What do you do with a wedding dress if you are a female Anglican Priest who likes to recycle, has a thing about symbolism and just really enjoys a challenge???!!! Why, turn it into a chasuble of course!
This raises a couple of questions of course:
What is a chasuble?
It is a poncho looking item that a priest can choose to wear when they are presiding at a Eucharist. See the photo if you can't picture it. One of the benefits of a chasuble is that it is an opportunity to signal the season of the Church year through the colour. For example, purple is used for lent and advent.
One of the downsides is that in Summer it is another layer that you could do without. And if you are doing something a little creative during the service, chasubles can restrict movement!
Why did you get married in red?
Good question. Jokingly, I say that I wear a white dress every week in church so I wanted something different. (The white dress in question is called an Alb. Standard vestment (clothing) with a stole ( priest scarf) that clergy wear. (hmmmm.... we use a lot of jargon in the church don't we?!)
More seriously, red is my favourite colour. Traditionally it symbolises love, the Holy Spirit, and is often worn for ordinations and saint's days. Plus both my parents and Phil my husband's parents were celebrating their 40th wedding aniversaries close to our wedding day. 40th weddings are the Ruby wedding... see, red again.
What happens if you have a daughter who wants a piece of your wedding dress for her special day?
Got that covered too. I have kept the corset from my wedding dress and scraps of the material....
Love the idea.
ReplyDeleteMy wife wanted to wear red when we got married 20 years ago....and funny that, she was priested in 2010. i suppose she could wear red at our 2oth anniversary in July....