Casual dress finds acceptance at more valley churches

Sunday clothes.

It's a quaint, phrase, bringing to mind visions of church gatherings painted by Norman Rockwell populated by suited men and hat-wearing women as well as notions of a strictly defined subset of the sartorial universe.

"That was the way I grew up," says the Rev. Ralph E. Williamson, senior pastor of First African Methodist Episcopal Church in North Las Vegas. "You had play clothes, school clothes and Sunday clothes."

And never, Williamson adds, would the lines that divided the members of that trinity blur.

Not anymore. These days, the notion of "Sunday clothes" has taken on a more literal meaning, as in "clothing somebody happens to wear on Sunday, and maybe even to church."

Consider a recent Sunday morning at Trinity Life Center, where the congregation of friendly worshippers is sporting jeans, khakis and shorts, T-shirts and polo shirts, flip-flops, sandals and sneakers, and, in a few cases, slacks and blazers and full-out suits and dresses.

The variety of attire Trinity Life Center's worshippers wear reflects its pastors' philosophy that all should feel welcome at church, regardless of what they choose - or, in some case, what they only can afford - to wear, says the Rev. Vic Caruso, senior associate pastor.

All it takes is attending a few Sunday morning worship services to see that Trinity Life Center's philosophy is shared by valley churches all across the denominational spectrum.

"Generally speaking, the 'normal' of church dress has changed drastically," Caruso says. "Up until probably 2000 it was like clockwork: The pastor and the people did dress up. But then, with flip-flops and everything changing, people pretty much started to dress down."

The Rev. Carol Walton, priest-in-charge at All Saints Episcopal Church, says members of her congregation arrive for Masses in styles ranging from full-suited traditional to shorts-and-capri-pants casual.

"No one's ever grumbled about people being inappropriate," she adds. "I think it's more (about) living in Las Vegas and the understanding of how hot kind of trumps everything."

Joseph Dodson can remember the days when "you had one suit, and when you bought a suit it was for church. It wasn't for doing anything else."

Dodson, an office worker at Our Lady of Las Vegas Catholic Church, admits that, back when he used to bowl in weekend tournaments, "every time I went to Mass and I'd be in a golf shirt or a bowling shirt, I didn't feel comfortable going to church.

"And I wasn't the only one who felt that way. Some old-timers, you'd see them with 100 degrees outside and they'll come to church in a suit and tie."

Kleg Seth opted for an open-neck, collared shirt and pair of slacks on a recent Sunday morning at Trinity Life Center.

"The beautiful thing here is, if someone comes in a suit and tie, we want them to feel as comfortable as someone coming in flip-flops and shorts," he says.

"I think that's one of the most important things: If a person comes to church for the first time, if they feel accepted and wanted, they are encouraged to come back. So it has nothing to do with how they're dressed. Everybody is important."

Complimented on their own Sunday churchgoing attire, a group of women wearing colorful pastel dresses tells a visitor that they don't even consider what they're wearing to be particularly dressy. But, Carolyn Martin says, "dressy" versus "not dressy" isn't the point.

"(That's) not what you're coming for," she says. "It's not about who's best-dressed."

Les McCrite has arrived for services in a full suit, even on this hot, muggy morning. Asked if he's ever been tempted to dress a bit more casually for church, McCrite says he's been wearing a suit to church for 69 years and he sees no reason to stop now.

"My parents always said, 'You wear the best you can. You don't look like a bum,' " he says.

But has he ever considered, maybe, at least leaving the tie and coat at home? "No. It's been too long," McCrite says. "My closet has got too many ties and white shirts."

It's not surprising that "Sunday clothes" would make an inevitable drift toward the casual. That's how society in general has evolved, Caruso notes, as casual Fridays and the ability to work at home have altered even standards for business dress.

The church "is a reflection of society," Caruso says, "and it used to be the other way around."

Tina Hall grew up in Las Vegas, not far from where Trinity Life Center is now, and remembers the days when "in Vegas, you dressed to go everywhere - (a show on) the Strip or dinner, it didn't matter. You always dressed."

Not anymore. And when Hall attended a recent service at Trinity Life Center, it was in a dressy blazer, slacks and heels. Hall says her standard for worship attire is to "take what I've got and make it look a little better. And you don't have to be rich to do that, because I'm far from it."

Walton wonders, too, whether something in Nevadans' mindset plays a part in our tendency to embrace more casual churchgoing attire.

"I remember when I was working in Northern Nevada doing water rights work before I went to seminary and I wore jeans to work,' she says. "I remember someone telling me, 'Oh, you don't find that in other parts of the United States. It's not appropriate attire to wear jeans to work.' "

"Nevada," Walton adds with a laugh, "is its own country."

The Rev. Jim Robinson, pastor of First Henderson United Methodist Church, is from the Midwest and says that, even today, "people back there tend to dress up a little bit more than in the West."

Several years ago, on a trip from Ohio to Phoenix for an interview, "I wore a suit," Robinson says. "It was the middle of July and it was like 110, and the pastor and human resources committee at the church that interviewed me just about fainted, (saying), 'You didn't have to do that.'

"Back in the Midwest, if you went to an interview, you wore a suit, and here's the pastor there in a pair of sandals and a Hawaiian shirt."

Speaking of which: If there is a season in Southern Nevada for taking casual church dress to the max, this is it.

"Now that summer is here, people do wear shorts and flip-flops," Caruso says. "The line gets crossed when people are wearing tank tops or girls get a little too skimpy."

Even ministers might casual things up during the thick of a Las Vegas summer. During the summer, Walton doesn't wear her chasuble, the colored, poncholike vestment priests wear on top of their ankle-length white alb, during Mass.

"If I put a chasuble on, that really increases the temperature," she says.

"The other aspect of it is the shoes versus the sandals," Walton adds.

Although Walton may opt to wear a cooler sandal for Mass during the summer, she draws the line at flip-flops which, she notes, make for an inappropriately noisy walk across the sanctuary.

Robinson usually wears a robe for services but ditches it during the summer. But, he adds, "I still wear a suit. I know a lot of pastors in summertime just wear, like, a short-sleeved white shirt and tie, but I still wear a jacket and tie."

Ministers say they don't worry much about what people in the pews should or shouldn't be wearing to church. Most, they say, can tell when a particular outfit or article of clothing would be inappropriate or disrespectful.

"Really, the culture is so evolving nowadays," Caruso says. "Pretty much 'come as you are' is our philosophy here, but (be) respectful. The general kind of unspoken rule is: Don't wear anything that draws attention to yourself in a negative way."

"I find that even those people who will dress down will still bring reverence to their dress," Williamson agrees. And, for occasions when dressier-than-usual attire may be called for, Williamson has found members of his congregation to be adept at picking up his cues.

"There are special occasions when you want people to be dressed up," he says. "When we have a church anniversary or a special affair, in order for me to encourage people to dress up, I'll promote it and say, 'Pastor is going to dress to impress, so I know who's going to be the best-dressed pastor out there. I dare somebody to outdo me.' "

Congregation members also take cues from their pastors about what constitutes reverent church attire, Williamson says, so "even though I'm not presenting a dress code, I am presenting what I perceive as a reverence code."

Williamson found out recently how closely his congregation does pay attention. Williamson typically wears a robe during services, and admits that he can be a "very emotional preacher. Sometimes I really get into the sermon."

A few Sundays ago, emotion and temperature combined to make Williamson do an uncharacteristic thing: He unbuttoned and took off his robe.

"They emailed, they tweeted: 'Pastor came out of his robe!' " Williamson says, laughing. "Boy, it was the talk of the church."

Contact reporter John Przybys at jprzybys@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0280.