M&S Christmas jumper becomes ‘new uniform’ for female clergy
‘We have 220 pictures [of us]. All ordained women, from across the UK plus one in Australia and one in the USA’
THEY may not be renowned for being trendsetters but female clergy are leading a fashion frenzy – with hundreds across the world turning to Marks and Spencer for their Christmas jumpers.
So popular is the jumper that a Church of England bishop described it as “the new clergy uniform”.
The black jumper, emblazoned with the word “Believe” in bold colours, has been bought by a string of female priests. Using the hashtag, “Team Believe”, they have taken to social media to share selfies in the jumper.
Ruth Bushyager, the bishop of Horsham, tweeted a picture of female priests in the Chichester diocese in the £19.50 jumper, saying: “Vote of thanks to marksandspencer for the new clergy uniform @Chichesterdio”
The Rev Kate Bottley, the former Gogglebox star and a priest in Nottinghamshire, also posted a picture, saying: “Never one to shy away from a bandwagon, like most of the clerics I know, I’ve bought this jumper.”
Leigh Greenwood, a Baptist minister, added: “Do you think @marksandspencer have realised yet that they’ve become the unofficial suppliers of clergy Christmas jumpers?”
The Rev Claire Jones, a curate in Bodmin, Cornwall, is collating a photo montage of clergy wearing Believe jumpers. “We have 220 pictures so far,” she added. “All ordained women, from at least seven different denominations, across the UK plus one from Australia and one in the USA!”
“This jumper offered a fun and different way to spark conversations. We might think believing at Christmas is just for children and Santa, but there’s an even more wonderful story at the heart of Christmas which is good news for everyone who believes it!”
M&S said: “Our designers and customers have embraced optimistic messages as the #teambelieve posts show.”