What should I wear if I'm being presented to the Bishop?

[LemonAndLime]

Hey all, I’m at RCIA and being presented to the Bishop this Sunday and I’m female.

I’m really short of money at the moment, and I forgot that it was this Sunday until my sponsor mentioned it to me on Wednesday I was away on holiday last week and then working full-time when I got back so completely lost track of time. I get paid next Friday but until then I’m seriously low on funds, and I need something to wear when we go to the special Mass.

I don’t have any skirts because I don’t feel comfortable wearing them. I have a dress that I wore to a wedding recently but its really formal, I feel uncomfortable wearing it and I think I will be overdressed. I do not think any of the other female catchumens will wear a skirt.

Will black, formal trousers and a silk tunic top be okay? The tunic top is white with really bright butterflies, bumblebees etc arranged in rows across it. I’ll probably wear a black cardigan as well. I have a large black headband to wear in my hair as it’s quite long.

 

[Carlan]

Hey all, I’m at RCIA and being presented to the Bishop this Sunday and I’m female.

I’m really short of money at the moment, and I forgot that it was this Sunday until my sponsor mentioned it to me on Wednesday I was away on holiday last week and then working full-time when I got back so completely lost track of time. I get paid next Friday but until then I’m seriously low on funds, and I need something to wear when we go to the special Mass.

I don’t have any skirts because I don’t feel comfortable wearing them. I have a dress that I wore to a wedding recently but its really formal, I feel uncomfortable wearing it and I think I will be overdressed. I do not think any of the other female catchumens will wear a skirt.

Will black, formal trousers and a silk tunic top be okay? The tunic top is white with really bright butterflies, bumblebees etc arranged in rows across it. I’ll probably wear a black cardigan as well. I have a large black headband to wear in my hair as it’s quite long.

L&L simply wear your Sunday best, pants or dress You will be blessed no matter! Peace, Carlan

 

[LilyM]

Hey all, I’m at RCIA and being presented to the Bishop this Sunday and I’m female.

I’m really short of money at the moment, and I forgot that it was this Sunday until my sponsor mentioned it to me on Wednesday I was away on holiday last week and then working full-time when I got back so completely lost track of time. I get paid next Friday but until then I’m seriously low on funds, and I need something to wear when we go to the special Mass.

I don’t have any skirts because I don’t feel comfortable wearing them. I have a dress that I wore to a wedding recently but its really formal, I feel uncomfortable wearing it and I think I will be overdressed. I do not think any of the other female catchumens will wear a skirt.

Will black, formal trousers and a silk tunic top be okay? The tunic top is white with really bright butterflies, bumblebees etc arranged in rows across it. I’ll probably wear a black cardigan as well. I have a large black headband to wear in my hair as it’s quite long.

Sounds fine. The last time I formally met a Bishop was many moons ago at my highschool graduation. The only rules really were ‘nothing backless or strapless’

 

[JRKH]

What you describe should be just fine.

Peace
James

 

[DJgang]

What you have planned will be perfect!

I highly encourage you to enjoy this moment and, if you feel comfortable with this, please bow to you Bishop before shaking his hand. It’s shows lots of respect…when I met my Bishop, hardly no one done this. I bowed, mind you it wasn’t a huge, lunge at the waist or anything, just a slight nod of my head…years and years ago people use to kiss the Bishop’s ring. anyway, have fun!

 

[JRKH]

Slightly off topic, and with no intent to highjack this thread, I’d like to encourage everyone reading the OP and subsequent posts to consider this…As it relates to dressing for church in general…

The OP is concerned that she be properly dressed because she will be “presented to the bishop”, and rightly so.

Yet, every time we come to Church for mass we are “Presented to Christ our King”.
Let us all remember to ask this same question (in the OP) of ourselves when we dress for Sunday Mass. To paraphrase, “What should I wear to be presented to the King of Kings?”

Now back to the thread topic…

Peace
James

 

[LemonAndLime]

Thank you everyone definitely put my mind at rest. The black trousers aren’t as comfy as my jeans but I think that would be too casual.

And I agree, you should wear your best to mass. Hence why I’m so worried about what I’m wearing tomorrow!

 

[Spoken4]

If it were me, I would wear the nicest clothing that I have available, as long as it’s modest (the no-strapless/no-backless idea). If that meant dress slacks, seeing as that’s all I have available to me in this hypothetical situation, I’d wear them.

On that topic, I am also a “poor person” (errr… low income, bad paying job). I’ve found some absolutely gorgeous dresses and skirts/jackets at my local thrift stores. Some of them were brand new with the tags still on them and these cost me anywhere from just a few dollars for “no-name” garments, up to about $20-25 for some of the “higher-end” name brand things. My favorite and most versatile jacket was a thrift store item that I bought 15 years ago for a buck! Super colorful, like Joseph’s coat, good for any season, and it looks nice with either slacks or a dress.

I got a stunning SILK dress and coordinating tunic for nothing thanks to our local “center of hope”. This agency provides clothing at no cost to folks in need, 12 major pieces (like dresses, slacks, blouses, etc.) or 6 “sets”, plus some undergarments and socks (NEW!!). I plan to wear that dress and tunic to our Bishop’s Mass at our parish next weekend when our choir sings there (in honor of our Irish Patron Saint, who has a popular holiday named for him… ).

At that center, I also got a lovely brand-new (tags on) red and black wool skirt-suit, a gorgeous black dress with a coordinating jacket, a beautiful blue silk dress, a very cute and summery floral skirt and blouse, and a darling pink dress that’ll be perfect for Easter Mass. I also found some nice slacks and blouses for work. Of course, being a very small size (3 or 4) helps a lot… it seems many folks pass along their smaller sizes when they, um, “outgrow” them.

If you don’t mind second-hand clothing, you might find the perfect outfit at your local Goodwill or other thrift store-- or you might find something brand-new there for next to nothing.

Hope that helps!

In Christ,
~Spoken4