Headcovering in the News

I was searching the internet for new links to add for headcoverings and modest dress and came across this USA Today article from 2006!  I got so excited!!  Crazy, I know, but it is exciting to me to come across an article that discussed Christian "haircovering".  The article did not focus on sects that normally cover, but rather mainline Christians who are choosing to cover and wear more modest clothing. 

This was written in 2006!!  Back in 2006 I hadn't even heard about headcovering except for what I had seen in Amish settlements but I had absolutely no clue why they wore it. 

Here's the story for anyone who would like to read it.  Rather simple article, but I was still happy to see it. 

Blessings in Christ,

 

"Veils are fashionable"

Cory Anderson, the author of Beachyam.org, has written a book entitled "The Ornament of the Spirit". A book about different covering styles and how and why the styles changed over the years. I have not read this book yet, I hope to one day, but the lady at meal last Sunday had read it. This book started a discussion about veils being fashionable. I do not know if that was in the book or if it was her opinion, but anyway, it started a discussion about why women go away from kapps towards veils.

The lady also maintained that that reason is why veils should not be worn because pretty soon women would go away from the modest dress (meaning a cape dress) and then their veil would get smaller and smaller. This may be true for some women, but I told her I like to wear a veil because I feel it is more practical while I am cleaning and working. It is easier to wash, cheaper to make and easier to make than a kapp. Her response? That's what the women will say but really it's because it is more fashionable. Both my roommate and I pointed out to her that the Bible does not specify a shape, color or size to a woman's covering and she acknowledged that. If God had wanted us to wear a specific kind of covering, He would have inspired Paul to specify those things in scripture, but since He did not, I do not think God looks at the shape, size or color of a covering. He looks at a woman's heart.

IMHO, I do not think a veil causes a woman to trend towards anything immodest. There are plenty of churches around here that a woman will wear a cape dress all the while wearing a veil. I do not think wearing a veil changes a woman's heart, but rather a woman who wants to be more fashionable will trend towards veils. And that may be where the generalization comes from.

Blessings in Christ,

Headcovering Styles Continued...

I have decided to continue this topic due to some points that I feel need to be clarified.

Paul called us to cover our heads...not our hair. If we look at scripture, nowhere does it say a woman must cover her hair, but rather she must cover her head while praying and prophesying as a symbol of authority. An authority over us by our husbands and God.

Another argument is that it must be solid so that someone else may not see our hair... This relates back to the last point, there is nothing saying we must cover our hair. The only thing the passage mentions is that our hair is given to us for glory. I do not feel that a solid covering is necessary based on scripture. I love my mesh coverings, I believe they hold up better and are more practical than a solid covering, but I know some people really love their solid coverings as well. That is why there are so many different types of coverings!!

Now onto the big question :) What is our head? If we want to be literal, it would be our whole area above our neck. How would we cover the whole area? We could not walk without a guide if our face were covered fully too. My personal conviction is that our head is the crown of our head. Any of the coverings in the last post could cover the crown of the head...the first covering may be argued that it is not covering the crown of her head, but if a woman and her husband feel that is a covering God wants her to wear then who am I to tell them that it is not covering enough of her head?

It was pointed out to me that the covering in some of the Mennonite churches decreased in size until it was no longer practiced. That is true. The same person made the point that the coverings in my last post were merely a symbol because they showed the womans hair and did not cover enough. Again, who are we to say it does not cover enough? But besides that, the covering is a symbol. A symbol of our submission to our husbands and to God our Father.

To me, the covering by itself means nothing. A covering by itself is just a piece of fabric. But rather, when a woman believes in why she is wearing it, that is when it becomes more than a simple piece of fabric. When a woman is convicted of 1 Corinthians 11, the covering is a symbol...a symbol of her submission to her husband. To God her Father. It is a symbol of her Christian life she is leading. It is much more than a piece of fabric when she believes in the reason why she is wearing it.

Also, I just want to clarify that I have nothing against churches that specify a covering for its members to wear. The last post was more so for those of us who do not attend a church that specifies the covering we need to wear.

