Churchgoers abandon 'Sunday best'

Bright light bathed the stage where the band jammed and gospel singers crooned contemporary Christian music inside Covenant Church of Pittsburgh, a nondenominational ministry tucked behind a Wilkinsburg business park.

Most wore jeans, untucked shirts or sweatshirts.

Chett Williams-Garlington, sitting in the center of the first row, removed a blue and white baseball cap, clapped, danced and sang along with about 75 other people attending the casual mid-week family service. Then, he stepped to a podium.

“God is so good. He is so good, this day right here,” said the 57-year-old pastor, wearing a gray T-shirt, blue jeans and sneakers. “Hallelujah.”

That was Wednesday.

On Easter Sunday, Williams-Garlington plans to don a suit and tie in reverence for the Christian holy day. But the formal tradition of “Sunday best” at many churches across Western Pennsylvania and around the country has largely given way to the casual approach common in everyday life.

“Sunday dress now is like Saturday-night dress, almost,” said Williams-Garlington, who also serves as the church's director of marriage and family ministry. “It's changed. It has changed a lot.”

At some churches, that shift to casual was intentional, while others have simply accepted the changing societal norms.

“It's a cultural change,” said the Rev. Martin Ankrum, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Greensburg. “(Casualness) is becoming more of the cultural fabric of our country.”

The Rev. Msgr. Paul Fitzmaurice, pastor at St. Agnes Catholic Parish in North Huntingdon and a priest for 42 years, has noted the same shift.

“The idea of getting dressed up for Sunday church has gone away over the past decades,” Fitzmaurice said.

He sees meaning in the clothing choices parishioners make.

“Their dress sends the message that the Lord is important to me,” Fitzmaurice said.

Others don't see what is worn as important as people being there.

Leaders at North Hills Christian Church decided in 2010 to embrace a contemporary and “come-as-you-are” approach, said the Rev. Don Swingle Jr.

“When we relaxed the dress code, we attracted more men — and their families came with them,” said Swingle, senior pastor of the Ross ministry that expected to attract about 200 people on Easter. While some older church members might not have liked the change when it was made, Swingle said most have come around. A few still come in three-piece suits and ties.

“But they certainly are the exception, not the rule now,” said Swingle, who dresses business casual most Sundays.

Effect of casual workplace

That dynamic is happening across the country, particularly in new-start and mega-churches, said Swingle, who has served as a minister in Florida and Texas.

“We've got younger people coming, who saw that how you dress on the outside isn't the most important part of going to church,” he said. “Worship and connecting with God and connecting with other people — that's what is important.”

The relaxed approach to services and dress doesn't work across the board, Swingle said.

“That's not for everyone,” he said.

Protestant churches might be able to mesh casual dress with contemporary services more easily than Catholic churches, said the Rev. James R. Gretz, director of worship for the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh.

“When it comes to Catholicism, what we do is the Mass,” Gretz said. “That format isn't going to change.”

Parishioners' attire has, he noted.

People take cues from a casual approach to wardrobe during the week, especially with many upper-level company executives — think Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, late Apple CEO Steve Jobs and others — no longer wearing suits to work.

“That translates over to being more casual before the Lord,” Gretz said. “But it is the Lord that they are coming before, and maybe the Lord deserves something better.”

Along with his collar and robe, Gretz wears French-cuff shirts and hard-soled dress shoes for Sunday Mass.

He recalled when serving as pastor of Holy Family Parish in New Brighton, Beaver County, that he often drove by black churches on his way to service.

“Women were dressed to the nines in dresses and men in suits,” Gretz said. “It always spoke to me that they were saying, ‘Hey, I'm coming before my Lord and putting forward my best.' ”

Formality often prevails

Ankrum said he dons a suit and tie on Sundays along with his Geneva robe.

“Putting on that suit and tie makes me aware of the important nature of that hour,” he said. “But I don't hold other people to that expectation.”

Times have changed, he said.

“Back 15 or 20 years ago, some people might have taken it upon themselves to tell others if they were appropriately dressed for church or not,” Ankrum said. “You don't see that any more. Or at least I don't see it.”

Formality still is there for some people, Williams-Garlington said. That includes his parents — Bishop Joseph Garlington Sr. and Barbara Garlington, who founded Covenant in 1971, continue to serve as senior pastors and always dress impeccably.

“My mom and dad are old school,” he said.

The former Pentecostal church last year started allowing its ministers to opt for “smart causal” attire for services instead of requiring more formal suits and dresses.

“You tend to get in the audience what you see on the stage. We wanted to see some younger people in the seats,” Williams-Garlington said. “We have some people who wear a shirt and tie every Sunday because that's just what they do.”

And for those who would rather not?

“We don't want that to be the reason you don't come to church,” Williams-Garlington said. “We're excited about getting people in the room. We're just going after souls.”

Reporter Joseph Napsha contributed. Jason Cato is a Tribune-Review staff writer.