The Most Unique Congregation on Earth

This week, Becky and I took the kids down to Baraboo, WI to take in the sights at Circus World Museum and the International Clown Hall of Fame. I have fond memories of the trips to Circus World Museum my parents took my siblings and I on when we were growing up and I wanted to share those memories with our kids while they make their own.

I was delighted to see that there's an exhibit at Circus World Museum for the 2025 and 2026 seasons about Circus Ministry called, "The Most Unique Congregation on Earth."

The exhibit vividly highlights how circus chaplains—priests, ministers, and religious sisters—embody a ministry of presence. These faith leaders don bright, circus-themed vestments and carry portable worship implements to tent rings and animal pens.

Rather than preaching from a pulpit, they share daily experiences with performers and crew, offering baptism, communion, marriage, burial, or simply a listening ear.

This is incarnational ministry in its radical everyday form—being present in real life, not merely in ecclesial spaces.

The exhibit shines a light on the fact that circus ministry has always been ecumenical, serving people of all faith backgrounds. This resonates deeply with a theology of radical welcome. There’s no judgment here—just solidarity with those living outside the societal "norm" and those who may not fit into typical parish life.

A circus is a “town without a zip code,” which means local churches rarely reach its people. The exhibit forces us to reimagine church not as a building but as a community in motion—where liturgy happens in train cars, show tents, and barns. For a person of faith who cherishes baptismal identity over institutional belonging, I see this as embodied theology.

In today's context, where it may often seem there's a growing divide between “regular churchgoers” and people who identify as “nones,” these circus chaplains remind us that faith is richer when it embraces the full human kaleidoscope: the daring, the nomadic, the nonconforming. And they do so with joy—singing hymns under colored lights, blessing elephants, and walking hand-in-hand with juggling families.

Can our faith communities take worship outside the sanctuary—into parks, streets, and community centers—demonstrating that God is present beyond church walls?

How can we foster deeper collaboration across denominations in serving mobile or underrepresented communities?

The circus chaplains' open-hearted welcome challenges us to broaden our own table—to those who are seen as or feel like outsiders, the wounded, and the on-the-move.

"The Most Unique Congregation on Earth" offers more than historical insight—it shines a mirror. It asks: How can we follow this example of shared life, listening, improvised liturgy, and genuine care? Whether in the tent ring or in a grocery aisle, God’s presence moves with us—and so does the invitation to embody a church that travels, that meets, and that loves wherever our lives are unfolding.