The world seemed upside down on the Sunday for which the Parish of Trinity Church Wall Street is named. The 11:15 a.m. service on May 22 featured a special Clown Eucharist (see photo) during which mime and sign language were the only means of communication until the conclusion. The annual parish picnic was held immediately after the service.

“It will likely be a surprise to see clowns inside Trinity Church, but think about it this way: How we perceive the world in light of our relationship with Jesus could rightly be called foolish,” said Trinity’s rector, the Rev. James H. Cooper, in an April 27 introductory letter. “Clowns represent the underdog, the lowly, the remnant people. Their foolishness is a call to unpretentiousness.”

In the weeks prior to the service, Fr. Cooper devoted discovery class time to explaining the meaning behind the special service, and he encouraged everyone to come in clown dress, “big hats, floppy shoes or some sort of foolish garb.” As the congregation gathered prior to the start of the service, children and willing adults who had not come in clown dress were invited to have grease paint applied and were given a variety of clown props, such as noise makers.

Trinity’s first Clown Eucharist was directed by parishioner Gerry Becker, a professional actor whose movie credits include Spider-Man and The Game. “We kept to the normal order of the service that we have every Sunday and then asked ourselves what happens when the presence of God comes to us in silence,” he said in an online video interview with the Trinity communications department.

“So our question was how do we take a liturgy that we’ve done for thousands of years and we’re up here in our heads about it? How do we take that experience and put it in our gut and heart? If we can do that for us, then that is going to inform how we go out of this place and live our lives during the week.”

For a video of the service and interviews with participants and service planners, visit the Trinity website.

Read the Clown Eucharist service bulletin.

To learn more about clown ministry, click here.

More news of the week:

· Brief Convention in Dallas Endorses Windsor Report

· Yale Divinity School Honors Former Chaplain, Launches Scholarship Fund

· New York Bishop Clarifies Status of Retired Priests

· Presiding Bishop: ACC Presentation will Invite Dialogue

· Delegation named for June 21 ACC Meeting

· Bishop Hargrove of Western Louisiana Dead at 67

· St. David's, Pepperell, Mass., Suffers Fire

To read more news, features, and commentaries not available online, we invite you to subscribe to The Living Church magazine. To learn more, click here.