Have you ever wondered how Christians outside of Anabaptism view I Corinthians 11 today?  While a head covering for women has been customary throughout many cultures in most of world history, the practice has fallen into disuse during the last hundred years, particularly in Western culture.   Churches that observed it thoughtlessly while it was in vogue were quick to dismiss it as a cultural practice when it was no longer socially “in.”  Conservative Anabaptists and Brethren, however, have kept the practice and in most cases the teaching of this Scripture as one of our distinctive trademarks.  This book gives you a window into the experiences of nine non-Anabaptist women who began to question whether the head covering was really as irrelevant and unnecessary as they had been taught.

Author McClendon characterizes herself as an ordinary wife and mother who did not intend to write a book.  She “stumbled upon videos of Christian women who cover their heads” while researching new ways to wear a stylish and convenient head wrap when she “didn’t feel like bothering” with her hair.  (14)  Not only did these women talk about covering their heads, they connected the practice with wearing modest clothing and respecting and honoring their husbands.  McClendon was intrigued--and convicted.  She began to restudy  I Cor. 11.  She talked to her husband and pastor.  She read books about the head covering.  And in her online research, she discovered a growing number of women who covered their heads, not because they had grown up doing it, but because they realized that was what the Scripture taught.

The book begins with a discussion of physical beauty and our society’s erroneous emphasis on its importance, influencing even Christian women.  While McClendon does not clearly connect this to the principle of glory veiled, she makes some associations between inner beauty and obedience to Scriptural teaching on modesty and the veiling. 

The stories collected in the book are about women who are very different  in background, Christian experience and current church affiliation.  Two are African-American.  One joined the Orthodox church and another became a Messianic Jew.  Several of them reference the Amish or Mennonites; one receives encouragement from conservative Mennonite friends.  These women practice diverse types of head coverings in a variety of ways: some of them wear something on their heads all the time, some only during “prayer, worship and prophecy,” and one (the author) covers her head except when her husband is at home, since that is what he prefers. 

Not all of the stories have happy endings.  One woman is not currently wearing a covering, because her husband felt no conviction for it and requested that she would not.  Some of the women who began to cover their heads were surprised at the animosity and belligerence they sensed from family and church members.   Most still have moments of doubt.  The last several chapters deal with these and other issues of potential difficulty.

I found this book inspiring and encouraging, and the author’s comparison of the teaching of head covering to a gentle wind is thought-provoking.   To many Anabaptists, this practice or the neglect of it is a test of true faith, an evidence of conversion or the lack thereof.   McClendon explores some underlying connections that we may not have thought about.  And as one of the contributors said, this teaching is not “something on which all the Law and the Prophets hang”; rather, it is “but one small obedient thing, done by only the women of God’s children…” (52)

If you have assumed that the head covering was only required of first-century Christians, this book will challenge you to rethink that perspective.  If you have worn one all your life, your understanding of its purpose and symbolism will be enriched, encouraging you to a deeper and more thoughtful practice!