Children and adults clowned around Sunday, Feb. 3, at the United Methodist Church in Delmar, as they welcomed 15 members of the King’s Clown Troupe to deliver the worship service.
Members of the troupe, a youth performance ministry that preaches through song and dance, dressed up as clowns and acted out a church service.
It was great, said Bill Cotant, senior pastor for the United Methodist. `The children were just so enthralled.`
`It was an experience,` said Rachel Porter, 16, of Delmar. `It’s not something you’re going to forget.`
The group, based out of Prince of Peace Church in Clifton Park, danced and acted to several songs during the service.
Maggie Belensz, 15, of Clifton Park, who played a clown in the service, said, `I like seeing people’s reactions. The emotions you get out of people are amazing.`
The service featured a sermon, with the songs `We’re Not as Strong as We Think We Are` by Rich Mullins and `Waiting on the World to Change` by John Mayer played as the teens carried heavy rocks down the aisles and later threw them in garbage bags marked forgiveness.
They also wore vests with different country’s names on them and pretended to fight with one another while attempting to lift a large globe from its base. Since the group did not speak throughout the service, worshippers were forced to draw their own conclusions from the performances.
Another feature of the service was the offering, during which the clowns used popcorn tubs in place of the church’s regular offering plate.
`At the end it wasn’t so much that they were clowns,` said Porter. `It was their message.`
The teen performers develop a new program every year. They are in the process of creating a new service that they can deliver to churches beginning in March.
Georgeanna Frasier, director of the King’s Clown Troupe, said the kids spend between 80 and 100 hours picking out music for the performance.
She explained that the children brainstorm a theme, and develop it into a performance.
`It’s really their message,` she said of the teens. `They decide how they want the theme played out.`
The troupe has been a part of the Prince of Peace Church for more than 20 years, and has had more than 200 high school student performers. The group has performed in 1,000 congregations throughout the United States and Ireland.
Cotant said his parishioners were very responsive to the service.
`These are committed folks,` he said. `No matter who they are, they recognize the commitment of these kids.`
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