An Interview with Rev. Laura J. Kirkpatrick
By Janine C. Hagan and Laura Kirkpatrick
Laura is a native of Greentown, Indiana, USA. She earned her undergraduate degree in interpersonal communications from the University of Evansville and her Master of Divinity from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary on the campus of Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois. Laura is preparing to be ordained as a Deacon in Full Connection in the Tennessee Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church. She currently serves as the campus minister at Martin Methodist College in Pulaski, Tennessee. Laura is a Hoosier farm girl. She loves to play basketball and drive John Deere tractors, read, write for ecumininet online!, and enjoys her beagle Molly.

Janine: Laura, we met years ago at a Christian Educators Fellowship Conference. At that time you were a student at Garrett Evangelical Seminary. I knew immediately that you were most definitely alive to the work of the Holy Spirit in your life. I could tell that by the amount of energy that you had for acting upon and seeking God’s purpose in your life. But I was most delighted to discover your passion for clowning! After keeping up with you via email and our recent phone conversation, I would like for you to share with us some of your journey since you began clowning and finished seminary. How did your clown ministry begin?

Laura: During my last year at senior high church camp, a clown ministry workshop was offered. I knew how to juggle and thought I might enjoy this different type of ministry. Enjoy is an understatement, as I fell in love with putting on the mask of a humorous character and bringing glimpses of joy into the lives of those I encountered.

Janine: Where did clowning take you?

Laura: I took my new clown persona with me to college. There I had opportunities to share clown ministry in local churches, hospitals, nursing homes, parades, and on mission trips. Thanks to the support of family and friends I had the opportunity to clown around on mission trips in Mexico and Jamaica. These trips included being in ministry with children in orphanages, hospitals, detention centers, and churches. Then clown ministry led me to seminary.

Janine: How did you feel about clowning and ministry in terms of academic preparation or linkage? Did you have that or was clowning a form of ministry that you had to seek on your own?

Laura: As I finished my undergraduate degree, I was certain that I was called to work in the business world, make funds to give to the church, and develop clown ministry on the side. But three months before I graduated from the University of Evansville, God kicked hard enough that I finally paid attention. I decided I was called to go to seminary to further develop clown ministry.

I did have several opportunities to further clown ministry during my experiences at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. I joined other clown ministers in leading worship in chapel, I had the opportunity to travel to Clown Camp and learn from the circus pros, and I had a year-long opportunity to focus my field education time and energy on clown ministry. During this year, I learned several lessons, one of which was that I discovered I did not want to be a traveling clown the rest of my life; I need community. Part of this experience included teaching more than a dozen clown ministry workshops, and I began to realize I enjoyed teaching clown ministry just as much, even more, than being the red nose in the spotlight. The most jolting part of this year-long study was the two weeks I spent clowning in orphanages in northeast Russia, Siberia; this was the same time of the “Sept. 11th”. I had traveled with a team to share the ministry of the red nose, but I also found myself offering pastoral care to those around me. Between teaching, a desire to be in community, and my Russian experience, I began to realize that maybe clown ministry was only one of many gifts I have to offer.

Janine: Where did you go from clowning and seminary, professionally speaking?

Laura: As I prepared to graduate from seminary, I knew I wasn’t called to full-time clown ministry, but I wasn’t fully sure to what other areas I was called. I was fortunate to return to North Indiana through a Lilly Transition-into-Ministry grant. This grant provided a wonderful learning experience where I served on the staff of one of the larger churches in the conference. Here I developed my love for Christian education, local missions, leading worship, and loving people where they are. As these loves unveiled, I found myself becoming tired of being referred to as the “Clown Lady,” because I had begun to discover that God has called me to be more than a clown.

Janine: Tell us about your new position at Martin Methodist College.

Laura: I am now serving as the campus minister at Martin Methodist College in Pulaski, Tennessee. As campus minister, I work under the umbrella of the Center for Church Leadership. The Center is approximately five years old, and it was developed to strengthen the link between higher education and the local church. The Center provides opportunities for clergy and laity to develop their gifts for spiritual leadership through an array of continuing education offerings, as well as for the students.

Martin Methodist is truly a “Pentecost” kind of place right now. With the rapid growth of the school in recent years and an amazing level of support from the community and The United Methodist Church, Martin is truly an up and coming leader in modeling higher education ministry bridged with the church, and I am praising God for this splendid new season to serve in this Spirit-filled setting.

Janine: Our topic for this issue is “Gathering and Gifts.” What thoughts can you share with us about this?

Laura: When I think of “Gathering and Gifts”, I think of Acts 2:37-47. In the past two years, this passage has become a centering for how I live out ministry. At the beginning of the passage, the people are gathered as they have just received the Holy Spirit, heard Peter’s proclamation, and experienced a transformation. Out of their transformation, the people continued to gather and live out the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, breaking of bread and prayers. They also shared their possessions as any had need.

As I think about how these people came together and chose to live their lives, they founded the early church, and with this model, I believe they were probably more effective in using the gifts of all the members of the community. Well, maybe to say they were “more effective” is extreme. We as leaders in the church today need to help refocus around the life and practice of the early church by gathering our people together, teaching the practices of the apostles, and walking alongside folks in living out these practices. In our gathering, in our living, we can then help identify and encourage one another in making the most of naming, claiming, and responding to God by using the gifts we have received.

Janine: Laura, what is it that brings the greatest energy to your ministry? What suggestions do you have for anyone who is seeking to serve God in their own unique way with their own special gifts?

Laura: Greatest energy…I love people! I love to encourage others, to help them wrestle with life’s questions, and celebrate as they work through the mountains and valleys. I love to “make it plain.” Oftentimes, our faith lives get so caught up in the do’s & don’ts that the basics of love get trampled down. I love to love people where they are, help them build relationships with the body of Christ, and keep the basics of loving one another at the root and the surface of all we do and say.

As for personally restoring energy to be in ministry, I love walking with my new beagle Molly, planting flowers in my yard, reading, and attempting new art projects.

God has certainly created each one of us as special individuals. But sometimes, we can feel like our different gifts, creativity, and experiences make us extremely unique. We just should remember, no matter who we are, what we are, or where we are that we are beloved children of God. God has helped make us who we are; we just need to help carry out the good works that were begun in us!

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