Blessings in Christ,

Styles of Coverings

It bothers me when someone tries to say that there is only one type of covering that a woman should wear, that it needs to cover so much, it needs to be this certain style, and that it needs to be a certain color. Someone...please tell me where it says this in the Bible!! It doesn't!!

There is no difference between this covering...



Or this one...



Or this one...



Or this one...



Or...



At least scripturally. They all fit in what Paul gave instruction on, that a woman should cover her head while praying and prophesying. Now we are all going to have different levels of convictions... some of us might feel that to be covered our ears have to be covered, while others may feel that anything on their head is okay.

There are so many different coverings that these are just a few... If you have a style that you want to share, let me know!

Blessings in Christ,

The Perfect Christian

A newcomer to headcovering posed the question (paraphrased), how do I transition to covering because my husband, kids, and co-workers know I am a Christian but they see my flaws?

I thought about this and read some of the responses to this woman and I really hope she was blessed by what she read. None of us can be a "perfect" Christian. The only one who was is Jesus our Lord and Saviour, we can only emmulate His actions and follow His word and hope that we are doing good by Him. Just because we are not perfect does not mean that we should not follow His instructions. If that is the case then it does not matter if we go around breaking the 10 Commandments or other commands in the Bible.

Yes, others will see our flaws and maybe some will hold us on a higher pedastool than others because we cover our heads, but it does not mean that Jesus holds us any higher. He knows that we will sin and the greatest thing is that He has already forgiven us bearing that we forgive those who sin against us. He has already given Himself for us so that if we follow His commands we may have eternal life.

How can we be the "perfect" Christian? We can't :) We can only try and hope that Jesus will guide us down a better path.

Blessings in Christ,

Who to Obey?

I struggle with this one... more so the balance of it. How much do I obey my earthly father and how much do I obey my Heavenly Father? Where do I stop obeying my earthly father in order to obey God?

I went home this past weekend and Saturday when I got home I did have my veil on and my dad said not a word to me. So Sunday I decided to try a little "experiment". We had gotten lots of snow so I knew we wouldn't be going out nor would anybody be coming over, so instead of putting my veil on, I left my hair in a bun and guess what? My dad actually talked to me quite a bit.

How is it that wearing a veil changes whether a father will talk to his own child or not? I struggled before I moved out whether to obey God and wear a covering or whether to obey my dad and not wear "that thing" in HIS house. Now that I've moved out, I do wear my covering nearly all the time, but when I go home I go back to my inner struggles. What do to? Wear a veil and not talk to my dad? Or not wear a veil and be able to talk to my dad? My mom and sister talk to me either way... no they do not agree with my conviction of covering, but they have come to accept it as mine and I do not impress my conviction upon them which heps immensely I do believe. Maybe time will help with my dad, but I am not sure. I disappointed him to no end when I decided not to go after engineering anymore and to follow God's push. All I can do is keep praying for strength and guidance in how to handle the situation, but no matter how easy it is to say that, it is hard for me to give everything up to the Lord and allow Him to have 100% control over my life.

Blessings in Christ,

Time to Cover?

I hope everyone had a Blessed Thanksgiving!! I enjoyed my day with my family :) Tonight is my final exam for my EMT class, I will be so thankful when it is over with! I spent 6 hours yesterday studying, but I am afraid I studied too much. As long as I pass the test tonight then I have 5.5 hours of testing this Saturday, but it's hands-on testing on Saturday. Oh boy!

Question for all: What do you feel an appropriate age for a girl to start covering is? One church I was attending for a while, it was when the girl turned 2 that she started to wear her first kapp, then another church I've visited a handful of times it isn't until she is a member that she is allowed to wear a covering (until then her hair is in braids). I personally don't know that 2 is the "right" age for most children, unless the mother is extremely diligent in explaining why she is wearing the covering, but I also do not agree with allowing the girls to go un-covered until they join the church. I would like to say a more appropriate time is when she understands what the covering means, but when one is a part of a church, I understand why there is unity in when it is worn. What do you think?

