Formality in worship

One of the other issues that I've been thinking about lately are the issues of the manner of dress for as well as the starting times of worship services.

As far as dress is concerned I think that the first point to emphasize is that visitors are to be warmly welcomed no matter the state of their attire. I also do not feel a suit and tie to be the epitomy of dress, and thus I am generally not found wearing one when in church (even though I do own a suit). I think that the general principle is to dress in clothing that is both clean and "decent" (I consider jeans acceptable even though I personally opt for something a little more formal than that). The point at which I tend to get a little uncomfortable is seeing corporate logos on clothing (even though I'm not quite sure why). One thing that I've been wondering at is why or if my attire for such an occasion should differ from something such as meeting with others for Bible study / prayer. Excepting the sacraments, by and large I find that there is little to differentiate the two types of gatherings. Yet I don't really pay much attention to my dress when showing up for such meetings (or for private worship). Do you think that there is some inconsistency in these attitudes? Is it the expectations of the particular local church that define proper attire? Should God's omnipresence play into discussions of appropriate manners of dress?

I dropped into the other PCA in the south of the city the past Sunday as they actually have an evening service - unlike the PCA up north. Incidentally, my drive down there took place during one of Calgary's ridiculously quick weather changes. It wasn't raining when I got into my car, and it wasn't raining when I got out of my car (after a half-hour drive) but the drive down there was a little more crazy. There were lightning strikes left right and center (including one a little too close for comfort) and traffic on Deerfoot Trail (a 100 km/hr zone) slowed to about 60 km/hr for a while simply due to the amount of water coming down.

Anyways - back on topic - when I got to the church for the evening service there really weren't all that many people there (perhaps 20% of the morning service's attendance in the end). In the approximate words of the one leading worship: "oh... everyone usually shows up about 5 minutes late for the evening service." The attendance is still something that bothers me (although both PCAs are quite young church plants which may have something to do with it). The latter comment hasn't bothered me quite so much anymore since I began to compare this situation to the manner in which Bible studies (and similar meetings) are often treated in CanRC circles. The Bible study that I used to attend in the valley officially started at 7:30, but unofficially the start time was probably around 7:40. I suppose that there are two ways to approach starting a worship service in a respectful manner. One way - which might even involve tossing an extra song at the beginning - involves starting at exactly the scheduled time. Another way would be to start once everyone has arrived, without such a worry as to the exact time at which the service begins. Is one approach intrinsically less respectful than another?

Comments

IMHO there is a difference between a church service and a Bible study meeting. With a church service, the consistory calls the congregation to meet together at a certain time. With a Bible study meeting, the consistory is not doing the calling. Also, when we meet for Bible study we come to study the Bible (or something closely related to it), whereas when we meet for church we come to worship. Before you say, "But we sing and pray at Bible study too!" I'd like to point out that the focus is on the studying. The preaching component is not there, so it's not worship. We also sing and pray at other events and they are not worship either.

Lots of ministers have had sermons on how we should dress, probably going back many years. I've worn a suit to church every Sunday since my profession of faith. I agree with the school of thought that says we should dress our best. You're expected to wear a suit when you meet the Queen, and God is much more important than the Queen. Business casual is ok if you can't afford a suit, but formal is better. Jeans are disrespectful (unless you live in Brazil where jeans is considered formal). For Bible study, I wear business casual, because Bible study is serious business. Yes, God is omnipresent, but we should be dressing appropriate to our activities.

I can see how corporate logos don't sit well with you. It's a form of advertising, which isn't appropriate when you're going to church.

Aldergrove, and Maranatha as well, have problems with attendance. In Aldergrove it's usually fairly consistent between morning and afternoon; some people only show up when there's Lord's Supper. In Maranatha it's more unbalanced, with some people showing up for the morning but not the afternoon. Some people might be only going to one service a week, but I would hope that most are just in another congregation. It's ok to go to a service in another congregation now and then (within the same denomination), but if someone is doing it all the time maybe they should consider requesting an attestation? If you're going to be a member of a particular congregation, you should be there most of the time.

Ah yes, the 7:40 start time. Starting late seems to be a problem in every Bible study group I've been to. It's always been a bit frustrating for me since I like things to be on schedule. When I became president of Maranatha YP's, I took a cue from my project management textbook and started the meetings at 7:30 regardless of how many people were there. My stint in office was too short to see if it had any effect (I became President a few weeks before the end of the season.), but the members liked the idea. If people are not going to have the consideration to show up on time, why should everyone else wait for them? Latecomers can suffer the minor consequences of missing the first few minutes and looking a bit foolish. Some might even make an extra effort to be there on time in the future.

With a church service, the consistory calls the congregation to meet together at a certain time. With a Bible study meeting, the consistory is not doing the calling.

Does it matter who does the calling? Generally Bible studies also have leaders which call the group to meet?

Also, when we meet for Bible study we come to study the Bible (or something closely related to it), whereas when we meet for church we come to worship. Before you say, "But we sing and pray at Bible study too!" I'd like to point out that the focus is on the studying.

Both to some extent involve study of the Bible.

The preaching component is not there, so it's not worship.

I think that I'll have to disagree with you on that statement. (I suppose this also depends on how one defines preaching). I have a little difficulty reconciling this with 1 Corinthians 14:26 which seems to offer a different view of things.

I'll agree with you that the regular Sunday worship services are somewhat different from Bible studies in how they're run - but at the same time I don't see any real distinction between the two in how in terms of how one should dress.

You're expected to wear a suit when you meet the Queen, and God is much more important than the Queen.

This is another argument that I also spent some time thinking above - as it's one of the ones traditionally used to defend the dress-as-formal-as-possible principle.

Thought 1: Not everyone dresses this way when they meet the Queen

Thought 2: Members of the royal family are unlikely to be found in formal attire all the time when meeting with the Queen.

Thought 3: How should one dress for one's wedding as opposed to meeting with God? (Think of how much money often gets tossed at clothing for a wedding)

Thought 4: How much should one spent on clothing before one might be labelled a poor steward?

Jeans are disrespectful (unless you live in Brazil where jeans are considered formal).

I think that jeans are considered much more respectful in our culture than they used to be. Consider that church history would suggest that the clerical robe found its origin in the common dress of the period - and now its seen as something more formal. If clerical clothing found its roots in the common dress of a former time, what does that suggest about how we should dress?

It's ok to go to a service in another congregation now and then (within the same denomination)

Why need it be in the same denomination? (the CanRC does recognize other denominations after all)

If people are not going to have the consideration to show up on time, why should everyone else wait for them?