Home/Stay Informed/All Diocesan Articles

All Diocesan Articles

Clowning For Christ

Posted on July 31, 2023 in: Reflections

Clowning For Christ

“Clowning,” is defined as “to do silly things and to dress in outrageous costumes in order to make people laugh.” But, Clowning for Christ is a ministry and involves sharing God's love more than laughs.

Meet Clown David. 

Clown David, also known as David Kohn is a retired high school teacher and basketball coach and a parishioner of Good Shepherd parish in Columbia. David was not always a clown, nor was he always a Catholic. God led him by a convoluted path, from a Jewish upbringing to a Catholic clown.

David  was born into a non-observant Jewish household in the Bronx, New York. As a child, he attended synagogue services on the high holidays, but neither weekly Sabbath worship nor daily prayers were in David’s childhood experience. He attended Hebrew school in preparation for his bar mitzvah, but states that learning about his faith was “more of a duty than an act of faith.”

In 1976, while pursuing a political science degree, David spent one year studying in Austria. There, he met Dorli Kisslinger. Dorli was a devout Catholic, and although David knew very little about Catholicism, he sensed a graciousness in her that was obviously derived from her faith. This piqued his interest. However, after his year was completed, he and Dorli parted ways. He returned to the U.S. to earn a master’s degree in education. 

During this time, David had performed some clowning as a hobby, In 1981, after  auditioning  for the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus, he was selected to attend their prestigious Clown College. Later, he was selected to tour with the circus. This lasted for one year, until a knee injury caused him to leave the show. Still, the embryo of Clown David had been conceived.

David then began a teaching career, and he also reconnected with Dorli. A series of letters and phone calls culminated in her visiting Connecticut, and landing a teaching position at UConn. This also marked a period of  spiritual transformation for David. Dorli’s faith prompted him to begin reading the Bible and, for the first time, the New Testament. Two subsequent events moved him to enter the Church.

He read a book about near-death experiences, Heading Towards Omega, by UConn professor Kenneth Ring. He explained that this proved to him, “Beyond a doubt that there is a God, there is a heaven and I needed to start doing something about it.” Then he and Dorli attended a weekend retreat where, at Mass, after witnessing the priest consecrate the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus, he “realized that I too wanted to participate and receive God’s blessings.”

In short order, he and Dorli were married, and David was baptized. They settled in Salzburg, Austria, where they raised three children. There also, David started his Clown Theater.

Over the next 12 years, his clown troupe performed in more than 2,000 schools and his character, “Clown David,'' became known throughout Austria. His troupe also published a book to teach English to Austrian children, My Clown Papi. The book sold more than 20,000 copies and the proceeds were used to fund  “Kids For Kids,” which worked to grant the wishes of young cancer patients. David fondly remembers how this charity enabled an 18-year-old dying of cancer to realize her dream of visiting Greece. A few months later, her mother wrote to share  that her daughter had succumbed to her cancer, but that the trip made her last days special. “I felt very blessed that God put me in that position — to be able to bring joy, not just during our shows,” David said.

In August 2022, David and Dorli returned to Connecticut, where he resumed his teaching career, until June 2018 when he retired. Their two sons live in Austria, and their recently married daughter, Emily, lives nearby in Connecticut. 

David enjoys retirement, sculling on Columbia Lake and splitting wood for his numerous Holz Hausen (beehive) firewood stacks. He states that he is most grateful to God for giving him the grace to grow in his faith journey, and especially for putting Dorli in his life.

Clown David is also in retirement. David Kohn has no regrets and has left behind that chapter in his life. But, there is one thing he clings to: his clown trailer, which he shipped from Austria and now rests in his backyard. “Sometimes, I feel like Clown David was another person, but the trailer and a portrait of me as a clown that hangs in our living room remind me that Clown David was, and I guess still is, me.”

By Deacon Benedict LoCasto


Most Viewed Articles of the Last 30 Days

The Promise of the Ascension

Posted on May 21, 2025 in: Reflections

1103

The Promise of the Ascension
    Forty days after Easter Sunday, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord. While often seen as a quiet moment between the joy of the Resurrection and the fire of Pentecost, Ascension Thursday is much more than a transition. It is a cornerstone of our Christian hope. As recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, Jesus, after appearing to His disciples and speaking to them about the Kingdom of God, is “lifted up, and a cloud took Him from their sight” (Acts 1:9). His Ascension does not mark the end of His presence but the beginn...

Read More

June Belongs to the Sacred Heart

Posted on June 04, 2025 in: Reflections

855

June Belongs to the Sacred Heart
The month of June is traditionally dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a devotion that draws us into the tender, burning love of Christ for all humanity. As this month begins, we are invited not only to contemplate His pierced heart but also to allow our own hearts to be shaped by His mercy. The Sacred Heart is more than a symbol; it is the very center of our faith, offering consolation, healing, and renewal. In a world often marked by indifference and division, devotion to the Sacred Heart calls us to live with compassion. We are encouraged to see others through the...

Read More

A Prayer for Father's Day

Posted on June 12, 2025 in: Reflections

688

A Prayer for Father's Day
Dear God, Thank you for loving us with your perfect heart of a father. We ask you this Father's Day and always to guide and protect the hearts of all men in fatherly roles who are striving to love with your heart and do your work. Give them pure, chaste, courageous, and creative hearts like Saint Joseph. Give them hearts that never tire of serving those they are called to love. Give them hearts that seek out their loved ones and gently turn their gaze to see You, who is Love.  And we ask you, Father, to bless them abundantly today....

Read More

Knights of Columbus Column: Making Room for Grace
Humility can be a rare commodity these days. It’s not often spoken of in business or in the halls of government as a virtue to be pursued. Instead, popular books on the “rules of power” frame it as a personal deficiency that should at least be hidden if it cannot be overcome. Such views betray a misunderstanding. Humility does not equal weakness or a lack of confidence, nor does it mean pretending that you are unworthy and have nothing of value to contribute. To the contrary, humility is not about you at all. It’s about thinking of others more tha...

Read More

Annual Catholic Appeal

ACA DONATE

English

Español

 

Latest Articles
Now Hiring: Faith Filled Educators
Join Bishop Reidy for a Youth Hike!
Public Policy Office of Catholic Church Scores Wins in State’s Legislative Session
Summer reminds Us of the Importance of Rest - Hope & Faith Series
A Prayer for Father's Day
Welcoming Clarity in Protection of Both Women and Preborn Children
Connecticut Catholic Men’s Conference 2025: Pilgrims of Hope
Pope Leo XIV on Pentecost Sunday: The Holy Spirit Inspires Us to ‘Break Down Walls’
Recently Added Galleries
Click to view album: Episcopal Ordination of Bishop Richard F. Reidy
Click to view album: Students Called to Feed the Hungry
Click to view album: 40 Days for Life 2024
Click to view album: Blessing of the Fleet 2024
Signup for Weekly Newsletter

     

    Roman Catholic Diocese of Norwich
    201 Broadway
    Norwich, CT 06360-4328
    Phone: 860-887-9294