On January 19 I wore a banded clergy
collar, affectionately called a “dog collar.”
These days we usually see those on Episcopal priests. I wore it as a reminder of the work of Rev.
Dr. Eugene Carson Blake, the stated clerk of the United Presbyterian Church in
the USA back in the sixties who worked with and marched with Rev. Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. Rev. Blake faced fierce opposition
from his own Presbyterian Church and even received death threats, yet he stood
up for what was right anyway. A large
number of Presbyterians were opposed to the stand he took. They thought it made them look bad with their
other white Christian neighbors. I
greatly respect what he did and so I wore the same kind of collar he did when
he marched with Dr. King and made a point of telling the congregation about
it. I used it as a visual aid. Afterward I received several positive
comments about wearing it. “I like that,”
several people said. “That makes a
statement,” another commented. “I really
like the collar, but it doesn’t fit your personality,” said another. Surprisingly, I liked it too, but I wasn’t
quite sure why.
After worship my family and I finally
made it back over to the house. Almost
immediately, my seven-year-old son Wyatt said, “Take off your collar, Dad, so
we can play some Nerf basketball.” So I
did just that, and I experienced something that I hadn’t experienced in
seven-and-a-half years as a pastor. It
was like I was taking off a uniform and going from being Rev. Miller or Pastor
Everett to Daddy. As I changed out of it
I felt “off duty” for the first time in years. This is made all the harder living in a manse within thirty feet of the church building. So I started asking myself, “Should I start wearing the collar when I’m
performing pastoral duties? Then I can ‘take
off’ my pastoral role when I get home.”
It needed more discernment, so (as I always do) I’ve been stewing on it
for the past ten days.
I know that most folks in our
congregation (and many Presbyterian congregations) probably think, “Presbyterians
just don’t do that. If you do that you’re
playing Episcopalian or Catholic.” That
may be what people think, but that is not accurate. First of all, the modern clerical collar
seems to have evolved out of the clothing worn by English preachers in the 1700’s. These pastors included Presbyterians. In fact, the modern detachable clerical
collar is said to have been invented by Rev. Donald McLeod, a Church of
Scotland (Presbyterian) minister. It was
then adopted by Anglicans as well. In
fact, to this day, all Church of Scotland (Presbyterian) pastors are required
to wear the collar as an official uniform when performing pastoral duties.
“Okay,” some may say. “But that’s Scotland and this is the United
States. Presbyterians don’t do that
here.” Again, that’s not entirely
true. Just because you’ve never seen it
done doesn’t mean it isn’t done. As I mentioned earlier, Rev. Dr. Eugene
Carson Blake wore the collar. In fact,
when you look at all the old photos that have been displayed in our church
building since the 200th anniversary celebration, you will see that
Rev. Hand, our congregation’s pastor during part of the 50’s and 60’s, wore one
at least on Sundays.
I remember when I
was a pastor in Oklahoma, one of my colleagues received a new call to a
Presbyterian Church in New York and they told him that it was a requirement of
the position at their church to wear the clerical collar whenever “on duty.” Some of the Presbyterian pastors I graduated
seminary with have started to revive the collar in their own parishes. Since the clerical collar evolved from
Presbyterians, was invented in its current form by a Presbyterian, is worn by
the original Presbyterians (Church of Scotland), has been worn in this very
congregation at least by one pastor some of the time, and still is worn by some
PC(USA) pastors (along with other Protestants such as Episcopalians and
Lutherans), I decided that I’d give it a try for a second Sunday.
 |
| A current PC(USA) pastor wearing the "dog collar." |
The first thing I noticed about my
second Sunday wearing the collar (many pastors wear it every day) was that I
didn’t have to spend any time figuring out which shirt and which tie to
wear. I just grabbed it and put it
on. Then I realized that when I put it on
I really thought about what my role was and got a sense of how people view me
anyway. I view myself as Everett. Most folks, especially at church on Sunday,
see me as Rev. Miller or Pastor Everett (and rightly so). As you know, I’ve struggled with that. But I didn’t struggle with it when I was
wearing the collar. It just was what it
was. I thought to myself, “I’m Rev.
