LCMS - Dress code

[vle045]

I really would like to visit an LCMS church after the holidays. But I don't want to offend or stick out like a sore thumb.

Is there typically a dress code? Do people wear their "Sunday best"?

We go to Catholic Mass where is is perfectly acceptable to wear jeans and a sweater...

[CaliforniaJosiah]

I really would like to visit an LCMS church after the holidays. But I don't want to offend or stick out like a sore thumb.

Is there typically a dress code? Do people wear their "Sunday best"?

We go to Catholic Mass where is is perfectly acceptable to wear jeans and a sweater...

There is none, but I'll share with you MY approach....

My Dad is a pastor and active in ecumencial affairs, so he always encouraged us kids to worship elsewhere, too. But he conveyed a very deep sense of RESPECT for others and to not, even unintentionally, offend. As my Mom would stress, when we are a GUEST in the house of another, we must RESPECT them and their house....

So, if I know I'm going to a church, first thing I do is check out the website - because they'll tend to answer a lot right there. You may see what their expectations are about dress, even what their worship service is like, communion policies, etc. But if it's not TOTALLY clear (and it's usually not), ASK. I'll call the church office. I might say, "I hope to be a guest in your church on Sunday. I usually wear long khaki pants, a collared long sleave shirt and maybe a tie. Is that going to be okay? Would you recommend I dress in some other way?" The secretary will usually be very frank and helpful (Christians REALLY DO want to be helpful).

BTW, I NEVER take Communion in another church - even one of my own denomination - without PRIVATELY speaking with the pastor BEFOREHAND, even if by email. And I do as I'm counseled - like it or not. It all has to do with respect.



BTW, in MY LCMS church, adult guys wear everything from shorts and a T-shirt to fine suits and ties - no one seems to notice or care.



I hope that helps....


Pax


- Josiah



PS Don't forget to post back how things went....





.

[DaRev]

One should dress in such a way as to be appropriate to meet the Lord. Neat, clean, and modest attire is the norm.

[vle045]

LOL at "modest"!

I am definitely modest... especially in a church.

But last weekend as Mass, my hubby was shocked to see one of the women handing out the Eucharist was wearing a SHEER white shirt with her bra completely visible through the shirt.

After Mass... he asked me about dressing modestly in a church and why would she wear something like that.

[DaRev]

Women should not be 'handing out the Eucharist' anyway.

[vle045]

in RCC, LCMS or both?

[DaSeminarian]

in RCC, LCMS or both?

In any church.

[vle045]

I have never heard that and I can't imagine why, but they do at our church.

I do not know the terminology (all this is new to me) But in our Church, the Priest does his thing... says his Prayer and whatnot... Then it gets split up and several people, women and men stand in different spots throughout the Church to keep the lines going.... The Church is really big.

Apologies for not knowing terminology....

[filosofer]

Women should not be 'handing out the Eucharist' anyway.

That depends on the congregation.



If the woman had worn a vaguely transparent top/t-shirt and no bra, now that would have been in bad taste. But believe it or not, sometimes that happens, and should be addressed. How it is handled makes a world of difference whether this is first timer and ignorance or regular attender.

[Lupinus]

My take is anything neat and tidy and modest. Doesn't have to be a great suit and tie, but not rags either. Sometimes I will wear nice slacks and a button down shirt, sometimes I will a nice pullover and slacks, sometimes even a nice and neat pair of jeans.

But my church is a mixed bag, we have those in suits, and we have some who come in normal everyday cloths. No one really looks down for being less dressed then they are though.

I do find that vespers seems to be a rather casual affair at our church though as far as dress goes.

[DaRev]

That depends on the congregation.

No, it doesn't. Women should not be 'handing out the Eucharist.'

[Lupinus]

No, it doesn't. Women should not be 'handing out the Eucharist.'
Wat he said

[Aibrean]

A lot has to do with the church itself and the people within. I would dress up a little (like nice khakis and a nice shirt) just to get a feel for what everyone else wears so you don't feel out of place (just like the first day on the job).

I myself typically wear khaki pants and a nice shirt every Sunday because I don't like dresses. My fiance and brother wear a nice shirt and blue jeans...there are several other members of the congregation that wear blue jeans.

[jcj3803]

I have visited a number of different congregations / denominations and from experience, a pair of dress chinos (any color) and a longsleeve dress shirt for men seems to work pretty much everywhere. I'd think a pair of dress slacks and a buttondown blouse or twin set would work for women.

Good Friday, Easter, Christmas Eve and Day tend to bring out the suits and dresses. Red for Reformation Sunday. Churches whose members are older tend to dress up more for all services.

[LilLamb219]

I tend to see what the others have indicated about their churches within my congregation. I personally don't wear a lot of skirts or dresses to church except for special occasions. I just don't have a lot of clothing really and that's one reason. I tend to wear black dress pants or my beige or brown ones with a nice blouse or sweater.

[ricg]

My own view is that we are coming together to worship our King. How you you dress up to visit the President or Queen of England? Should you be more casual when you encounter our heavenly Sovereign?

