Covering Testimony: Alice E.
Name: Alice E. | Age: 48 | Location: Oxfordshire, United Kingdom | Date started covering: June 2019
Covering Testimony: Danica Churchill
Name: Danica Churchill | Age: 32 | Location: Alberta, Canada | Date started covering: 2012
1) Introduce yourself to our readers.
Hi! My name is Danica Churchill, and I am 32 years old. By God’s grace, I became a Christian in November of 2007. I have been married to a wonderful Christian man for almost nine years now, and we have four sweet children together.
2) Where do you attend church? Tell us a little bit about it. Do others practice head covering there?
I attend The Shelter Reformed Presbyterian Church and have been a dedicated member since 2010. The denomination of my church is the RPCNA (Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America). Though head covering is not widely practiced, it is still held to by individuals within some local church bodies. In my church, there are seven other families who practice head covering besides us.
3) What led you to start covering?
When I became a Christian, I was mainly occupied with discovering the basic tenets of the faith, so I didn’t really start looking at head covering until 2012. That year, there was a family that began attending our church who came in with the wife and daughters wearing head coverings. Internally, I immediately scoffed at it, thinking that it was some kind of archaic, strange thing to be doing. After several weeks, my husband was approached by the husband of that family and the topic of head covering came up in their discussion. After we both did some thorough reading and studying of 1 Corinthians 11:2-16, we were both convinced that head covering is in fact a command for the New Testament church worldwide.
Among the resources we consulted were two sermon series named Headcoverings in Public Worship by Brian Schwertley that he preached in 2003 and 2006, and a paper written by him as well. We listened to sermons both for and against the practice. Interestingly, the main thing that convinced us was a rival paper produced by Greg Price who claimed that head covering was merely a cultural practice. After observing the weak arguments and inconsistent hermeneutic used to defend his position, we were more convinced than ever that this was certainly not a cultural practice. The biblical practice of head covering for women and uncovering the head for men defies culture and is not a command that we have the liberty to disregard.
4) When do you use your covering?
After wrestling with the Scriptural text, praying to God about it, and seeking counsel from our pastor and other people in the church, we began practicing head covering during public worship. We considered the arguments that people had for women covering full time; however, we saw overwhelming evidence that this practice was within the context of corporate worship only.
Read more
Covering Testimony: Laura B.
Name: Laura B. | Age: 50 | Location: Apex, North Carolina (USA) | Date started covering: 2007
1) Introduce yourself to our readers.
Hi, I’m Laura and I am in LOVE with Jesus! I love His Word, His constant companionship, and His sweet grace; I can’t wait to get to heaven and be with Him forever. While I am expectantly waiting for that day, I love to take good care of my dear husband of 29 years, our home, and our sweet dog.
I live in Apex, North Carolina, nicknamed “The Peak of Good Living” — and I agree with that nickname. I am 50 years old, have been a vegetarian for 35 years, and donated a kidney in 2016. Although I have a Master’s in Nutrition, I enjoy teaching piano and guitar to children. I also play & sing hymns, and teach the Bible to women in nursing/retirement homes two days a week. I am also active in my church where I delight in serving, loving on, and encouraging the flock of God, especially the seniors!
I did not grow up in a Christian home, though my family occasionally went to church. After my parents divorced in my teens, I decided I was an agnostic. I later married a Christian who was on a prodigal path — but after he rededicated his life to the Lord, my husband’s patience, love, and prayer were used by God to draw me into the Kingdom. We now love exhorting each other to follow the Bible in every aspect of our lives. We try to live according to Paul’s directions for believers in 1 Thessalonians 4:11: to aspire to live a quiet life, mind our own business, and work with our own hands.
2) Where do you attend church? Tell us a little bit about it. Do others practice head covering there?
I attend Colonial Baptist Church in Cary, NC. The teaching is refreshingly sound, and Pastor Stephen Davey has an international radio ministry called Wisdom for the Heart, which some may be familiar with. Shepherds Theological Seminary is another ministry associated with our church and is located on our church campus. The seminary professors teach the Bible classes on Sunday at church, so I am blessed to be under excellent teaching. There are probably 6,000 to 8,000 members, and as far as I can see, I am the only one who adheres to the biblical direction found in 1 Corinthians 11 to cover. Nevertheless, that doesn’t hinder me a bit. Read more
Covering Testimony: Elaine Miller
Name: Elaine Miller | Age: 29 | Location: Cincinnati, Ohio (USA) | Date started covering: May 2016
1) Introduce yourself to our readers.
