Infobox: See next week’s Current for a listing of local church services, a column from a local minister and a featured church on the Religion Page, which appears every other week. To submit an event or church service, send it to the editor at bmoran@keepmecurrent.com.

For once, kids were encouraged to fool around in church.

The Blue Point Congregational Church of the United Church of Christ in Scarborough welcomed a trio of clowns to lead the Sunday service this weekend.

A half dozen children from the congregation joined in the antics, wearing brightly-colored clothes and face paint. Long balloons were sculpted, kazoos were blown and balls were juggled. The creation story and the good Samaritan were both translated into harlequin.

A paragraph in the church bulletin explained the concept. “The joy of knowing the love of Jesus was replaced with rules and regulations,” it read. “We are to come to our Lord with innocence and wonder, delighting in the simple pleasure of laughter.”

“There’s a clown spirit that comes out of me,” said Marjorie Belanger of Ocean Park. She goes by the moniker “Daisy” when in greasepaint and has been clowning for 20 years with clown ministry services.

ClownsforChrist1: Scooter the clown makes a balloon doggie for Nicholas Martin, 5, of Scarborough at the Blue Point Congregational Church of the United Church of Christ in Scarborough. On Sunday three clowns accompanied by a half-dozen kids performed during the service as part of the Clown Ministry Service. The group emphasizes the joy of celebrating Christianity above the rules and regulations of organized worship.ClownsforChrist2: Daisy the clown sits in a pew during Sunday service at the Blue Point Congregational Church of the United Church of Christ in Scarborough. Three clowns accompanied by a half-dozen kids performed during the service as part of the Clown Ministry Service. The group emphasizes the joy of celebrating Christianity above the rules and regulations of organized worship.ClownsforChrist3: Scooter the clown sits in a pew during Sunday service at the Blue Point Congregational Church of the United Church of Christ in Scarborough. Three clowns accompanied by a half-dozen kids performed during the service as part of the Clown Ministry Service. The group emphasizes the joy of celebrating Christianity above the rules and regulations of organized worship.

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