The church hat
Saturday, I was attending a funeral. There was a time when most or all women wore some sort of head covering when attending a funeral or any type of church service. Grandmother Fannie had some relatively small pillbox types of hats frequently decorated with a flower or some feathers These were particularly distinctive as I recall. I noticed, however, the first time that I attended a service at which there were black women present they had very distinctive hats. Often they were wide brimmed, colorful creations decorated with tulle, feathers, bows, flowers and whatever accented the rest of the outfit.
Church hats were a way for African American women to not only honor God. They were a statement that they were more than the often drab, dreary costumes they were forced to wear as slaves and servants. Men also continue to dress up for church in the African American church. In many Caucasian churches ones sees a laxity or casualness in dress which would have Grandma Fannie using her finger and her mouth to direct that child (no matter how old) back home to change.
In some African American churches the senior pastor may be known as Bishop or pastor. His wife may be called First Lady by the rest of the members of the church. It may be the honor and the duty of the First Lady to set the standard for church hats. If the minster or the evangelist is a woman she sets the standard. I recall asking a woman evangelist who periodically come to lead revivals how she transported her hats. She informed me that she would ship them ahead of her arrival.
Recently I was not feeling well and was using a free month of Netflix to watch some shows/movies. One of the shows I watched was the first season of Greenleaf. Most of the women had some amazing hats although I do not recall First Lady or her daughters wearing them.
At the funeral on Saturday which was held in the funeral home a “church woman” arrived about the same time I did. I immediately knew she was a church woman because of how much attention she had given to her dress, her church hat and her proud stature. It is almost as if the women donning the church hats, heels and dress or suit, accessed that part of them which refused to be beaten down or look down upon. They were and are proud, powerful woman. Sometimes that pride gets confused with power and the need to control as is the case with the character of the First Lady in the Greenleaf series.
I did not know this woman on Saturday. I did intend to tell her how much I liked her church hat, but I got to visiting with others after the service and then could not locate her.
Costumes can be great fun. Someone complimented me on my outfit today and I remarked that it is just my work costume – shirt, tie, dress pants, dress shoes and sometimes a suit coat. I have many costumes – certainly many more than we had as children. I have ‘costumes’ for yardwork, working out, biking, painting, and cleaning. I also have jeans with cowboy boots, dress casual and much to my deceased mother’s chagrin jeans and shirts with holes in them. I am none of these costumes, but each one may say something about me just as the church woman’s costume or the brother’s costume says something about a part of who they are. Sometimes we ourselves may confuse ourselves with our costumes and take ourselves very seriously. We may not know who we are outside of that costume. That can be a huge problem especially if we are forced to leave the role for which the costume was designed. It can also be disrespectful and even dangerous if we confuse someone else with their costume.
Children love costumes unless they learn early on to be fearful of what others might think. They can experiment with many parts of themselves simply by changing their costume. Sometimes parents worry and make a big deal out of a boy or girl choosing a costume which is considered only appropriate for the opposite gender. That is very sad when that happens. If we cannot experiment with exploring parts of ourselves by playing different roles we may not discover the essence of who we are.
It may be that we adults in the United States could greatly benefit from exploring parts of ourselves by having some fun with costumes. We may have forgotten that it is not only safe to do that but necessary if we are to spread our wings and soar like the eagle or flutter our way to the small hummingbird feeder. We can be very visible or very beautiful and quietly present. We can be – who – we are – in all of our glory - with all of our strength and heart. We can be!
Written October 2, 2017
Saturday, I was attending a funeral. There was a time when most or all women wore some sort of head covering when attending a funeral or any type of church service. Grandmother Fannie had some relatively small pillbox types of hats frequently decorated with a flower or some feathers These were particularly distinctive as I recall. I noticed, however, the first time that I attended a service at which there were black women present they had very distinctive hats. Often they were wide brimmed, colorful creations decorated with tulle, feathers, bows, flowers and whatever accented the rest of the outfit.
Church hats were a way for African American women to not only honor God. They were a statement that they were more than the often drab, dreary costumes they were forced to wear as slaves and servants. Men also continue to dress up for church in the African American church. In many Caucasian churches ones sees a laxity or casualness in dress which would have Grandma Fannie using her finger and her mouth to direct that child (no matter how old) back home to change.
In some African American churches the senior pastor may be known as Bishop or pastor. His wife may be called First Lady by the rest of the members of the church. It may be the honor and the duty of the First Lady to set the standard for church hats. If the minster or the evangelist is a woman she sets the standard. I recall asking a woman evangelist who periodically come to lead revivals how she transported her hats. She informed me that she would ship them ahead of her arrival.
Recently I was not feeling well and was using a free month of Netflix to watch some shows/movies. One of the shows I watched was the first season of Greenleaf. Most of the women had some amazing hats although I do not recall First Lady or her daughters wearing them.
At the funeral on Saturday which was held in the funeral home a “church woman” arrived about the same time I did. I immediately knew she was a church woman because of how much attention she had given to her dress, her church hat and her proud stature. It is almost as if the women donning the church hats, heels and dress or suit, accessed that part of them which refused to be beaten down or look down upon. They were and are proud, powerful woman. Sometimes that pride gets confused with power and the need to control as is the case with the character of the First Lady in the Greenleaf series.
I did not know this woman on Saturday. I did intend to tell her how much I liked her church hat, but I got to visiting with others after the service and then could not locate her.
Costumes can be great fun. Someone complimented me on my outfit today and I remarked that it is just my work costume – shirt, tie, dress pants, dress shoes and sometimes a suit coat. I have many costumes – certainly many more than we had as children. I have ‘costumes’ for yardwork, working out, biking, painting, and cleaning. I also have jeans with cowboy boots, dress casual and much to my deceased mother’s chagrin jeans and shirts with holes in them. I am none of these costumes, but each one may say something about me just as the church woman’s costume or the brother’s costume says something about a part of who they are. Sometimes we ourselves may confuse ourselves with our costumes and take ourselves very seriously. We may not know who we are outside of that costume. That can be a huge problem especially if we are forced to leave the role for which the costume was designed. It can also be disrespectful and even dangerous if we confuse someone else with their costume.
Children love costumes unless they learn early on to be fearful of what others might think. They can experiment with many parts of themselves simply by changing their costume. Sometimes parents worry and make a big deal out of a boy or girl choosing a costume which is considered only appropriate for the opposite gender. That is very sad when that happens. If we cannot experiment with exploring parts of ourselves by playing different roles we may not discover the essence of who we are.
It may be that we adults in the United States could greatly benefit from exploring parts of ourselves by having some fun with costumes. We may have forgotten that it is not only safe to do that but necessary if we are to spread our wings and soar like the eagle or flutter our way to the small hummingbird feeder. We can be very visible or very beautiful and quietly present. We can be – who – we are – in all of our glory - with all of our strength and heart. We can be!
Written October 2, 2017
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