Vestments (Part 1): What and Why

In our tradition, clergy sometimes wear special clothing, called vestments, during services. These have been worn in the church for centuries and are a visual reminder of our deep historical roots (they point to the specific historic eras when God worked in human history to create his church). In future posts, we’ll start explaining what each garment means. But for now, why wear any vestments at all? First, like any uniform, vestments indicate a role or function. It helps the congregation figure out who’s who. Second, and more importantly, it diminishes the focus on the minister (and other participants in the service, from choir members to readers to those helping with Communion). Clothing can be a way we assert the self, and pastors are tempted to do this too. We've all likely been to church services where the clothing of someone "up front" proved to be a big distraction (whether extremely dated or extremely hip). In our worship services, however, our focus is Christ, not the appearance or taste in clothing of the pastor, worship leader, or anyone else. Vestments can be a way to keep things simple, and keeping the focus not on the people leading, but on our Lord.