Today I did not go to church mainly because I can't wear my hat in church. Quakers of olden times would go to church with their hats on and take the punishment for it since it was punishable. If I were to go to church with my hat on it would cause some mild annoyance but people would probably quietly tolerate my deviance from the norm. Nobody would get upset and start complaining out loud I think and thus I wouldn't get a chance to explain why I was wearing my hat. Not that I would have any great explanation besides "it's God's will that I wear my hat" or "it's tradition". What if I may never enter a church again because of this? If I insist on keeping my hat on it will make my spiritual life poorer, but it feels so right. Something to ponder while wearing my hat in my private little "meeting" for worship. It's not a meeting since I'm not meeting anyone, but at least I'm taking the time and making the effort to bring clarity to this matter.
The more I think about it the more absurd the dilemma seems.Don't I know when to wear a hat? Shouldn't an adult know when to wear a hat and when not to? When I'm visiting a church I'm visiting someone else's church, not my own since I don't belong to any church. When visiting someone else's holy Place it's respectful to remove one's hat according to custom. If I visited a mosque then I would remove my shoes, in a synagogue I might wear a hat and so on. It's about respect for someone else's beliefs not about expression of one's own beliefs. I will not wear my hat inside a church, but when in doubt I will keep my hat on following Quaker principles.
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