Collar This...

A new blog with this title appeared on Rev Gal Blog Pals this week (heretofore unnoticed by me, having been in a flu-induced stupor for the past four days). Here it is. I feel like I have stumbled upon the most narrowly-defined-and-exactly-what-I-needed support group ever.

Which has inspired the following brief thoughts on clergy shirts for women.

1. Not every clergy woman wants any of the following: awkward boob darts, puffed sleeves (unless you are Anne of Green Gables, these went out some time ago), or pink.

2. As mentioned in a comment on Collar This, the ratio of chest-to-neck for women is not the same as that for men.

3. It would be nice to have color choices which are not always a.) black, or b.) pastel. I am either the Angel of Death or the Easter Bunny, apparently.

4. Not all clergy women are...busty. Enough said.

5. Why do these things have to cost eighty bucks? Seriously? How hard can this be?

6. Why can't someone come up with a decent pattern for a clergy shirt? Can we work on this? I will pay eighty bucks for that, if I can make my own and choose my own colors (I really want a red one for Reformation Sunday).

There is, then, the whole discussion of whether and when to wear clergy shirts at all. Personally, I stick with a strict Sundays/Funerals/Weddings plan. I find it helps me to remember what my role is on those days. I can see why people choose to wear a collar daily, if that's their reason too. Out here in the West, most people are so informal that a daily collar would probably be more off-putting than anything else, and you have to read your context.

But a few years ago I heard Robert Jenson talk about why he wears a collar all the time. It used to irritate me to no end to see pastors wearing collars among groups of other pastors. You're a pastor - we know, we get it, I would think. It felt like a power play. Jenson talked about the humility he felt the collar gave him (and Jenson is not famous for his humility in general, I'd say, which is OK, since he is about as damn smart as any human being on the planet). His was an extremely beautiful and thoughtful rationale for the collar, and it made me think about wearing mine more often. So far, I haven't.

It obviously makes you more public. I think that was part of what Jenson talked about: that his life in the world, as pastor, was to be a sign and symbol of Christ, and you can't really do that in secret. I wonder if there are some gender differences here. In my area o' the world, people are still getting used to female pastors, and one in a collar doesn't necessarily make any sense to them. It's like seeing a giraffe wearing a dress, or something; there's no category for it.

I still think my problems would be solved if I could find clergy shirts that actually fit.