Designing Clergy Women

Peace Bang is a blogger in my hometown of Boston who has a great sense of style to match her humorous writing.

I fell in love with Peace Bag, who is a Unitarian Universalist minister, back during General Convention 2003 after I blogged about a melt down I had one night. She came to my rescue with humor and prayer and I've been a huge fan of her's ever since.

She's been featuring these 'clergy Barbi' fashions by the artist the Rev. Julie Blake Fisher on her FaceBook page as well as her blog "Beauty Tips for Ministers: Because you're in the public eye and God knows you need to look good". 

Aren't they just a hoot?

Clearly, this doll is Episcopalian.

I've decided that this Barbi's name is the Rev'd Barbara Hightower Smythe, of the Atlanta Hightower Family, who married into the esteemed Smythe family of Boston.

She is presently rector of St. Barnabas-by-the-Sea in Long Beach, California.

On your left is "Thurifer Barbi".

This picture of Mo. Smythe (AKA "Rev'd Barbi") was probably taken in her days as a seminarian at Trinity Church, Copley Square.

It was one of the rare times incense is actually used there, but the new rector thought it might be fun 'just for a lark'.

Rev'd Barbi was known to have mastered swinging a thurible, demonstrating real skill and ability in executing "Around the World", "Walk the Cat" and the especially difficult, "Holy Mary, Mother of God" swing which smokes the entire church from the Narthex to the Sacristy in three swings of the thurible.

Our Mo. Smythe can also be appropriately 'low church' when necessary.

Here she looks absolutely smashing in her cassock and surplice, tippit and hood.

There's nothing 'low' about this high fashion statement on traditional church wear.

There's something about a woman in a long black dress and a biretta that just screams the question, "And this is traditional clergymen's clothing?"

I mean, who were we trying to kid, anyway?  This was clearly designed with the designing clergy woman in mind.  This is clear evidence of the fact that women should have been ordained centuries ago:  the fashion was obviously designed for a woman. 

Or, for discrete metrosexual girlymen who like their drag understated along with the official imprimatur from Canterbury or Rome.  

Either way, I'm thankful to PeaceBang for a wonderful chuckle at the beginning of Holy Week.  God knows, the rest of the week will hold much intense emotion and deep spiritual soul searching. 

And, being Episcopalian, we most certainly want to look good while we're doing it.