Quote Originally Posted by Newfoundlander View Post
There has been some great discussion here thus far, and quite interesting. If I may post a few observations and my thoughts.

Lad, first you seem to me to be quite faithful, and you'd like this kilt in the Clergy/Clarke tartan to be a representation of that connection and your personal beliefs. A fantastic reason for your tartan choice I think. I understand your hesitation in wearing a Clergy tartan, as your not ordained. davidg above suggested the very slightly differently shaded Clarke, and I think that would be a fantastic alternative. Though when I have seen these two tartans next to each other they have been perfectly identical. So though they might actually be different shades registered with the Tartans Authority, practically speaking, they're often sold as one in the same.

I understand your hesitation on the St. Ninian tartan as well, as its a "catholic" tartan. Though, and correct me if I'm wrong, I don't think the tartan is officially endorsed by the Vatican as priest clothing. It's more unofficial, so you could still wear it. The same goes for the other great suggestions above.
---- Actually Matt corrected this in the above post that was posted whilst I wrote this -----

I for one, as a Catholic, wouldn't care that a Protestant is wearing the St. Ninian, just as I'm sure most others wouldn't either. I'm sure the same goes for the few clergy who actually are aware of the clergy tartan. It's a symbol of your commitment to the Lord. Any clergy would be happy to see you wearing something that makes you feel more connected to the Lord. A few in my old parish wore the clergy tartan (admittedly, one was actually a Clarke), as did our parish priest, and he encouraged it. Wear whatever connects you to your Devine.

This is very much the same argument as wearing another clan's tartan. If I saw someone wearing the MacLeod tartan who didn't have roots in that family, I wouldn't care, nor would I demand they remove their kilt! I doubt any clergy would either. I think if you reiterate to any clergy that asks about your kilt your above statements about your connection to God, they'll be happy.

To the clergy here, is that fair to say?

All the soapbox aside, allow the scientist in me to come out. This is a major expense, you must be happy with it before you buy, and you really should buy what you want. As stated before, 99.95% of people won't know or care, and really the only person that matters is you in this equation. As there are no real "rules" about who can wear what, you should wear what you like.

If anyone gets really torqued off, ask them to remember that physically speaking, there is no such thing as colour anyway. That's a human perception
I love the wry humor in that post!

One kilted clergyman here did acknowledge that it may be a bit presumptuous to wear the "Clergy" tartan if not ordained and I had to agree with him. He's right. The idea of a personaly and "committee designed" Christian faith tartan was mentioned and it would seem that if enough people were dedicated to that as a reality I would think it could only be a wonderful expression, though a tad expensive, and i would have to say I would be fully on board.