THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 31, 1996 TAG: 9603270028
SECTION: REAL LIFE PAGE: K1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CHARLISE LYLES, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 171 lines
Wearing an Easter bonnet to church? White gloves? Starched shirt? Tie?
Take it all off and relax. Instead, put on a comfortable frock, or khakis and that soft flannel shirt you watch TV in. Even an open-neck Izod is OK.
And feel no remorse, say local clergy and their congregations. The Lord will take you just as you are.
Getting all gussied up to look good for the Lord is out. Laid-back and casual is in.
In Hampton Roads, the carefree fashions of the beach have loosened things up. So have tough economic realities, and churches that don't stress attire.
Dressing down has hit chapels and synagogues, Baptists and Catholics. The pews are no longer full of pressed suits and polished pumps, hats that would make a florist's window wilt or those frightful fur stoles wrapped around big-bosomed ladies.
Folks in Hampton Roads aren't the only ones praying with less pomp and primping. Elsewhere in the Bible Belt, fashion editors are reporting a much relaxed dress code.
``Suits, dresses, ties and white gloves were once almost chapter and verse of dressing for church and synagogue,'' wrote Barbara Bradley, fashion editor at The Commercial Appeal in Memphis. ``Now attire is anything but uniform - ranging from Levis to dashikis (African-style tunics) to sequin-trimmed suits.''
The word on worship and dress is being rewritten. And with it ministers, rabbis and priests see their flocks increasing.
``Just as I am, I come to thee, oh Lord.''
Last Sunday morning when a bright sunny sky promised one of the first warm days of spring, Bo Whittington thought about wearing shorts to the worship service at Calvary Chapel in Virginia Beach.
His ``dress shorts,'' of course.
``I don't get any strange looks,'' says the 29-year-old dispatcher. ``The people at my church come from a background where we just know that the Lord likes us the way we are and doesn't look at us any differently because of what we wear.''
Located in an office building behind a 7-Eleven off Lynnhaven Parkway, Calvary is rooted in the ``Jesus Movement'' of the late 1960s that reached out to hippies and flower children. It's known nationally for converting common places - bowling alleys, hardware stores, roller skating rinks - into churches. The big appeal is comfort, and that includes clothes.
``Our founder, Chuck Smith in California, told them to `Come as you are,' and they did,'' said Calvary Pastor Brad Hill. ``And they really appreciated the fact that someone accepted them without the typical dressings of religion. We carry on that tradition today.''
Long haired, pony-tailed, bearded and typically clad in jeans and T-shirt, Hill himself doesn't exactly look like a man of the cloth.
``I do dress up a little on Sunday, a sweater, causal shirt, some Dockers - I don't wear shorts because I have ugly legs,'' he said. ``I have one suit to my name. I wear it on Easter and Christmas.''
At First Presbyterian Church of Norfolk, most folks are probably going to be dressed up on Easter, said member Beth Kroll. ``But I'm definitely not the church fashion expert.''
While Kroll said she tends to dress more casually, most members pass on the laid-back look. ``Women wear Sunday clothes and men wear suits and ties, and on Easter, they wear hats,'' said Kroll, director of Christian education.
``People dress up, except for preteen and teen boys. My own son is an eighth-grader. He doesn't like dress shirts.''
But many in this resort community worship in comfortable clothes.
``Even though I'm a bit of a distance from Virginia Beach,'' said Rabbi Arthur Steinberg of Portsmouth's Temple Sinai, ``we're still under the influence of a resort area and therefore more informal.''
At Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Chesapeake, Father Christian Haydinger suspects the same forces influence his parishioners.
``Certainly down here in this part of Virginia, it's just a little bit more laid back,'' he said. ``I don't have a problem with it. I'd rather have that than people dressing up to impress each other.''
The more relaxed environment and long humid summers make causal dress common sense. And attendance is up, said rabbi and priest.
Steinberg says he even wears a more informal prayer shawl, or talit. He wonders if the purple, blue, red and yellow garment has helped to set a more relaxed tone.
When Tom Russel began attending Shabbat services at Temple Sinai 16 years ago, he dressed up - coat, tie, the works. But gradually, as he grew as comfortable with his place of worship as he is with his own home, the coat and tie fell away.
