Clergy Apparel - How To Get Dressed To Worship & Minister

[Bro. Hex]

Dear Fellow ULC Ordained Ministers

I need to ask , am in Western Australia,

How can I start to begin to gather together a Church community and fellowship for worship

ULC Ordination is not recognised in Australia,

wish someone would get it registered with Attorney Generals Dept. Why cant ULC HQ do this?. They have good lawyers I take it?.

Am so sick and tired of people saying ULC ordinations are not valid or credible.

I love this church of ULC.

Hello Rev Tess. I'm from the U.S. so I am no authority on Aussie rules and regulations. But I do have a suggestion for you: Talk to clergy folks in the progressive churches that are already accepted Down Under. You may discover that the Unitarians there, or some equally liberal organization, can themselves recognize your ULC ordination, and perhaps they can offer you "association" status, which may be useful in getting government recognition, if not for the ULC "in general", then perhaps at least for you and your mission.

Good luck and God's blessings be with you.

Rev Sam (hexalpa)

Below is an exerpt I found "on the web" that lists some Aussie progressive organizations..Might be of help?

What is new about the current progressive Christian expression, is this open and pluralistic faith is ‘coming out’ or resurfacing in many congregations in mainline churches, despite or in spite of, archbishops, moderators and ‘religious right’ lobby groups. As well it is giving sustenance and support to thousands of disillusioned individuals who “love the Christ and leave the Church” (Murray 2000) as New Zealand songwriter Shirley Murray puts it, and who now meet in informal, safe, discussion/nurturing groups in a dynamic grassroots movement.

Some of the more formal groups are included among the sponsors of this Conference:

Sea of Faith in Australia

Progressive Christianity Network, South Australia

The Centre for Progressive Religious Thought, Canberra

The Centre for Progressive Religious Thought, Sydney

Progressive Spirituality Network, Brisbane

Progressive Christian Network of Victoria

Progressive Evangelical Network, Sydney

The Spirit of Life Unitarian Fellowship, Kirribilli.

Edited February 18, 2008 by Hexalpa

[stripedspider]

I've been trying to find rainbow vestments basically for gay clergy.. collars, neckbands, whatever. It's been a difficult task to say the least. Not all of us subscribe to wearing only one color for a certain time of a religious cycle.

My hunt continues...

I realize that this post is a couple years old, but it may still apply. My sister is a seamstress. If you wish, I can ask her for assistance on that matter.

[dikkar]

The following info comes from this site..

<a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.kencollins.com/how-10.htm" target="_blank">http://www.kencollins.com/how-10.htm</a>

Ken Collins put alot of time and effort into this site. It's refrence link has a lot of useful info in it that should be on any Ministery site to help the up and coming minister learn what they need to do. I give it two thumbs up take a look below:

When to Wear Which Stole

Red

Wear your red stole at Holy Week services, on Pentecost, at ordinations, and on services that commemorate the death of a Christian martyr.

White

Wear your white stole during the twelve days of Christmas, during the fifty days of Easter, at funerals, and at weddings. Wear it at any service that celebrates a secular holiday, and on certain special days, such as Epiphany Day, the Baptism of our Lord (which is the Sunday after the Epiphany), on Trinity Sunday, and All Saints Sunday. You can wear a small, white “portable stole†over your regular clothes when ministering to people in the presence of the deceased, or when conducting a funeral when full vestments are not practical for some reason.

Purple

Wear your purple stole during Lent and Advent. You can wear a small, purple “portable stole†over your regular clothes when hearing confessions (in Lutheran and Anglican churches), when conducting a counseling session (which is the same thing for the rest of us), and when administering Communion in the hospital.

Green

Wear your green stole whenever none of the above colors applies, mainly after Epiphany Day but before Ash Wednesday, and after Pentecost Sunday but before the first Sunday of Advent.

Use these color guidelines for chasubles, too.

Copyright ©1995-2005 by the Rev. Kenneth W. Collins and his licensors. All rights reserved. You can get permission to use this material. You can also write to Ken.

This just a sampling of some of the info you can find on line if you are serious about doing ministery work and performing certain services using the Catholic or Prestibyters style dress wear.

For most Christian Faith groups many do not wear any type of collars, or stoles when preaching. Many will show that they are a part of the ministery by simply wearing a small lapel style cross pin on the left breast lapel.

There are however many who will were cassocks or robes while preaching or performing weddings. In these cases, then you would reffer to the above color guidelines. The choice is yours. When I first started, I wore street clothes ( suit and tie with pin ). As I became more involved, so did my attire.

Most of my wedding clients ask that I NOT wear any clegical attire at all as they don't want show any signs of "church involvement" faith belief in the wedding.

Remember, you are going to be the closest thing to the only version of the Bible the person may ever read.. so be accurate, authenic, and diplomatic. Know before you Go! If you don't know the subject, learn about it!

