Question for any Presbyterian ministers or those in the know.

[joecool]

Our interim minister has worn a kilt into the pulpit on more than one occasion. A definite nod to our roots! As an active member who was born and raised in the PCUSA I wholeheartedly encourage you to be kilted at your ordination!

[MacRobert's Reply]

I am a minister of the Scottish Episcopal Church but I grew up in the Presbyterian Church in Scotland where my father was an elder and his cousin a minister. Kilts at formal church functions in Scotland are quite common but, as others have said, you will need a jacket and black is best if you are being ordained as a minister of word and sacrament. However, it is worth checking with those who are organising the event what they expect you to wear. I would have expected ordinands to be in Geneva gowns (with academic hoods) and black cassocks with clerical collars and preaching bands. This would be the norm in Scotland although a few will opt out of using any distinctive clerical dress. The stole, which in my tradition is the symbol of ordination, is generally interpreted as a preaching scarf by Presbyterians in Scotland.

If you are ordained in a gown, which of course will cover the kilt and clerical shirt, you will still need a jacket for the reception which I assume will take place later.

Gowns tend to make ministers somewhat anonymous, hiding their individuality since they are there to represent Christ. Kilts, on the other hand, tend to emphasise our individuality. Either way, may you ordination be a blessing to you and to the congregation you serve.

[Mike_Oettle]

The question of what type of clerical dress is worn intrigued me, since in South Africa we have a range of traditions, falling chiefly into two camps.
In the Dutch Reformed tradition, ministers (known as dominees, abbreviation Ds) generally wear Geneva gowns when preaching, and instead of a clerical stock wear a shirt-type garment that more closely resembles an advocate’s court outfit (as seen in Britain, but without the wig).
Dutch Reformed elders invariably wear white ties when engaged in church business.
One Dutch Reformed denomination, the Gereformeerde Kerk (known as Doppers), refuses to wear the Geneva gown, and instead prefers a black jacket (or dop).
The English-speaking churches, on the other hand, generally wear the clerical collar in one form or another.
The cassock is required dress at Anglican synods, and Methodist, Presbyterian and Congregationalist ministers generally wear collars as well.
I have noticed a trend among some Anglican priests for quite colourful shirts that allow for the insertion of a mini-collar at the throat.
As a boy I belonged to a Congregational church where the minister refused to wear the collar at all. He always wore a tie, and when preaching would wear his academicals as a Cambridge MA.
In some church circles (both in South Africa and worldwide) there is a tendency for ministers to wear suits and ties, but this appears largely to be out of the mainstream denominations.
On the other hand it is interesting to see how ministers in some churches far removed from the Catholic or Anglican traditions have at times taken to wearing regalia reminiscent of those usages.
Many years ago, I am told, there was a Congregational church in London where the eucharist was celebrated in High Church fashion, with robed clergy and assistants, plus incense and altar bells.
Regards,
Mike

[davidlpope]

You might need to ask the Session or Presbytery about their usual practice for an ordination service.

I have to agree with my learned brother. As a Presbyterian myself(although of a different stripe), I'd ask my question directly of those in authority, i.e. the Session or the Presbytery.

David

[wsevans3]

Hi there:

I'm a new member to the forum and saw your post and thought I'd comment. I'm a PCA pastor who served in Scotland for 5 years with MTW in the Highlands as a church planter/redeveloper with the Free Church of Scotland.

I can't really speak about whether or not kilts are appropriate for a minister's ordination here in America since they are not a normal part of our culture. So that's a personal call.

In Scotland however, I saw a number of ordinations both among the smaller evangelical presbyterians (Free Church, Continuing Free Church, Free Presbyterian) who tend to wear suits, as well as the larger main line Church of Scotland who tend to wear gowns, and never saw a kilt being worn by the minister being ordained. That's not to say it doesn't happen, just I never saw it. In fact in my experience it was extremely rare to see Scots wear their kilt to church at all.

It seems to me for personal use they tend to wear the kilt as casual outfit, but when it's worn as as a formal outfit, it's more for a social/community event like a wedding versus a solemn event like an ordination.

Hope this helps,

Blessings, Bill Evans

[derosa]

The date finally arrived, and went well.
This is one of the two churches I'm now co-pastor of. It had a bit of a fire a few years back and has since been restored.


Here I am with my co-pastor and wife during the ordination ceremony. Due to it being two churches and two pastors the whole thing lasted 2 hours but went well.


Judy Lee Hay is a mentor and friend who has helped me through this whole process for the last 3+ years.


And what I wore under the robe. The sporran was in a box somewhere and I couldn't locate it, we had to move to accept the position. The socks had to remain white, they're what I had and with the wife unemployed for the last 4 months new ones weren't in the budget. The kid isn't mine, mine was being passed around to all the parishioners so I swiped her from a friend. The kilt was a huge success and I only heard positive things about it.

[Detroitpete]

Congratulations!

[Mike_Oettle]

So pleased to see that you went ahead with the Clergy kilt idea.
It was unfortunate that you couldn’t locate your sporran, but since you were robed for the ceremony, it wasn’t vital. Likewise the fact that you were not wearing coloured hose.
The “borrowed” kiddie looked rather cute in the pink tartan outfit, and it chimed well with your kilt.
Congratulations on your ordination.
And you can tell Ms Hay that I think her tartan stole looks very clerical indeed (as well as clan-appropriate).
Regards,
Mike

[BoldHighlander]

Congratulations!

I just have to ask, since I am not Presbyterian, is there any significance in the different (coloured) designs of the Stoles that are worn in the photos, or is this just a personal preference?

[piperdbh]

Congratulations on your ordination.
That's a beautiful room. I'm sure you're humbled when you step into its pulpit to deliver the Word.

Terry, the different stoles are probably the personal choice of each minister.