Blessings in Christ,

Interview

I was recently asked to answer some questions as a part of a SEED Interview series on another blog. Here is the link to my interview if you are interested in reading it.

Blessings in Christ,

Q & A

I recently got a few questions from someone and instead of replying just to her, I thought I would post it on my blog.

"How amazing Chelsea! Only recently, (though I have felt this way for years), I’ve been convicted to dress plainly and finally bought my first cape dress and plain-style apron patterns. Slowly, I'm trying to change over my wardrobe to fit what I feel YHWH is calling me to wear.

Please, if you don't mind answering a curious girls questions, where did you purchase your cape dress pattern? What colours do you personally consider plain? I'm not sure right now if wearing kapps is right for me (I've got a lot of hair and that makes the styles available to me difficult to wear) but I'm not sure what else there is. Right now I'm not feeling any leadings towards any particular covering so I'm not going to change until I do. Do you only wear kapps?"

I was lucky enough to be given my cape dress pattern by a friend. I did not have to purchase one. It may of been easier if I had because I would not of had to alter the pattern, but it saved me money. Where I am, that is how most women do it. Find someone of comprable size at their church, ask to try a dress on, and if it fits ask to copy the pattern the other lady uses. One of my friends had an old pattern and a dress for me to try on and it fit for the most part so that is how I got my pattern.

I myself do not focus on what colors to wear and what colors not to wear. For church I have some more subdued colors, such as darker greens, sage greens, blues, and one gray dress, but for my everyday dress I pick material up that appeals me. It usually is a green (I love orange and greens) and has a pattern to it. The patterns I find in my area are small patterns. Similar to this one.



My thoughts on what style of covering to wear is wear what you feel called to wear. Do not worry about what may be the "right" covering as Paul did not specify what kind women are to wear, only that we are to wear a covering. I have thick hair, my hair is to the bottom of my shoulder blades so it's not super long yet. There are ways to make your bun flat, here is a link to different ways to make your bun. I wear both veils and kapps, but when I buy kapps I have to look for ones that are extra deep or else my kapps sit further back, but with my behind-the-ears kapps I do not mind them sitting further back... I don't like them over my ears :)

I hope this answers your questions. If anyone has anymore, please feel free to ask! I am will do my very best to answer all of your questions :)

Blessings in Christ,

Buying a covering

Wondering how to go about buying a covering? Here's a few hints.

First you need to decide what style covering you want, if you want a veil or a more traditional cover, or yet even something different.

Second, if you are looking for a veil you will do just fine buying one off the internet. Veils are generally easy to adjust to fit your head and bun shape/size as compared to a more traditional kapp. If you are wanting a traditional kapp, you can buy them on the internet, however, keep in mind that each covering is made differently so the same size can be different covering to covering. Your best bet is to buy one in person where you can try on many different coverings to figure out what you like best. Many fabric stores in the areas with Amish communities have coverings. You will most likely find that the Mennonites tend to make their own coverings whereas more of the Amish will buy their kapps. If you know a Mennonite or Amish woman you could ask them where they buy their kapps from or if they make their own. However, if you are really wanting a covering but cannot buy one in person, there are several websites that specialize in making coverings and sell them pre-made. Plain-and-Simple Headcoverings is one and Christian Coverings is a second store that sell various styles of coverings. They both also sell veils.

If you are ever in the area of large Amish communities (ie. Lancaster PA, Holmes County, OH, and Shippshewana IN) be sure to try to find a place to try on coverings if at all interested, it is absolutely amazing how differently each covering fits!! I bought my first covering on the internet and then found a fabric store in Holmes County that had coverings I liked so I bought one there and boy does it fit so differently! I actually bought two more coverings today because I was in need of them and I was able to get them for half-price because they had some "flaws". Well me not being a member of a church with guidelines on coverings it doesn't matter if the pleats aren't the right size or if the front band is a little bit larger than it should be. I am excited!