I am a 29-year-old single woman living on my own with three dogs: Roman, Charlie Brown, and a third puppy I’m currently trying to re-home.
I grew up in a Baptist household with two older brothers and an older sister. We were all home educated and had a little family band that would travel singing hymns & songs that my father wrote. Both my brothers went into the Marines and are combat veterans. I’m very proud of them both; however, their experiences in the Middle East have made it harder for my family to accept my practice of head covering.
I worked in cosmetics through college, and when I graduated I got a second job as a bank teller. While I have two English degrees, I currently run a small makeup artistry business while working for Honeywell as a Proposal Coordinator.
2) Where do you attend church? Tell us a little bit about it. Do others practice head covering there?
I was led to Over-The-Rhine Living Water Church in November of 2015. It’s a small, inner-city mission which is part of a larger church group called Acts Ministries International. None of the women cover in my church, but they are very supportive. Several sisters have even given me scarves as gifts.
3) What led you to start covering?
After I started attending my current church, I began to feel convicted of the relationship I was in with a non-Christian man. We basically lived together and I had been hiding it from my family and his friends, though my girlfriends and my colleagues knew (big red flag there, obviously). Because I grew up having knowledge of the truth and had memorized an abundance of Scripture, I knew I was wrong before God.
Finally, after several months of conviction, I fell to my knees in brokenness and gave my life fully to Christ. As I fell, I felt compelled to cover my head in submission to the Almighty. I had to surrender my will to His. That was the beginning of my covering journey. And because covering is part of my conversion story, it is very special to me.
After the day I surrendered my will to the Lord, things started changing. I didn’t understand why I felt compelled to cover my head during that time but I knew from my past experience that women covering their heads was at least not contrary to Scripture. Scrolling through Facebook a few weeks later, a picture showed up of a man from my former church camp and his wife singing a song in their church; she was wearing this long, lace mantilla. At that moment I knew there was more to covering than I had initially thought.
After that, I dove into research and read everything I could find about head covering while praying earnestly about how to approach the subject with my family and church. My biggest resource was this website because there is a lot of information here in one place. I also continued to read Scripture and ask the Lord to reveal the truth.
As I read 1 Corinthians 11, I saw several compelling arguments. At that point, it was as if a light bulb turned on. If head covering wasn’t necessary, why would Paul even mention it in his letter? Once I realized that covering our heads is a symbol of submission to the true God and His authority, I recognized its significance and why the Father would want us to be reminded of that role. I need that reminder daily. Read more
Covering Testimony: Anna Brown
Name: Anna Brown | Age: 30 | Location: Marietta, Georgia (USA) | Starting Covering: 5 years ago
1) Introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Anna and I’m married to my wonderful husband Tyler. As soon as we got married I quit my job and became a stay at home wife. After a long time of trying and prayer the Lord finally blessed us with a baby girl in July 2016. I enjoy reading, mentoring younger women, and going for long walks with my dogs.
2) Where do you attend church? Tell us a little bit about it. Do others practice headcovering there?
We started attending a Plymouth Brethren assembly in November of 2016, those are known to be headcovering churches. However, for years I went to non-headcovering churches and was usually the only one that would use veil during worship. Read more
Covering Testimony: Jessica Lovely
Name: Jessica Lovely | Age: 31 | Location: Gypsy, Kentucky | Starting Covering: Summer 2015
1) Introduce yourself to our readers.
Hello, my name is Jessica Lovely. I am 31 years old and I live in Gypsy, Kentucky, a small community nestled in the Appalachian Mountains. For the most part things are fairly simple around here. My husband goes to work in the log woods every day to provide for us. I home school all four of our children, all of which are in different grades. I love being a wife and a mother, God has truly blessed me with a wonderful family. I enjoy cooking for my family and taking evening walks with my kids and the dogs. I enjoy making lye soap and homemade chemical free deodorants and cleaners. Above all and most importantly I am a devoted child of God and feel very blessed at every opportunity (including this one) He gives me to spread the Gospel.
2) Where do you attend church? Tell us a little bit about it. Do others practice headcovering there?
