Priestly garments

From the blue, purple and scarlet yarn they made woven garments for ministering in the sanctuary. They also made sacred garments for Aaron, as the Lord commanded Moses. (Exodus 39:1)

I think I've told you before that our pastor is kind of an old-fashioned guy. Well, maybe "old-fashioned" isn't exactly the right word for it, but he has been restoring some older customs that over the years have fallen out of practise at our church. He is really good about explaining the reason why we do these things, the biblical significance they have and the meaning behind them. It has been really edifying to learn the relevance of these old (in some cases ancient) customs and they become more than just empty rituals.

Our pastor, vicar and acolytes all wear vestments when they are serving in the sanctuary, but up until now our lay ministers have not worn any special garments when they are ministering in the sanctuary. Our church's santuary and altar area are loosely modeled after the Tabernacle and in the Tabernacle whenever the priest entered the Holy Place - which corresponds with the area of the Altar behind the Communion rail in our church - the priest was required to cover himself with a special garment. The pastor wanted to resurrect this custom and have the lay ministers wear albs to cover themselves when they serve behind the Communion rail, so several months ago he brought this forward to the lay ministers for their approval. Although the wearing of albs, or any liturgical vestment for that matter, is considered a matter of adiaphora (indifferent thing) for our church, they accepted the counsel of the pastor and have now begun wearing these albs.

Today was the first day they were used. I knew this was coming 'cause my hubby, who is a lay minister, told me about it beforehand. But it was still a bit of a shock for me to see my husband dressed up like a priest! I wish I had a picture of him though to show you - he's such a cutie!