The clergy wear cassock and surplice during Lent and choir offices. Another familiar garment is the cassock-alb , a white vestment with sleeves. Over it, ordained ministers wear a stole , a narrow band of colored fabric. Deacons wear the stole over one shoulder, priests and bishops over both shoulders. Other ministers' corresponding vestments are called dalmatics .
Bishops sometimes wear a special head covering called a mitre .
Stoles, chasubles, and dalmatics, as well as altar coverings, are usually made of beautiful fabrics. Their color changes with the seasons and holy days of the liturgical year. The most frequently used colors are white, red, blue, green, and purple. The Episcopal Church observes the traditional Christian calendar like the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran Church. The season of Advent, during which we prepare for Christmas, begins on the Sunday closest to November 30th.