That being said, what I observe on a weekly basis indicates others have differing points of view, so I doubt you'll feel like an outcast if you're wear "dressy casual" attire. The church should welcome anyone who comes, no matter how they're dressed, but that's no excuse (in my mind) for me failing to properly honor the Lord in my appearance.

[latebloomer]

Some congregations are more conservative than others regarding dress. In my congregation, I see everything. I figure it's a dressy day if all the ushers have ties. For men, anything from suits to nice slacks and a nice shirt or sweater to jeans or shorts in summer. For women, anything from suits, either skirts or slacks, to dresses to nice pants and a sweater to jeans. Our Saturday night chapel service (for those who can't make it to Sunday) tends to be very casual, lot more jeans, very few suits. A lot of people go straight there from church.

For a first time visit, I'd wear something nice and check out what the others are wearing. In the end, it doesn't matter so much what's ON you as what's IN you.

[TCat]

I would suggest "business casual, nice collared button down and slacks are generally appropriate anywhere.

My own view is that we are coming together to worship our King. How you you dress up to visit the President or Queen of England? Should you be more casual when you encounter our heavenly Sovereign?

That being said, what I observe on a weekly basis indicates others have differing points of view, so I doubt you'll feel like an outcast if you're wear "dressy casual" attire. The church should welcome anyone who comes, no matter how they're dressed, but that's no excuse (in my mind) for me failing to properly honor the Lord in my appearance.

I guess it depends on your point of view, if I were visiting a king or queen and the occasion called for formal dress then I would dress that way. If I were visiting a beloved relative, my Abba, then while I would dress acccording to the standards of the occasion I would keep in mind that I was really dressing to conform to others around me not to impress my beloved father who loves me and sees not my outer appearance but my inner heart and is not concerned about what I look like but where my heart is in realtionship to Him.
I spend a great deal of time in my private daily worship time, generally dressed in my pj's, God is not offended at all.

[Tofferer]

I wore slacks and a Seattle SeaHawks sweatshirt (bear in mind that it had Bugs, Daffy and Taz dressed up as SeaHawk players, but whatever). Nobody cared.

[MarkRohfrietsch]

When I was young, (in a large rural Ontario, Canada parish) every one dressed up. Men always in suits and ties, women always in dresses, and always with their heads covered. Most of the Charter Members had been dead a 100 years or more, but all the names in the congregation were the same. As time went on others moved into our community dress became more casual.

There was a time when I looked down on those who "dressed down" (I remember on Christmas Eve, a family who had moved in across the road from the Church came in with their Children wearing black rubber boots with red toes and heels, the kind we wore in the barn (they weren't farmers, and the boots were clean). I was in my late teens, and was so scandalized that to this day those boots are the only thing that I can remember from that service. How truly blind I was.

I still dress up when few do (old habits), but when someone comes in that is dressed or looks different I say a silent prayer of rejoicing, and promptly greet, welcom, thank them for coming and invite them back!:clap:

[MarkRohfrietsch]

Just a sidebar....

In 1960-61 I was two or three years old. The style of the day was to dress your little boys in sailor suit, complete with hat, lanyard and wistle. Always navy blue.

While I can't remember it, my late parrents used to laugh about how one Sunday morning I discovered the wistle on the end of the rope and left fly with a shril blast during the words of institution. Dad promptly de-activated the offending instrument with his pocket knife, but did not remove it!:)

[Aibrean]

I invited my friend on Sunday and she came in blue jeans...and no one cared (granted we were sitting in the back row).

[jcj3803]

In the WELS church that I grew up in (late 1960s through 70s), jeans would have been scandalous as well, so the very casual look took me awhile to get used to. But...

Didn't the host of the banquet insist the ragged beggar sit next to him?

[ricg]

I would suggest "business casual, nice collared button down and slacks are generally appropriate anywhere.



I guess it depends on your point of view, if I were visiting a king or queen and the occasion called for formal dress then I would dress that way. If I were visiting a beloved relative, my Abba, then while I would dress acccording to the standards of the occasion I would keep in mind that I was really dressing to conform to others around me not to impress my beloved father who loves me and sees not my outer appearance but my inner heart and is not concerned about what I look like but where my heart is in realtionship to Him.
I spend a great deal of time in my private daily worship time, generally dressed in my pj's, God is not offended at all.
I certainly don't dress for every prayer, either. My comments were directed toward public worship.

[TCat]

I certainly don't dress for every prayer, either. My comments were directed toward public worship.

Of course, but who are we trying to impress with our outer appearance by "dressing up"? I agree it is appropriate to dress in clean, conservitive clothing so a not to offend those around us but "dressing up" does not impress God and if we are scandelized by jeans or pants on women in church then it would seem to me a matter of the heart of the worshiper.
In Sunday school a few months ago we were dicussing pet peeves and were directed to approach someone we did not know and share a personal peeve with them. An older women came up to me, she was dressed to "the nines" and said in a very snotty tone that her pet peeve was people wearing flipflops to church. Oh my! Give me a break!