I am blessed to attend Little Rachel Church, which is in the Waldo, Kentucky area. I attend services on Thursday nights and Sunday mornings. There is one other lady that practices head covering there besides myself and my daughter. We have become good friends and encourage one another and both agree that it feels nice not to be the only one there doing it, although if need be we would most defiantly stand alone in doing so. On occasions there are 2 other ladies that attend services that cover also. About 2 services ago, there were 5 of us, counting myself and my daughter there that were wearing head coverings, I must say that was a blessing to me. Read more
Covering Testimony: Rachael B.
Name: Rachael B. | Age: 28 | Location: Wyoming | Starting Covering: May 2016
1) Introduce yourself to our readers.
I have been a Christian for 9 years. My husband and I were in Bible studies led by a Godly mentor when we were in college and we chose to obey the gospel through baptism the same day. We married a year later and have been faithful to God and each other ever since. We have one daughter who is 2 years old. At the end of this year, we have committed to leave my husband’s military job so he can begin full time ministry work as a preacher.
I work part time as a massage therapist and teach natural birth education. Most of my time, I love being home with my daughter, making delicious and healthy food in the kitchen, and visiting the mountains.
2) Where do you attend church? Tell us a little bit about it. Do others practice headcovering there?
I worship with a local church of Christ that teaches the Bible in truth and spirit. We have lived and worshiped here for 4 years. Head covering is quite unorthodox here so I am the first woman to begin covering on my own initiative and there is only one other woman who is 90 that has worn a hat to church all her life.
3) What led you to start covering?
Six years ago, someone gave me a pamphlet on head coverings. At the time I was spiritually immature and afraid to read it for it might have told me something I didn’t want to hear or do contrary to the satisfactory explanation that head covering is a cultural matter. However, I never threw it away, but kept it, for no “apparent” reason. This past season, I was being taught in a personal bible study, exegetically going through all of 1 Corinthians verse by verse, which finally lead up to chapter 11. I knew it was there and was getting nervous but was ready to be brutally honest with God’s Word and obey Him with all my ability, regardless of the conclusion I came to regarding the text. I read and reread the chapter many times to become familiar with Paul’s words before reading the pamphlet so that I could decide for myself if it measured up. It seemed to confirm many of my suspicions about the argument that head covering is merely a cultural matter and was instead supported by Paul’s reasons. To my surprise it lit a wild fire in me, which resulted in countless hours of obsessive research, finding every piece of argument against head coverings that I could get my hands on. After I met with this teacher again (who does not believe that these instructions apply to us) to discuss this chapter after more research, I was convinced that the head covering applies directly to me and that I would need to start covering at once. The teacher respected my decision, which I’m thankful for. This has brought so much peace and joy to have faced and overcome one of the most difficult decisions I have ever had to make as a Christian in response to God’s Word!
I could go on and on about the details in the text I used to conveniently skim over (as do some commentators) to get to a cultural application conclusion, however I will only give one example of a compelling argument which has changed my mind. Most people assume that Paul gives these instructions to correct a wrong behavior within the culture, that women were disrespecting their authority by removing their head covering to be equal to men. However, Paul’s first words in this pericope are “Now I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold firmly to the traditions, just as I delivered them to you.” He actually praises or commends them for something they are doing right which is hard to come by in this entire letter. This was something he already delivered to them; previously taught them. Secondly “traditions” means apostolic teaching and the same word in greek is seen in 2 Thes 2:15 and 3:6. The tone Paul uses in these instructions (vs 2-16) is positive which is clearly seen in contrast to the very upset and negative tone he uses when immediately following, he corrects them about misusing and abusing the Lord’s supper (vs 17-34). Verse 17 he begins “But in giving this instruction, I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse.” Verses 2 and 17 directly parallel one another about how he feels in giving each set of instructions. Until I saw this, I realized I had previously been practicing perfect eisegesis (inserting ideas into the text). I believe Paul’s reasons for writing to them about the head covering was to affirm the spiritual reasons why it is necessary (headship design vs3, creation vs7-9, angels vs10, appeal to nature vs13-15) and of course to correct anyone who was disregarding these instructions. Nowhere in this text does Paul argue culture being a reason. Instead he ends by reasoning that there are no opposing practices to these taught in the churches of God. Read more