Another website that has some veils and snoods is Garlands of Grace. I have a veil from there and like how it fits :) I like their website because they do some "fun" colors as I call them! Or maybe less traditional covering colors would be better? I bought a pistachio paisley veil from them, oh so much fun! I am not the type of person that says there is only one color or style for a covering. My opinion is that your heart must be in the right spot first off and then the Lord will lead you to the style He wants you to wear. It doesn't matter what another person says, to me it only matters what my God says.

If you get really adventurous, there are patterns available for purchase both on line and in fabric stores that already sell coverings for different coverings. I, myself, am not that adventurous! I think making my own covering might be a bit over my head, at least at this point of my life! I have made several veils for myself though, those are a bit easier to start with and easier to fix if you make a mistake somewhere :)

Blessings in Christ,

The Persecution of Christians

"Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution." - 2 Timothy 3:12 (NKJV)

This rings so true for me in my life right now. My mom and I had TWO converstaions this past weekend about my covering and dressing modestly. It appears that the more and more I am convicted that this is what the Lord wants for me to do, the more and more she is against it. It is not that I am wearing one more around the house, because I have done my best to be respectful of my parent's wishes and not wearing a covering in their house. I even told my mom that; that I am feeling torn between obeying their wishes for me not to wear a covering in the house and obeying the Lord. She turned right around saying "this is not about obeying the Lord, this is about YOU being different!" She believes that I am doing this because I am an "Amish wanna-be". I told her that I agreed with some of their beliefs, but I certainly do not believe with all of them and that if she wants to call me a wanna-be then so be it but my thoughts are my own, they are not "forced" upon me by anyone else.

Besides that, she also is firm in her belief that women were created to walk beside man because that's what "her" Bible says. Her Bible is NIV. She resents the fact that I have resorted to using my NKJV Bible after being raised with the NIV. I had to get my NKJV for a college course I took in the summer of 2006 and I didn't use it for a while, but then last January I started using it more and then switched to it completely by last May. I believe that we were created as a companion for man, but that God created man first for a reason. He is to be the "president" of the house and the wife is to be the "vice president". I like that analogy because it does not make it seem that the household is a dictatorship like some think of when thinking of submission, but rather it shows that it is a co-run house. Not many young women understand the concept of submission which does not surprise me at al. We have been raised in a feminist generation; raised to think that we are independent of all man and can do anything we want - ANYTHING.

How else are Christians persecuted in today's world? How are YOU persecuted?

Blessings in Christ,

Common Objections to Covering

I hope you have had a chance to pray and meditate on 1 Cor 11. I have decided to tackle a few common questions.

1. What is the "right" size and style of a covering?
2. Is it cultural?
3. Well hair is the covering given to us by God. We do not need anything else.

Here are the answers I give to these questions when asked.

1. The Bible says absolutely nothing about the size and style of the covering that a sister in Christ must wear in order to follow scripture. If there was only one correct style, then I am positive it would have been mentioned. But, what I do say is that it is called a "headcovering". Does this mean that I have to cover all my hair? I do not think so. If God had intended for it to be a haircovering, I am sure he would of had Paul use that word instead of headcovering. Also, if our hair is to be a vest for us, how can it be a vest if it is worn up and covered?

Some say that the hair is the glory of a woman and therefore should be covered and reserved for her husband. Although the Bible does not instruct us to cover our hair, if a woman feels convicted to cover her hair as well as her head, then so be it. I personally do not share that same conviction, but I am not going to discredit those who do.

Some churches stand by the thought that a covering must be a specific style and has to be black for certain women and white for other women. That is fine. If you do not attend a church that dictates the style and color of a covering, then you are free to choose your own covering. They insist that the covering must say "religious" in order for it to qualify as a covering. My question is who determines if a covering says "religious" or not? It is society that determines that based on the typical coverings that women wear in the circles that still require headcovering.

I have faith that if you are unsure of what kind of covering you ought to wear, pray and the Lord will lead you to a covering he approves of.

