What NOT to Do in Church

Josiah said:

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Don't take Communion if you don't KNOW what they are doing and maybe don't AGREE with it. Contact the pastor AHEAD of time (like with email, the week before) and ASK about it. Maybe the pastor will say "come" and maybe not. Take no offense. Hey, it's not your family.

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I thought unless you were a part of the parish of a Catholic church you weren't allowed to participate anyway. .

Josiah said:

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Don't underdress. This is God's House. If you don't know what's appropriate (say from the website), ASK (it's not hard to do). Call or email. They'll tell you if it's fine if you come in your PJ's or a worn tank top, shorts and floopies.... Good general rule, actually: ASK.

Take no offense if the answer isn't the one you wanted. It's not your family. And yeah, there's more than one church available - some church has everyone in PJ's. There are even churches for nudists (Just don't assume the church you are visiting is one of them).



.(The Josiah Dot)

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One time the kids in the neighborhood vandalized the sign in front of the church and changed the message to read "We worship naked". I told the congregation that morning that i wasn't sure if it would bring people to church or drive people away. . .

Dont suffocate people in your cologne/perfume.. and dont poot either, even though they will never know it was you

Expressing doubts about a point of church doctrine that the church you visit holds to probably isn't a good idea, either. Oh, yeah, wear more than a loin cloth to church.

Josiah said:

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Don't underdress. This is God's House. If you don't know what's appropriate (say from the website), ASK (it's not hard to do). Call or email. They'll tell you if it's fine if you come in your PJ's or a worn tank top, shorts and floopies.... Good general rule, actually: ASK.

Take no offense if the answer isn't the one you wanted. It's not your family. And yeah, there's more than one church available - some church has everyone in PJ's. There are even churches for nudists (Just don't assume the church you are visiting is one of them).


.(The Josiah Dot)

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This is something I'd actually say is potentially a bad thing.

When churches decide to adopt dress codes it creates a more exclusive huddle. People who don't fit in become excluded and the church runs the risk of becoming little more than a frightfully middle class talking shop. What happens if the local vagrant or "lady of the night" hears something about some guy named Jesus and wants to go to church to find out more? What happens if someone who can't afford a fancy outfit wants to come and worship God?

It's not your family but at the same time it's not their family either - it's God's family. What James had to say about giving the rich man the finest seat in the house and directing the poor man to sit on the floor in the corner seems to apply here.

On another forum a guy insisted that new people should adhere to the norms set by the church, and that the church should provide the funding if they were unable to do so. He literally believed that if a homeless person turned up and wanted to worship there, they would buy the homeless person a smart outfit so they could stick to the church's dress code. How the homeless person was supposed to maintain and clean their nice new outfit was unclear, as was the value of some nice clothes to a person who would probably find it more useful to have access to hot food and a shower.

I wouldn't tell people they shouldn't wear a suit to church - some people are naturally comfortable in a suit and consider it appropriate to dress up. At the same time I would be very concerned if a minimum dress standard over and above basic decency were imposed because it does create a sense of "you're not good enough to worship with us". If a "lady of the night" were to attend church I'd hope she could be offered something to cover herself but at the same time would hope she wouldn't be shown the door because she wasn't appropriately dressed - Jesus never told anyone who sought him to go away and return once they had themselves sorted out.

I would agree with the part about showing up in your PJs - unless that really is the absolute best you can rustle up I'd say that's just being lazy for the sake of being lazy, but then I'd be inclined to say that going out and about in your PJs isn't really appropriate.

jsimms435 said:

I thought unless you were a part of the parish of a Catholic church you weren't allowed to participate anyway. .

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That's very true (and in a number of other denominations, too). However, it's done on almost an honor system since there can be visitors from another parish of the same denomination, and if the congregation is a rather big one...well, you see. And to make the situation even more dicey, there are people who rationalize that it's between God and themselves, that He doesn't put up barriers, etc. etc., and so go ahead and commune anyway.

I think that's a terrible thing for any visitor to do. Very impolite at the least. And it is not as though the visitor has no way of participating in the sacrament ever again if he misses this one!

psalms 91 said:

I want to say who are you trying to reach? The unchurched I know may not own a suit, the prostitute may not dress the way you would like and her dress mya be to revealing, insteasd of driving her away by telling her how bad it is deliver your mefolk so they are not tempted and if the problem is your pastor then maybe he needs to step down until he is delivered.

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Then prostitutes and people who live under a bridge ought to be allowed to show up in their usual togs, OK? But of course that's not a very realistic scenario. Prostitutes do own clothes other than fishnet stockings and short shorts, etc.

The real issue is with your average American who thinks that going to church in tank tops or Levis is no big deal. We would hope that they would look upon the worship of God as being at least as important as, say, a job interview or appearance in court. (!) Besides, no one is saying that underdressed people ought to be thrown out of church, just that 'dressing down' is inappropriate, disrespectful.