In the Coracle

Kilted Thoughts

October 19, 2007

Tags: Uncategorized
Posted in: Uncategorized

If you’ve read around here for a while, you know that I identify strongly with my Celtic roots and heritage. You also realize that I’m probably a bit… unorthodox? (well, at least in the non-theological sense, and in the the0logical sense, hetero-orthorox). Alt.Orthodox. Jesus-y, but abnormal..

An example:

A month or so I found a Utilikilt. Long story short, Utilikilts are super practical and cool - or at least geek-chic. They’re kilts for the rest of us.

When I was in Scotland recently , some of the (Scottish-Celtic) guys on our trip discussed, or wore, their kilts. Being good Scots, they wear kilts as formal wear. And in Luss we visited the kiltmaker there, as a cultural experience.

As for me - an American with Irish and Scottish roots who had an interest in Utilikilts before the trip, and a driving interest after - I decide it was Time.

So I started looking around an found one - a black Utilikilt standard on Craigslist, of all places (helpful to me though because Utilikilts are expensive, and that’s a lot of cash to spend on something that might just be a whim).

I’ve worn my Utilikilt around the house a bit. I must say that every time I wear it, I fall deeper in love with it as clothing. It’s comfortable. It speaks volumes. It reminds me that there are other Ways out there.

I also must say that it’s - well - awkward. My first experience wearing a kilt was a family Moment. (Perhaps it’s best not to describe my poor daughter’s reaction to her first, inadvertent, kilt-check).

Things have gotten better - more normal - as I continue to wear it, occasionally.

I believe there are social, cultural and theological implications to the Utilikilt. If you’ve read here for a while, you’ll realize that I can find implications in my interaction with the Bible, with the Simpsons, with a river, or with a pair of shoes - so no big surprise here.

I was thinking about how hard it is to be Different. To be truthful, the first time I wore my kilt I thought about how difficult it is for my homosexual friends and acquaintances to “come out” to their family and friends - I realize this is a lame comparison; I’m just describing what triggered for me.

I was also thinking about the Kingdom of God. For those of us who follow Jesus, entire identity is shaped by being other, and yet part-of. We are part of what happens around us, and yet politically, socially and culturally we are members of a community that transcends what we can see. It feels great - normal - and yet we realize that, to outside observers, we are noticeably different.

We also see the world differently. A kilted person sees the world through the eyes of - dare I say it? - freedom. Nonconformity. An member of God’s family, his kingdom, sees the world through different lenses - freedom. Nonconformity.

We - kilted or Christian - are members of an alternate reality. Perhaps an even more FULL reality. But certainly not mainstream reality. I think that’s good, to get outside the box a bit and be uncomfortable (and at the same time, mighty comfortable :-)).

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Welcome to In the Coracle, Pat Loughery's blog. Make yourself at home, and do join in the conversation by commenting on what you find here.

I blog a lot these days about spirituality and spiritual formation, and I have a particular interest in learning from the early Christian church's approach to spirituality and mission.

I'm a student at Bakke Graduate University, studying for a Doctor of Ministry in Transformational Leadership for the Global City. Here's my working thesis:

I am studying Celtic, Benedictine and Orthodox monasticism because I want to discover what frameworks these spiritualities provide so that my reader may understand how spiritual formation serves God’s mission.

You can read more about me and this blog at the About page.