Clowns for Jesus troupe is not just for laughs
BY JAY BODAS
Staff Writer

WOODBRIDGE - For the 11th straight year, the Clowns for Jesus will be ministering and performing at Grace Covenant Ministries at St. John's Episcopal Church in Fords. They will appear on four nights beginning on April 20 at 7 p.m.

"These are world-class evangelistic clowns that have been trained by Barnum & Bailey [Circus], and who came in third place in a competition on the art of clowning that had nothing to do with religion," the Rev. Raymond C. Graham said. "They put on quite a performance with everything from illusion to pyrotechnics to comedy."

Their performances are based on religious themes, Graham said.

"They will relate something to the Bible and bring simple Bible studies to life," he said. "Their acting and music will have the ministry of the Gospel woven in. It's more geared to children than anything else, but adults will be mesmerized by it because they usually have never seen anything like this."

Husband and wife Jean and Mona Saucier formed the Clowns for Jesus 17 years ago. Since then, they have performed throughout the eastern United States, from Maine to South Carolina, as well as in Germany and Russia. They have ministered in venues ranging from public schools to parks and churches - even a Russian prison.

"Years ago, my wife and I were head of a children's church in New Jersey, and we wanted to make it more fun for the kids, so we went to school for clowning," said Jean, who now lives in Lexington, Pa., with his wife.

"We trained under the Ringling Brothers clowns for our advanced studies, learning to do balloons, magic, stilt walking, and juggling. And as for our name, we do a lot of our skits according to the Bible," he said.

In 1997, they placed third in ClownFest, a worldwide competition on the art of clowning, held each September in Seaside Heights.

"Clowns from all around the world go there to perform," Mona said. "They have a clown convention there every year, and we were the first to introduce religious skits into the competition. Before, they always said, 'Christian clowns aren't funny,' but we showed them different. Now they have Christian competitions all the time."

One of Jean's strongest memories was of their 1995 three-week trip to Russia.

Their interpreter was a high school teacher who lived with her son in government-owned apartments. The teacher paid $10 a month for her apartment, out of a $30-a-month salary.

"This lady only had two sets of clothes in her closet, and her shoes were full of holes," he said. "Shoes cost $30 over there, which was a month's salary for her, so we decided to buy her a new pair of shoes. She didn't want us to buy them because she thought it was too much money, but she was so happy because she didn't have any good shoes to wear,"

While in Moscow, the Clowns for Jesus gave a performance at a children's hospital that was run by an American missionary doctor. At the same time, they were able to pass on much-needed supplies.

"The Russian government didn't give them anything, and they had no supplies," Jean said. "There was a group of us, 27 of us in total, and we bought 27 boxes of medicine, canned foods and other supplies."

Just delivering the supplies to the hospital was a challenge, however.

"The first night we got there was Good Friday, and we were supposed to perform on Sunday," Jean said. "But they asked us to perform that night. Afterward, when we came back to our room, the police were waiting for us, and they told us they wanted the boxes out of the hotel. So we emptied the boxes, hid the supplies under the bed, and took out the empty boxes, which satisfied them."

The next day, the group brought the supplies to the hospital in their backpacks and had to bribe the security guards on each floor to let them through.

"We were able to get the supplies through and did a show right there for the kids," Jean said.

Another part of the trip involved a performance for a Russian prison.

"While in Russia, we went to a 5,000-bed prison that housed 15,000 people," Jean said. "They slept in shifts, and some of them had been there for three to four years and still had not been to trial. A pastor who had been there couldn't even crack a smile, but when we came we got them to laugh and let go of their cares and worries, at least for a time."

They have since been to Germany three times and performed all over the country. They established 16 clown ministries on their last trip, Mona said.

The Sauciers are returning to St. John's Episcopal Church because of a special request by Graham.

"We are only traveling back to New Jersey because [the Rev.] Graham asked if we would come back, and we agreed," Mona said. "We don't charge when we do ministry work. Whatever money is donated we use to go on mission trips."

Prizes for children in the audience will be awarded during each of their four nights of performances in Fords.

"There is an opportunity to win every night, so visitors are encouraged to come for each performance," Graham said. "Take-home activities from one night may be judged the following night. Some of the prizes have been as big as CD players and things like that. There are four clowns coming, and sometimes they have had as many as six. It has to do not only with fun and games but also has the ministry of the Gospel weaved into it. Everyone should come to have a great time."

The Clowns for Jesus will be performing on April 20, 21 and 22 at 7 p.m., and on April 23 at 3:30 p.m., at St. John's Episcopal Church on the corner of Hoy and Hamilton streets in Fords. The performances are free, although donations are welcome. For more information and directions to the church, call (732) 738-7917.