This 82-Year-Old Woman Has Dressed Up Every Sunday For 52 Weeks To Attend Her Church’s Virtual Service


While lots of people took the era of lockdown and quarantine to dress down, an 82-year old woman dressed up in her Sunday best for 52 weeks to attend virtual church.

“The morning of March 29 (2020) was our first Sunday that we did not have church in the sanctuary,” Dr. Laverne Wimberly recalled of that first session while speaking with ABC’s KTUL News.

When the pandemic hit her home church, Metropolitan Baptist Church, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, began holding virtual services online like many others across the nation. It was then that Wimberly decided she was going to stick to her routine.

Since then, she has not missed a service, or an opportunity to dress head to toe in her Sunday’s best. She’s even kept track of her outfits in a journal so she can make sure she doesn’t repeat any of them.

Every Sunday, Wimberly gets dressed with her hat, accessories, and sometimes even a face mask included, and gets ready for virtual church service. She posts pictures of her ensembles to her Facebook page, complete with a word of encouragement.

“I just decided at that point I was just going to get dressed as if I was going to church so I would not get in the habit of just slouching around,” she said.


“I wanted not only to keep myself motivated, but I wanted to help keep others motivated as well, to inspire them, encourage them, and kind of eradicate some types and forms of depression, isolation, fear, and despair,” Wimberly a retired teacher, principal, school administrator told reporters.

Many have loved her weekly uploads, including the Minister of Worship at Metropolitan Baptist, Merton Huff.

“I don’t think she has missed a Sunday of just devotionals, encouragement. It’s like she gives you a sermon before service even starts. It gives you something to focus on. And, you know, of course, the dressing up, it made my kids get dressed,” Huff said.

Churches across the country are starting to reopen, but Wimberly says she will give it a while before she returns in person. For now, she’ll be right at home, styling, and profiling on Facebook.

“As soon as the health officials and the scientists give us the green light that everything will be safe, I’ll probably be the first one in the door,” Wimberly said.





Leave A Comment