From St. Louis-
A good time was had by all at a recent viewing party for a new episode of the popular Learning Channel series “What Not to Wear.” WNTW, as it is known to fans, is one of those makeover shows that takes people who are in the frumpy-to-normal range of appearance and makes changes to their clothes, hair, and makeup that are supposed to leave them looking absolutely fabulous. As the promo for the show put it, this was an episode about Emily, a “typical single girl with one divine difference…she’s an Episcopal priest.”
I don’t know Emily very well, but I was interested to see how a colleague in ministry would handle this challenge. And it’s clear that she considered the makeover a challenge. Like most of us, she was comfortable with a certain way of dressing and she wasn’t too sure about trying something completely different. Emily is a young, smart, and very accomplished person who had decided that, in terms of her appearance, blending in was more important than standing out. Besides the usual obstacles to looking her best–limitations of time, money, energy, and the vision to know what really does look best (I’d hate to have to face that 360-degree mirror myself!)–Emily also has the hurdle of sticking to what’s appropriate for a priest.
Which is where the show got really interesting. The hosts were genially clueless about the life of an Episcopal priest, but they were unafraid to ask the obvious, though impertinent, questions: Can a (currently single) priest date? Is it okay to look sexy when you’re not at work? Are you always representing the Church, or only when you’ve got your collar on? It quickly became clear that talking about a female priest’s body was not very comfortable for anyone, including the priest herself. But for a basically kind of silly TV show, I thought they handled it fairly well.
More here-
http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/civil-religion/entertainment/2010/02/local-priest-featured-on-what-not-to-wear/
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