News by email Donate

Suggestions

Top Stories

Most Read

Popular Videos

BELIEVE MS JUMPER BANNER.jpg
Twitter: @BishopRuthB
BELIEVE MS JUMPER THUMB.jpg
Twitter: @BishopRuthB
UK News

M&S Christmas jumper becomes new 'uniform' for clergy across UK

by Kelly Valencia

A Marks & Spencer (M&S) Christmas jumper has become a hit among female clergy across the UK with some calling it the "Christmas clergy uniform" of 2021. 

The £19.50 jumper is part of M&S's Christmas clothing range. It is black and has the word "Believe" written in colourful text on the front.

Using the hashtag #TeamBelieve, many female vicars and lay people have taken to social media to share their pictures wearing the jumper on top of their clerical collar.

The Bishop of Horsham, Rt Rev Ruth Bushyager has joined the trend by posting a picture of the female vicars in the Diocese of Chichester wearing the 'new uniform' on Twitter. 

But some are criticising the retailer for not making the jumper "gender-inclusive" and are asking for men's sizes. M&S has released a male version of the jumper, but the slogan reads "Ding Dong" instead. 

Richard Frith, canon precentor at Southwell Minster wrote on Twitter: "I loathe Christmas jumpers with a consuming passion - seasonal consumerism at its worst, esp. when schools expect them to be worn by children who'll have grown out of them next year. But even I would probably buy one of those #TeamBelieve jumpers if there was a menswear version."

When asked about the jumper's popularity and the concerns around gender, an M&S spokesperson told Premier: "Our customers are certainly getting into the Christmas spirit when it comes to their wardrobe choices and 'Christmas jumper' was last week's top search on M&S.com. We have a huge range of festive knits available and after another difficult year, our designers - and customers - have embraced optimistic and feel-good messages with 'fabulous' and 'believe' both proving very popular - as the #teambelieve posts show."
 

A Monthly Gift Of $11 Makes A World Of Difference

In a world of fake news there’s never been a greater need for quality Christian journalism. Premier’s mission is to provide the Church with the most up to date and relevant news, told from a Christian perspective. But we can’t do it without you.

Unlike many websites we haven't put up a paywall — we want to keep our journalism free at the point of need and as open as we can. Premier’s news output takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. No one in the USA is sharing news like we are across radio, magazines and online so please help us to continue that today.

For a monthly gift of $11 or more we’d also be able to send you a free copy of the brand new Premier Bible, a wonderful Anglicised version of the NLT packed with exclusive bonus content, reading plan and resources to help you get the most out of scripture.

Your monthly support will make a world of difference. Thank you.

Support Us
Continue the conversation on our Facebook page

Related Articles

Sign up to our newsletter to stay informed with news from a Christian perspective.

News by email

Connect

Donate

Donate