``Usually I go dressed the same way I go to work - khakis, pants, sports shirt, tie. Most ot the time I take the tie off,'' said Russel, an electronics engineer. ``On special occasions like High Holy Days, I'll wear a jacket or suit.''
He's noticed others amending the dress code. ``Women come in slacks. Sometimes people come directly from work wearing work clothes.''
For Jews, other forces influence casual dress.
``In Israel, there is a great deal of informality in the army and in the government,'' said Steinberg. ``If you ever see a photo of the prime minister in a tie, it means he knew the photographer was going to be there. Commonly, you see him on the street or in the Knesset in an open-neck shirt.''
For this gird you sackcloth, lament and how: for the fierce anger of the Lord is not turned back from us.'' Jeremiah 4:8
As the Bible tells it, men have always dressed down for the Lord. Job humbled himself in sackcloth and ashes to seek forgiveness. John the Baptist wore a camel-hair garment, according to Matthew.
And in the book of Exodus, when the Lord met Moses at the burning bush, he said, ``put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.''
But in modern times, the fashion industry and social climbing in the pulpit changed all that.
At some churches, dressing up had gone too far, some ministers said. Church aisles became virtual fashion runways as parishioners practically modeled their finery each Sunday.
That tendency was especially strong in the black church, where African-Americans, shunned by white society, dressed up to project self-esteem and status.
Today, however, many blacks come decked in regal African attire.
In the pews at Mount Lebanon Missionary Baptist Church in Chesapeake, Wanda Witherspoon perched in a headpiece, A-line skirt and a puffed-sleeved top made of red, white, black and yellow Nigerian-printed fabric.
``To each his own, if you feel presentable,'' said the ``thirtyish'' accountant. ``There are a good number of men who wear African neckties, handkerchiefs and kufi hats. It makes you walk a little straighter.''
Many churches are coming to grips with economic realities: There is more acceptance of those who have no money to meet the Lord in fine raiments.
Hats and high fashion can be an automatic turn-off to prospective church members on a budget. After all, outfitting a family of four for church - even at Kmart - can empty a bank account. Even solid middle-class families can no longer afford new Easter clothes every year.
On the other hand, some folks can still afford to invest in finery for church. And that can cause tensions.
``I have people that do well and people who are far less fortunate,'' said Pastor Charles H. Bowens II. ``We get along fine because I don't stress appearance. Years ago, I might have said, `You look fine this morning.' I don't do that anymore, because that separates the haves from the have-nots.''
At one point, Bowens preached a clothes sermon to his congregation at New Testament Church in Portsmouth.
``I asked people to take their shoes off and walk around church,'' he said. ``When you take your shoes off, it humbles you. The spiked-heel people have to come down. The half-heeled. It puts us all on one accord.''
Still, a visit to California a year ago convinced Bowens that casual can go too far. He saw churchgoers in jeans, even T-shirts. He continues to prefer fine raiment.
``Since the church, the synagogue and the mosque are the most sacred institutions in the community, then why not give them your highest honor in your appearance and your behavior?''
Said Deacon Dwight Linyear at Calvary Revival Church in Norfolk, ``We say come as you are. We reach out to the lost and unchurched. Those that don't have hope and may not have clothes.''
And practically speaking, said Linyear, the casual dresser may be better suited for the soul work of repenting. For all-night prayer meetings, he urges members to wear sweat suits. ILLUSTRATION: Color photos
RICHARD DUNSTON/The Virginian-Pilot
Wearing a T-shirt, Darren F. Council meditates during a service at
Calvary Revival Church in Norfolk. Hampton Roads pews are no longer
full of pressed suits and polished pumps, showy hats and fur
stoles.
BILL KELLEY III/The Virginian-Pilot
Nick Bahner, a high school student, wears comfortable clothes to
Calvary Chapel in Virginia Beach. The church is rooted in the
``Jesus Movement'' of the 1960s.
Photo
RICHARD L. DUNSTON/The Virginian-Pilot
Rabbi Arthur Steinberg of Temple Sinai in Portsmouth wears an
informal prayer shawl.
by CNB