I effectively disrupted my recent Education for Ministry seminar when the subject of alternative liturgies came up, and I mentioned the Clown Liturgy described so amusingly in the second book of Mark Schweizer's Liturgical Mystery series, The Baritone Wore Chiffon (#467). Who could resist singing that old favorite hymn Crown Him With Many Clowns?
The Lenten season is almost upon St. Barnabas' Episcopal Church in the North Carolina mountains. Normally, that would be a time for Hayden Konig, organist and choirmaster at St. Barnabas to be contemplating the proper musical selections to suit this penitential period. But, alas, in his capacity of Chief Detective of the town of St. Germaine, Hayden has been called in by his friend in York, England, to consult on the murder of a chorister in the Minster's Treasury during an Evensong service. The dead baritone is an American, there on a fellowship, and since Hayden has been helpful in the past, it's the perfect opportunity to work with the Minster Police in a "hands across the seas" exchange of ideas. With a new interim priest in charge at St. Barnabas, changing things right and left, Hayden is glad to get away for a few days. When he returns to the chaos that was once St. Barnabas, Hayden still hasn't figured out the murderer or the motive. But when Peppermint the Clown dies during the Palm Sunday service, he begins to follow the over-sized footprints that will lead Hayden to a grand finale that might be his own.
Clever and laugh aloud funny, this ingenious mystery is sure to appeal to anyone who's ever been involved in church politics; but if you're Episcopalian, with a broad knowledge of liturgical and classical music and a good sense of humor, it's even better. Can't wait to read the next installment!
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