastors weigh whether to wear clerical robes."