2. Is it cultural? No. If it is cultural, then I suppose we do not need to keep the Lord's Supper either correct? That is the second part of 1 Cor 11. Also, there are only three reasons given for covering. One, the headship order: God, man, then woman. Two, man was created before woman so therefore the woman is the glory of man. Three, because of the angels. This third reason is not really elaborated on much in the Bible, but the other two are repeated several times throughout 1 Corinthians 11:1-16. Another reason I personally do not believe headcovering is cultural and therefore for the church of Corinth only is because of 1 Corinthians 1:2 "Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours". Paul clearly states that he is writing this letter first to the church of Corinth and then to all churches around the world that believe in Jesus Christ.

3. Is the hair the covering? No! As we saw from the Greek study in the previous post, we saw that two different Greek words are used in the sense of a cover and of our hair covering.

Another explanation for why our hair is not a covering... is how can hair be removed and put back on for prayer? It can't be, unless we wear a wig. But then, how could the men remove their covering for prayer and prophesy if the covering is the hair? Again, unless all men are bald and put a wig on while they are not praying or prophesying, then the hair cannot be the covering. So, it makes much more sense for the covering to be a physical covering...one that can be removed and put back on.

The NIV Bible has added notes to its Bibles saying that the hair is a woman's covering. This is one of the most common Bibles used by Christian churches these days. I am not going to say not to use the NIV Bible, but if you do use this version, I ask you to be very cautious with taking the study notes as part of the Bible. Remember, those were not in the original document so someone put their interpretations in a Bible and published it. Prayer is the best way to determine the interpretation of something in the Bible.

If you face any objections, I understand. Covering and being the only one in the area is a very difficult thing to do. It takes a lot of courage and determination to not let others talk you out of it. If there are any other objections you have heard, please share them :)

Blessings in Christ,

My Journey to Modesty and Covering

I thought now might be a good time to share this with you.

I was raised in a home that attended church about 75% of the time, so not bad. We have always attended a Lutheran church, but we started out in the Missouri Synod and then ended up where we are now, ELCA, when the pastor left. For those who aren’t that familiar with the “synods”, there are three main synods, Wisconsin, Missouri and Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. They are the most conservative to the most liberal in the order listed.

While I was in grade school my mom was fairly conservative with what my sister and I could wear, she didn’t like jeans that were “pasted” to us or shirts that were too high (belly shirts) or those that dipped too low. Of course, the school dress code helped address some other things such as length of shorts/skirts, and sleeves on shirts, but I think my mom wouldn’t have allowed sleeveless shirts to school and then mini-skirts were always a no-no in her standards. As we got older, we pushed her a little bit, but she never gave in (my sister pushed more than I did). I was one of those people who did not wear anything that was “in-style” at the time of it being “in-style”. Yes, I was difficult!

Since 8th grade, I have had a fascination with the Amish and Mennonites. It started with just reading books about them (fictional mostly), then visiting Lancaster in June 2008. After that visit, I started to try to “figure out” their doctrine more and more. Eventually, I came to headcovering and realized that it was something in the Bible (my mom had always said it was cultural) and I felt convicted. So in February 2009 I bought my very first covering. I went straight in…getting a traditional round covering. In May-ish, when I moved back home from school I decided to buy a veil so that it would be less awkward around my parents whom I hadn’t told anything to as of yet. Eventually, my mom saw my “Amish hat” and was mortified by it; I’m still not allowed to tell family that I believe in headcovering because it’s so awful. Well around the time I started to move home is when I joined two Yahoo! groups to support other Christian women who felt called to headcover. One member on there provided me with multiple scripture references to modesty and from that point I agreed on modesty. The initial problem was, are pants considered modest if they are baggy enough? I eventually decided not and began to wear skirts all the time in early June 2009. My mom still doesn’t like it and when I was going to help get a Christmas tree for my boyfriend's family, she told me I wasn’t allowed to leave the house in a skirt – it was too cold and to go picking a Christmas tree out in a skirt was absolutely silly. So I deal with that and her “you know what I would tell you to wear” when I ask for ideas of clothes to wear when I’m substitute teaching (she’s referring to pants).

Since June, I have worn pants a few times, but mostly not by choice, it’s mostly been my mom and dad telling me that I’m not allowed to do a certain activity in a skirt so I must go change. I have put away all my jeans though and so my pants are now sweatpants which are baggy so I feel a little more modest than I did in my jeans, but still not as modest as I do in my skirts.