[RadMan]

I don't really care what clothes people wear. It's just those plunging neck lines and tight jeans on women that aren't the best for concentrating on the service.

[MarkRohfrietsch]

It is important to try not to draw attention to ones self, and away from worship, grubby, fancy, provocative whatever.

I am sure that our Lord does not care how we dress unless we do it intentionally to catch someones eye, or to offend or scandalize. Adam and Eve were naked until they sinned.

This may seem petty (I am trying to get over it) but the thing that I now find most distracting and offensive (and I likely shouldn't) are piercings; lip, eyebrow, tongue etc. (thank God that I can't see the ones I can't see) and tatoos. I may never get over it, but I'm trying.

Mark:sigh:

[BigNorsk]

Do guys only wear real diamonds and women mostly wear fakes? I was wondering because it seems now that at any public concert, there are always guys with earings and such and theirs are really bright. I'm assuming it's the diamond ones that are really bright. Noticable shining even when small. But mostly the ones the young ladies wear aren't noticable from more than a few feet?

It's just one of those things I started wondering about. I first really noticed it when a daughter of one of our former pastors came back to visit and she had a little nose stud (gone now, we all still loved her and it wasn't treated like a big deal and so she grew tired of it). And it wasn't that noticable up close because it was pretty small, but you could see it flash from the back of the church if she was up front under the lights.

And I noticed the same thing at the last couple choir concerts at our school. These really bright earings, only it was kind of funny in a way because it was only the boys that had such bright earings.

Marv

[LilLamb219]

Newer jewelry flashes more than older jewelry (whether genuine or not) and it's probably true that real diamond jewelry maintains a shine longer than the fakes.

[DaRev]

It could be that guys with earrings is seen by many as being abnormal so they are simply more noticeable.

[rockytrails]

yup people aught to be dressed for church.
can't have a bunch of naked people all over the place.

God more than likly thinks if you look like most of us people do the more clothes ya put on the better.

I think adam and eve before the fall were a mighty handsome couple . but look at the centuries since that first sin . centuries of sin surly has affected our looks even the most fair
amoung us would look so much the better with heavy clothing and perhaps with bags over their heads to boot if they were able to stand next to adam and eve in all their magnificant splender before the fall.

we poor sinners can't even Imagine if sin had not entered how much smarter and better we would look now.

[Aibrean]

I have a real diamond ring...but that's cause it's an engagement ring :) All my other hand jewelry is sterling silver celtic knot rings...except the wedding band which is white gold.

[ricg]

Of course, but who are we trying to impress with our outer appearance by "dressing up"? I agree it is appropriate to dress in clean, conservitive clothing so a not to offend those around us but "dressing up" does not impress God and if we are scandelized by jeans or pants on women in church then it would seem to me a matter of the heart of the worshiper.
In Sunday school a few months ago we were dicussing pet peeves and were directed to approach someone we did not know and share a personal peeve with them. An older women came up to me, she was dressed to "the nines" and said in a very snotty tone that her pet peeve was people wearing flipflops to church. Oh my! Give me a break!

By dressing up, we aren't trying to impress anyone. We do it to honor our King. It is part of worship and homage, just like we try to have beautiful music, church buildings, live rather than plastic flowers, vestments, kneel for communion, etc. -- a matter of respect. This all used to go without saying.

I agree 100% that it is a matter of the heart of the worshipper. It is not a matter of being scandalized; nor am I trying to legalistically prescribe what should be worn, but it seems to me that we (the church in general, and particularly in the United States) are misusing the fact that we should not exclude someone based on what they wear to worship to make a different and false argument that our dress for worship irrelevant, so long as it does not offend. Such a rule, of course, begs the question of what's offensive, but beyond that, misses the point of what worship is.

Naturally God is most concerned that we appear with a broken and contrite heart. But if there's any point to church architecture, fine music, bells, vestments, and to name biblical examples: palm waving, anointing with fine oil and perfume, bowing, kneeling, etc., then for anyone who thinks about, it would seem to that flip flops should be out. The whole point of the worship exercise is to show the sacred nature of what is occurring: the Word of God is being preached and the sacraments administered. These are extraordinary gifts, so the response should be worshipfully extraordinary: special building, special vestments, special music, and yes, special dress.

I realize that those appearing in jeans and flip flops mean no harm and that there are those out to impress by dressing-up, but it's a bit shallow to think that's the reason our predecessors in the faith wore their Sunday best for Sunday worship up until the 1960's. It doesn't impress God, but, He accepts it as His due.

[MarkRohfrietsch]

"flip flops are out"?

;)Sounds like what our Lord may have worn. Or did he have Wing Tips?

[DaRev]

I would think He was barefoot more often than not. :P

[seajoy]

Ok...I wore a black turtleneck and new red sweater, with jeans, on new year's eve. I even went up for Communion.
My girlfriend that went with us to church, could not believe I wore jeans. We had to take her home to put on her jeans before the little get-together at our home that evening.

Am I being offensive to others? I hope not. :eek: