When I first joined the church I did not wear a suit. After some time I was made a deacon. I always seemed to get sour looks attended by low whispering from a certain section of the church when it was my turn to take up offering. After hearing a few side comments—you know, the kind that are not directed at you, but are really meant for you—I decided that the “looks” were disapproval for my church attire. I had been meaning to buy a suit anyway, so I finally did.

It’s amazing how a simple thing like wearing different kinds of cloth rearranged in different ways can make sour people smile. I sometimes think we say we’re dressing up for God, but we’re often really dressing up because that’s what's expected.

Jeff

In our church we had a rule that said if you were taking up the offering you had to wear a tie. One time when I was head deacon I asked someone to help with the offering and he said he didn't own a tie. I told him that was OK it was no longer the rule. I took a little heat over that but from then on we were able to get others involved with the service, especially the young people who dressed more casually. And then before too long we actually started using women to help with the offering! Ooo ahhh. Now for better or worse we don't even pass a plate on Sabbath mornings.

Redfog

Thoughts on Sabbath dress. In Mrs Whites day there was a bigger difference between Sabbath clothes and common every day clothes. If you've ever scrutinized photos from her era you will see that, at least in rural areas, people were very dirty. A farmer might wear the same pair of pants several days in a row even with manure on them. He might only take a bath once or twice a week as well. For Adventist to take a bath and get it finished before sundown on Friday was a big chore, heating the water on a wood stove and dumping it in the tub and this was done many times for a large family. Good clothes required much care to wash by hand, dry on a line and iron with a stove heated iron. I think EGW would have said to set aside clothes for Sabbath because it was such a chore to get those clothes presentable. Life was harsh back then before electricity came to the farms. And lets face it our SDA roots were from the simple country folks, not the sophisticated city people with their maids, servants and more modern lifestyle. The good old days were not good by present standards and the old is what you became early from over work.

My 92 year old father talks about coming home from Emmanuel Missionary Collage (now Andrews) to help his dad wire the farm in the late 30's for electricity, and the enormous changes that it made, from indoor plumbing to milking machines to no more sooty oil lamps. The changes it brought made some of what Mrs. White spoke of somewhat out of date. And in the last 50 years even more changes have taken place, like perma press clothes that have further altered the need for special Sabbath clothes.

Just my $0.02 worth.

Redfog

So Red, are you saying that times change? I have been taught that the words of EGW meant what they meant and still have the same meanings that they had when they were first penned...

-I am pleased to live in a region and era that allows for the wardrobe that I have today. When I was a boy, I owned 2 pairs of pants 3 maybe 4 shirts, 1 pair of sneakers, 1 pair of boots, and 1 pair of dress shoes. I am SO GLAD to have access to high quality recycled clothing shops today!

Dan I believe that Mrs. Whites writings have to be looked at in the context and time frame in which she wrote. Just as we do with the Bible. For instance she says that drugs never heal, well in her day anti-biotic's had not been invented and clearly they do heal. She also said we should not spend money on bicycles. When we look at the time frame in which she wrote that we realize that bikes were an enormously expensive fad. Within a few years the fad had passed and their price had dropped to the point that they had become an inexpensive and healthy form of transportation.

There is however a grave danger of making everything she wrote irrelevant and that process must always be guarded against for it is a dangerous downhill slope. The ideas behind her writings are as relevant today as when she wrote them however some of the details cannot be applied to today's modern technological society.

Redfog

Well, back to the topic at hand... I wear a nice skirt and shirt with tights and a pair of low heel shoes. I feel that this outfit is something that is modest and a bit dressy. I don't think that we need to be "dressed to the nines," tho. We should feel like we are going to see our Lord, not like we are trying to outdress everyone else. What we wear to church is what we wear. Are we gonna kick someone outta church just cuz he is not wearing dress clothes like the rest of the people? Are we gonna kick the lady with the mini skirt out, just cuz she isn't dressing modestly? We have to realize that not everyone is raised the exact same way that we were. We all have our own values. If a woman doesn't feel like wearing a dress to church, that's her business. We are all there to worship. Also, there have been times when I have worn JEANS (gasp) to make the people in my family feel more comfortable because THEY don't have nice clothes to wear. It has made a few people go to church with me because "I" made them feel comfortable in what they had. We need to take our eyes off the outward adornment and turn our eyes to Jesus. Now, I do have an issue if a man who wears a suit and tie everyday to work comes to church on Sabbath in jeans and t-shirt. He's not even trying... IMO

We may not "kick" a person out because of what they are or are not wearing BUT we sure do "talk" about them (please refer to the 9th Commandment). Which is worse, the torn jeans, the miniskirt, the khaki pants and polo shirt, or the judgements that "we" place upon people whom do not wear their dress, or suite and tie????

Whats wrong with Khaki and polo?

Sabbath clothes? Interesting. Now, for those who believe, and I don't, that the Sabbath was given to Adam, what kind of clothes would those be? I vote for that kind of Sabbath clothes.

To make an ironic point based on premises you dont accept yourself? Does this have anything to do with boredom?

/Thomas