ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, February 25, 1997 TAG: 9702250070
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: NORFOLK
SOURCE: Associated Press
The parable of the flying trapeze is one of Father David Tetrault's favorites.
It's all about learning to let go, and being confident that someone will be there to catch you.
You might not hear it in church, but it's one of those things that a circus chaplain learns on the job. Tetrault, an Episcopal priest from Williamsburg, is an avid pupil of all that Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey has to teach.
``The circus tells people all kinds of things about themselves,'' Tetrault said. ``It talks about relationships that otherwise wouldn't exist. Jesus told stories about that, where everything was kind of upside down.''
Tetrault was appointed three years ago by the presiding bishop of the Episcopal church to minister to the circus in a part-time, volunteer position. Bruton Parish, then Tetrault's base, agreed to support him.
It was the culmination of a dream that began in the 1940s, when Tetrault's father took him to see his first circus.
``I'm a circus junkie,'' the priest said. ``There's no bad circus. There's only no circus.''
Tetrault's license plate reads ``Big Show,'' the nickname for Ringling Brothers, and his e-mail address begins with ``big show rev.'' He's got the circus bug, bad.
Tetrault and Father Jerry Hogan, a Catholic priest from the archdiocese of Boston, share ministerial duties, traveling to meet the circus wherever it performs. They celebrate Mass, perform weddings and listen.
``Father Hogan and I are the healers, the ritual makers for the circus community,'' Tetrault said. ``We do the marrying and the burying.''
The hundreds of people who travel with the show often need a sympathetic ear. Many have left parents or family behind, and they're worried, the priest said.
The circus can be dangerous and hard work with nonstop performances and a different town each week. Tetrault is there to listen, to make phone calls home, to give spiritual guidance.
He often wanders the show floor while the clowns warm up the crowd. Many of the performers wave. Some seem to feel more comfortable with a chaplain on the floor, he said.
He asks about their families, their health. When a virus rampaged through the circus in Norfolk last week, Tetrault drove many of the performers to an urgent-care center in the middle of the night.
``This is all about little stuff, stuff that doesn't make a difference to anyone outside,'' he said. ``They feel a little safer, I think.''
LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: BILL TIERNAN Landmark News Service. Father Davidby CNBTetrault speaks with Roland, a clown, before the start of a Ringling
Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus show last week in Norfolk.