My blue tippet

I am a Reader in the Church of England.

A Reader is a lay person - that is, not ordained as a priest or clergyman. We are trained, and licensed by the Bishop, to lead church services and preach. There are over 10,000 Readers in the Church of England; about the same number as there are active (ie not retired) clergy. It is a voluntary position, and I have a full-time job in IT that keeps me housed and fed.

When leading a service or preaching, I wear a cassock. This is a neck-to-ankle long-sleeved close-fitted black robe. Over the cassock I wear a surplice, which is a much looser, rather shorter white robe with trailing sleeves. Over the surplice, I wear a long, broad, blue scarf that goes round my neck and hangs straight down on either side. This scarf is the distinguishing mark of a Reader, and it is also known as a tippet.

This is my blue tippet.

(If you really want to see what it looks like, I'm the one on the left.)

My cassock was commercially made; I sent off my measurements and a cheque, and back came a cassock.

My surplice was sewn for me by a friend. Knowing me well, she embroidered a bible verse (in white thread on a white background) around the inside of the collar. It says "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding", which is a healthy motto to be wearing about my neck whenever I preach.
(It is a proverb from the Bible: Proverbs 3:5)

My tippet belonged to a lady Reader whom I never knew. She died before I came to her church to train as a Reader, and the church gave it to me for my Licensing. It feels appropriate that the tippet is a gift passed down to me by the church from a previous generation, just as the task of Reader is a responsibility passed down to me by the church from many previous generations.