Miller or Pastor Everett. That’s who I
am to these folks and that’s the way it’s supposed to be. God didn’t call me here to be ‘just one of
the family,’ although I am a part of
the family. God called me here to
fulfill a particular role in the family, that of pastor.” So to the opposite of what I always thought
would happen, I felt more secure in
my pastoral role while wearing the collar and for the first time in my 7.5
years of ministry I had surrendered myself completely
to that role. I never wanted to do that
because I felt I was completely surrendering my whole self to the role. But when I went home I took the collar off
and that feeling of surrender went away.
I had surrendered myself while
wearing the collar and freed myself
to be husband and dad when I took the collar off. What I’d been battling with for my entire
ordained career had been alleviated (at least for the time being) by
accidentally “discovering” the clergy collar as job uniform.
I’d always been afraid that people would
think that I think I’m better than them if I wear a clergy collar. But then I started thinking that as long as I
don’t act like I’m better than others if they still feel I’m “putting on airs”
because I wear the collar then that is their own self-esteem problem, not mine. Do you walk into Target and say to the people
with khaki pants, a red polo shirt, and a name tag, “Do you think you’re better
than me? I’m out of here!” Do you say that to the repairman who comes to
fix your appliances? No, you’re probably
glad he wears a uniform; it looks more professional and you can trust who he
is. Do you say to a police officer or
firefighter, “Just who do you think you are wearing that uniform?” No, you’re glad they’re identified by their
dress. Have you ever said to your
doctor, “I hate when you wear that white coat.
You should just be one of us.”
Personally, I like a doctor in a lab coat. I don’t want the doctor to be my friend. I want the doctor to tell me what’s wrong
with me and whether or not it can be treated.
A clerical collar is a uniform like every other uniform. It says, “This is what I do for a
living. I have training and experience
in this field. If you need someone in
this field of work, you can come to me.”
The collar, like any other uniform, says that without me having to say it. In fact, as soon as a guest walks into our
church at any time they will say, “There’s the pastor.” If they came to speak to the pastor, they’ll
know that’s me.
Finally, there is a real trend in the
greater Church of pastors being super-trendy rock star types. To me, spending a bunch of money to look hip
goes against my calling to be a pastor and a disciple of Jesus Christ. There are pastors who have to wear faded
jeans and a trendy (often very expensive) black vintage shirt. There are pastors who wear suits that cost
thousands of dollars. Each clergy
shirt/collar cost me about $50 and I can wear it as often as I wash it because
nobody will say, “You wore that one
yesterday.” They keep me from trying to
be trendy or look good. I like what Anthony
Voltattorni, a contemporary Lutheran pastor, writes, “While the clerical collar
may be old-fashioned, I find it comforting that, for the most part, it doesn’t
depend on fashion or fads or hipness.
While the clerical collar may be plain, I find it comforting that it
covers the individuality of the man [or woman] wearing it. While the clerical collar may be stuffy, I
find it comforting that it is not my job as pastor to entertain. Very simply, the uniform represents the
office of the pastor well.”
So I’m going to start wearing the
banded clergy collar (dog collar) every Sunday.
Most likely I will begin to incorporate it more into my daily life as a
pastor. This may be new to you. This may even bother you. I’m sorry.
I’m not out to ruffle any feathers.
I just think it makes sense for me to try this. I’ll still be the same guy I was when I was
wearing the shirt and tie. I’ll still
say funny stuff. I’ll still hug the kids
during the passing of the peace. I’ll
still talk about Cincinnati Reds baseball and zombie movies. I’ll still drink a beer with you at your cook
out. I just think this clergy collar
thing may be a valuable tool for me, and perhaps for this congregation. So I’m going to give it a try. If it ends up being a distraction I can give
it up. I’ll just have to see.
See you on Sunday! I’ll be the guy in the weird looking shirt.
Peace,
Pastor Everett