A good minister is one who is a great teacher. He teaches by showing those who haven't a clue what to do by doing those things correctly in his or own life. We must remain above reproach but yet remain approachable. Ahhh the useless info one retains from seminary isn't it grand... hehe

well i have a black dress clergy shirt i wear with black pants, and i ask depending on what iam doing i have a purple stole iam going to wear for friends iam doing in may , because they ask .

then i have a family wedding in june iam wearing black . because they ask

[Wizard Adam]

Cool I prefer blue jeans and a cowboy shirt myself

[Br. Josef]

I have recently been told of a source for clerical supplies and apparel. If you have yet to find the items you need you can try this site.

http://www.livinggracecatalog.com/

This is a hint from ken collins (http://www.kencollins.com) who was good enough to answer an email I sent him asking the question about where to go to lower out of pocket expenses when trying to dress for the job.

Edited March 5, 2008 by Br. Josef

[Morgraine]

Try this link on EBay

http://search.ebay.co.uk/search/search.dll...o%3D1&fgtp=

Failing that try Charity Shops for second hand Middle Eastern Robes or Kaftans (white nightdresses are good for ladies), or ask someone that you know that is a seamstress to help make you one

Edited March 6, 2008 by Morgraine

[Ananta Androscoggin]

I've been collecting links to a few sites for a while now, so here's the lot:

http://www.abbottchurchgoods.com/

http://www.academicapparel.com/?gclid=CMG4...CFQlHPgodG33iug

http://www.artneedlecraft.com/

http://www.augsburgfortress.org/store/

http://www.autom.com/

http://www.avemariaportland.com/

http://albanach.org/clergy_tartan.htm

http://collectibles.search.ebay.com/Clergy...rchiZQQsaprcloZ

http://www.dancingsilk.com/stoles.html

http://www.garbtheworld.com/pgs/robes.shtml

http://www.gospelcolors.com/search.php?cat...7683a997b464d54

http://www.karunaarts.com/retail/catalogpage

http://www.robeshop.com/index.html

http://www.mckaychurchgoods.com/

http://www.murphyrobes.com/

http://www.clergyapparel.com/

http://www.thesashcompany.com/clergy.html

http://www.saxonuniform.com/regalia/index.html

http://www.trimandtassels.safeshopper.com/

http://www.acenet.edu/AM/Template.cfm?Sect...ContentID=10625

http://www.kencollins.com/how-10.htm

http://www.kencollins.com/glossary/vestments.htm

[LadyEagleSpirit]

What about for us poor folks who cannot even afford to look at such sites...LOL! I want a few items, but I can't sew or afford silk. Perhaps some poly-satin...

*currently recovering from the price shock*

[Dorian Gray]

You might try contacting some local tailor's or semstresses. You would be surprised what you can haggle and barter.

[revkimbuie]

Very interesting information. Usually I let the bride chose what she would like for me to wear, robe, color, suit, etc... They usually already have some sort of idea as to how they invision the scenario anyway. Thanks for posting that information though, I will keep it in mind.

[bsawtelle]

My question - as a newbie - what do the different colors of clergy shirts stand for, or is it all a matter of personal choice? My wife told me to get black, but I didn't know if the colors of the shirts had meaning like the stoles do. Any advice? I really want to look the part now that I am ordained if I ever get called upon to perform any duties.

Thanks All

Brian

[Dorian Gray]

Well, that is a hard question to answer. Here is why, within some organizations the colors DO have meaning with the most common of them being that Black is the "standard" Purple is for Bishops and other colors are "acceptable." This is not a hard and fast rule and does vary from denom to demon and even church to church within a denom.

[Osi]

Not rule but common dress and color in workshop looking good all people looking same

I think many people like Black color What do you think ?

[ClericThomas]

I never liked special dress for clergy my favorite mainstream minister (an Anglican of all things) is a biker that performs his services in his biker clothes with his wife, of course those are around other bikers or other folks. So I would favor whatever you feel comfortable in with maybe the ULC Clergy Clip-on if doing formal work and if you want to wear a suit that is fine.

I can defend this what did most of the Prophets and people in the bible wear, and Muhammad and others whatever was culturally worn I'm pretty sure John the Baptist was not running around in red robes and vestments. Jesus either or Joseph Smith and other examples.

Edited May 31, 2009 by TKolter

[Rev Villalpando]

Im on the search for the following: A purple stole (regular and visitation) and a regular white stole and green. Also im looking for a white alb with green, white,purple cords. Any ideas of where i can find them for good prices.Thank Rev. J Villalpando

[BpCorey]

Im on the search for the following: A purple stole (regular and visitation) and a regular white stole and green. Also im looking for a white alb with green, white,purple cords. Any ideas of where i can find them for good prices.Thank Rev. J Villalpando

autom.com

a sickcall stole has white on one side and purple on the other.

I have gotten some good deals here too: http://www.zieglers.com/Scripts/default.asp

plus wine and hosts, and mass cards.

Edited September 3, 2009 by FrCorey

[RevMelanie]

Anyone looking for rainbow colored stoles, here's the link for them!

http://www.gospelcolors.com/store/index.php?cPath=53_1_49&osCsid=6d6d4333c31d9336596bd315a53ad59d

[Fawzo]

Anyone looking for rainbow colored stoles, here's the link for them!

http://www.gospelcol...96bd315a53ad59d

woozers one needs the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow to pay for those things!

[RevMelanie]

woozers one needs the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow to pay for those things!

True, I would never pay that amount, haha! But for one who's crafty, it gives some good ideas to make your own.

[BpCorey]

True, I would never pay that amount, haha! But for one who's crafty, it gives some good ideas to make your own.

are witches crafty?