Currently, I lean towards my solid chapel veil, but I also like my cecily veils too. My skirts are all at least knee length, but the majority of them are mid-calf. I am definitely not plain, but I do my best to dress in a way that I feel the Lord would approve.

Blessings in Christ,

Are you Amish?

I got asked today at school for the first time ever... "Are you Amish?" I was so confused that I probably didn't give the best response. The guy who asked is in two of my classes and I cover full time when I'm at school. I have tended to wear a chapel veil, same as THIS one, so the question really threw me for a loop :) He pointed to his head at which point I finally understood!

My answer? "I wear it out of obedience for 1 Cor 11:1-16". Now considering he is not a very religious person (from what I've gathered) it probably wasn't the best way to answer the question, but that is what I have decided would be my standard answer.

I just had to share with you :) Any of you have a similar experience?! Maybe being asked if you're a "sister" instead of Amish??

Blessings in Christ,

1 Corinthians 11:1-16

1 Corinthians 11:1-16 states: (King James Version)

1 Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.
2 Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you.
3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
4 Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoreth his head.
5 But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoreth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven.
6 For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered.
7 For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.
8 For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man.
9 Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.
10 For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.
11 Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.
12 For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God.
13 Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered?
14 Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?
15 But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.
16 But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God.
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What does this all mean? Well, it depends on if you look at it in English like is listed above, or if we look at it in Greek like the New Testament was originally written in.

We need to look at six key verses in the Greek, all of which use the word "covered" or "uncovered".

Verse 4: pas anēr proseuchomai ē prophēteuō, echō kephalē kata, kataischynō autos kephalē
Verse 5: de pas gunē proseuchomai ē prophēteuō kephalē akatakaluptos kataischunō heautou kephalē: gar eimi autos heis kai xuraō
Verse 6: gar ei gynē katakalyptō, keirō: de aischron gynē keirō ē xyraō katakalyptō
Verse 7: gar anēr men opheilō ou katakalyptō kephalē, hyparchō eikōn kai doxa theos de gynē esti doxa anēr
Verse 13: krinō en autos esti prepō gynē proseuchomai theos akatakalyptos
Verse 15: de ean gynē komaō, esti doxa autos: hoti komē didōmi autos anti peribolaion.

Okay, now, we need to evaluate the use of covered/uncovered in each of these verses. The bolded words are the equivalent of covered or uncovered depending on the verse. Kata (in verse 4) is a derivative of katakalyptō (in verse 6 and 7). The preface of "a" in verse 6 and 13 is for the "un" before covered. This means that the greek "covered" in verses 4, 6, 7, 13 are of the same root!! Look at the word "covering" in verse 15 when Paul says that the woman's hair is given to her as a "covering". It is a different word and different root all together. That is all that I have ever needed in order to understand that my hair is not my covering. But in case you are not quite convinced just yet, I'll go one step further :)

The wonderful website which I have been using to help me with the Greek translation is greattreasures.org. It also tells where that word occurs everywhere else in the Bible. Akatakaluptos is repeated only twice throughout the Bible. Both in 1 Corinthians 11, one in verse 5 and the other in verse 13. Katakalyptō occurs 3 times, again, all in 1 Corinthians 11, twice in verse 6 and once in verse 7. Peribolian is repeated twice in the Bible, once in 1 Cor 11:15 and the second? Hebrews 1:12 where it is used as "a vesture". Hmmm... odd? Well, maybe. One lady who has been covering for 20 plus years, believes that in the english 1 Cor 11:15, it should say that a woman's hair is given to her as a vest, emphasizing the "length" of the hair instead of it being the "covering". That's one possibility. I do not know. But the Greek has been enough for me to realize that my hair is NOT my covering!!

There is so much more on this topic...so many more questions that are begged to be answered. But for now, this is all I am going to share. I wish for you to pray and meditate on the scripture and what God wants for you to do. Not what you want to do, but what He wants for you to do.

Blessings in Christ,
Chelsea