By the Revd Geoffrey Clarke
Moderator of the East Midlands Synod
What are you wearing?
Of all the matters that could have been on the agenda for the now infamous meeting between the President of the USA and the President of Ukraine, arguably the one that did not have the potential for being the most contentious was dress code. Yet the first thing Trump said to Zelenskyy as the latter stepped out of his car at the White House for that fateful meeting was, “You're all dressed up today.” Trump was referring to Zelenskyy's military-style black sweatshirt, adorned with the Ukrainian trident. Trump – and Vice President Vance, together with reporters present – maintained that Zelenskyy’s choice of dress was “not respecting the dignity of this office”. “I will wear costume after this war will finish,” Zelenskyy retorted. (The word “suit” can be translated into Ukrainian as “kostyum”.)
Since the start of the Russian invasion of his country began in 2022, Zelenskyy has chosen not to wear suits and ties – even during important meetings with world leaders and an address to the US Congress – a practice that, as some have pointed out, was also that of Winston Churchill during World War II.
I may be alone but I would want to suggest that in the context of a conversation with one of its supposed closest allies, the huge challenges faced by Ukraine’s people present far more serious issues than the dress code of its President when visiting the Oval Office. And, more crucially, when it comes to “respecting the dignity of [the] office,” given the tone and content of what Zelenskyy had to endure it could be suggested that it was not the visitor that needed to be challenged but rather the hosts.
In Colossians we find sound advice on dress code and a suggested wardrobe for those whose life and identity are found in Christ: As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. (Colossians 3: 12) These are the clothes we should wear and, as and when we do so, there ought to be in our encounters and discussions a stark contrast to the disgraceful spectacle witnessed in the Oval Office last week.
So, here’s a challenge: what are we wearing? Does our dress code “respect dignity” – for any and all – and are we, like Zelenskyy, living in times when the challenges around us are of such a scale that we are “not there” yet? And let’s look at our own church settings first: is our primary concern that of the verses that follow in Colossians 3? They read, Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. (Colossians 3: 13-14)
May the dress code for our meetings – local church, Synod, General Assembly – be such that grace is glimpsed in how we speak and listen. Of course, you may say that it would be unheard of in church circles for people to treat one another in the way Zelenskyy was treated last week. If so, it may well be that your church meetings are unique in having as “costume” love, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience. In reality, all our meetings are attended by human beings and sometimes we might be wearing the wrong “costume”. As Colossians goes on to say, Let the peace of Christ rule in [our] hearts … (Colossians 3: 15).
With my prayers for the churches and communities of East Midlands Synod – and for the nations of our troubled world, that leaders may respect the dignity of the office -
