The first Geneva robes, with their billowy sleeves and pleats, were stitched together with men in mind. These days their construction makes perfect sense to double as a maternity robe. This is what I told Mary Kathleen over the phone.
Mary Kathleen and I were catching up, as we did at least monthly since seminary. Today our conversation centered on the robe she would wear as her pregnancy progressed. The robes that we wore each Sunday were made with clergywomen in mind. They were beautiful and feminine. While they worked well most of the time, there was no room for a pregnant stomach.
But I had an idea.
In my closet hung a robe passed down to me as a seminary intern. It was black with all the looks of a traditional Geneva-style robe. Full sleeves and gathered material that mimicked the look of academic garb. This would be perfect for a pregnant pastor with room for a growing womb. So, I boxed up the robe and sent it from Texas to North Carolina to live with Mary Kathleen while she continued to preach and prepare for the arrival of her daughter, Mary Eliza.
A pastor’s robe is as easy signifier of his or her professional role, like a doctor wearing a white coat. It puts it right out there: “I am the pastor.” I have a great appreciation for my robe. Sometimes well-meaning people don’t know where to place me, a young female voice in the pulpit. I must be a stand-in. I must be one of the youth. When I wear my robe people talk to me after worship about the content of the service rather than my clothing. When I wear my robe people know who I am. They know that I am called and entrusted to care for God’s people. They know that I am a pastor just as much as any one of my male colleagues.
David Bailey gave me the robe that I was now shipping off to Mary Kathleen. David received the black Geneva robe as an intern when he was first trying on the role of pastor. Then, it was my turn. With a deep hem in the fabric, the robe worked great during my intern days. I remember pulling it on for the first time, feeling both nervous and excited. Feeling like Moses unsure of his call, and like Esther made for a time like this.
Mary Kathleen wore the robe again with her second child, Teddy. After that, the robe was sent around to another pregnant pastor and another. And so, the “Sisterhood of the Traveling Robe” was born. The black Geneva robe, passed around in the mail, is a symbol of the old and new. All the saints that have come before us paving the way and the patterns of ministry that stretch out before us, giving new life to the church.
In a robe, a pastor carries on the rich traditions of the Christian faith, those beliefs central to who we are as God’s people. At the same time, the women and men who put on robes in ordained ministry bring their own gifts and unique identity to their role. I pastor like Laura because Laura is who God created me to be. She is who God called to serve Parkway Church down in Corpus Christi, Texas. My robe doesn’t make me a pastor, but it puts right out front who I am. It reminds me that I am called to share my voice and to lead with love and courage. As that old Geneva robe continues to travel, I hope it illuminates the stories of the women who wear it and the God they love.
LAURA NEELY is associate pastor at Parkway Presbyterian Church in Corpus Christi, Texas. Outside of church, you can find her experimenting with new baking recipes or playing with her dog Hopper.
