For most of us, clowns equal laughter, wackiness and slapstick antics. So why has Anglicare given oversight of many of its key departments to a self-confessed clown?
Because there's much more to this clown than meets the eye.
Meet Eccles the Clown " aka Wayne Newell, Anglicare's new Director of Strategic Support and a member of Quakers Hill Anglican Church.
Mild-mannered CPA and former Chief Financial Officer for Uniting Care by day, Wayne relishes any opportunity to bring Eccles to life. But while clowns conjure up images of practical jokes and pratfalls, Eccles the Clown " named after the biblical book of Ecclesiastes " has a very different style.
Wayne's big aim in clowning is "to exemplify God's love' in the way he treats all people. "I want to show how God values everyone as absolutely unique," he says.
Wayne has been involved in "clowning' as a ministry for over 30 years, finding his way into it "purely by accident' when he and his (then) wife-to-be needed a way to open a street theatre performance. "Through God's work, it grew into something that I'm very passionate about," he says.
Over the years, his clowning has been used in outreach activities at many churches and youth groups. He has also performed at hospitals and festivals, with charity groups, and in street theatre.
While his "act' includes the entire repertoire " magic, balloons, puppetry, story-telling " Wayne actively avoids choreographed routines. His describes his approach as "the complete opposite of acting', and says he has no idea what he will do in each performance.
This comes partly from a desire for spontaneity and vulnerability, but mostly from his desire to accept and value people "as they are'.
"You have to be yourself and get people to connect with you " not just do a performance," he says. "It's about letting the kids lead, creating an environment where they feel comfortable in your space."
Once those connections are formed, Eccles is at his best, entertaining children, youth and adults alike. "It's about being child-like, not childish," he says.
"An enabling, facilitating ministry'
Wayne describes his clowning as pre-evangelism, "an enabling, facilitating ministry', rather than direct evangelism. He has often been able to "pass people on to others' to investigate Christianity further, or to explain personally how Eccles has tried to share and reflect God's love.
With some horror, Wayne recounts stories of clowning at its worst " times when performers simply embarrass people to get laughs from an audience. "It's about lifting people up, not putting people down " laughing with people, not laughing at people," he says.
"You can go out there and make people understand that they're highly valued."
Wayne's new role with Anglicare involves overseeing several key departments, including IT, Finance, Human Resources, Legal, Administration, Property & Maintenance, and Communications.
The role might seem a million miles from the world of Eccles. But Wayne says he is aiming to bring the ethos of his clowning to the role: his goal is "servant leadership' that values every person equally.
"It's great to know that I can use the skills God has equipped me with, to share with other people."
