Our Sunday best used to represent the finest duds we owned. Time was church was formal, and folks dressed that way. Of course dinner was formal too. So was theatre. So was photography. Now it's different. People come to church wearing everything from tuxedos to cutoffs, from formal gowns to sandals. Society clings to few rules about dress. Restaurants make you wear shoes and shirts. People laugh at your bathrobe, curlers, and bunny slippers.

A backless dress may be elegant at a Saturday wedding, but gauche on a Sunday morning. Under the roof of God's house, some dos and don'ts prevail, but there's no telling how the brothers and sisters will dress for the family faith meal. The advance of casual wear has succeeded in many parts of society, not just churches. What constitutes appropriate attire for business and leisure activities continues to fluctuate. Even when invitations specify formal wear, business clothes, or casual dress, respondents may remain confused.

Expectations for Sunday dress vary from one worshiper to the next. A young participant's outfit reveals some flesh. Some see no problem; others find it scandalous. Some cannot afford nice clothes; others are coming from work, or stop on their way to play.

At its best, the variety of church dress displays the universality of the call to worship. At its worst it shows carelessness and confusion. The harrumph-o-meter generally short circuits when a worshiper who arrived expecting a place in the pew serves as a eucharistic minister, reader, or songleader for a short-handed celebration. Having communion offered to you from someone dressed in shorts and a grunge rock t-shirt may shake the most fervent worshiper's belief in the body of Christ.

However, ministers generally prefer to dress right. When duty calls them unprepared, they do their best with hearts of faith, seeking to serve, not to offend. When we prepare for church, charity demands consideration in our dress and moderation in our judgment.

(Paul Turner, pastor of St. Munchin Parish in Cameron, MO, holds a doctorate in sacramental theology from Sant' Anselmo University.)