LAUGHING IN A RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT CENTER

This article was just posted at the Lutheran Services in Iowa site. Click here to read it there.

Laughter is the best medicine

March 29, 2012

Waverly, Iowa—Sometimes laughter really is the best medicine. Pastor Laura Gentry of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Lansing, Iowa, shared her “Holy Hysterics” program at LSI’s Bremwood Residential Treatment Center on Tuesday, March 6, during a worship service.

“Holy Hysterics” combines traditional Christian ministry with laughter yoga, an innovative exercise involving laughter and deep yogic breathing. Gentry has now shared her laughter ministry on five continents, most recently in Africa.

“This form of ministry is very uplifting,” explains Gentry. “It utilizes contagious laughter to help people tap into the joy of the Lord.”

LSI’s Bremwood Residential Treatment Center provides 24-7 mental health services for youth ages 12 to 18 with severe emotional or behavior disorders. Many of the youth have experienced trauma from past abuse or neglect.

Thanks to generous community support, LSI also provides voluntary spiritual life activities to address the mind, body and spirit needs of youth.

“If laughter heals, let’s all laugh a lot,” said P.C., a 15-year-old at Bremwood. “I felt pretty good after our laughter worship and enjoyed it a lot.”

“Laura’s winsome presentation was a hit with our youth,” said Pastor Dennis Bauer, LSI spiritual life leader. “Some were cautiously curious, but even those teens paid attention and listened. Those who engaged with the laughter were blessed with a deep relaxation and trust in the moment. They’re already asking when she’ll be back.”

For more information about Gentry’s ministry, visit www.laughinglaura.com.

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LSI is one of Iowa's largest human services agencies and impacts tens of thousands of Iowans annually through child abuse prevention, services for families and youth in crisis, services for people with disabilities, refugee services, home health care and disaster response. LSI is nationally accredited and serves people of all ages, genders, nationalities, religions, ethnicities and sexual orientations. To learn more, visit www.LSIowa.org. Join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LSI.iowa.

LAUGHING RADIO INTERVIEW NOW ON YOUTUBE

Here are the  fun, laughing interviews I recently did for a local radio station. They kindly gave me the recordings when they were done airing them so I've put them together, added visuals and put it on YouTube.

LAUGHING WITH CAMP STAFF

This summer, I led a session on prayer during staff training at Sugar Creek Bible Camp. The camp is located in a beautiful valley Southwest Wisconsin. It is near and dear to my heart as I was on the staff of this camp when I was in college. It is also the location in which I hold laughter yoga leader retreats. As part of this session, I taught them a technique I like to call "laughter prayer," which brings laughter yoga principles to Christian prayer.

Here I am teaching the group of talented young staff people.

I'm talking emphatically with some of the staffers during our small group discussion.

Then we did a laughter session. They had a fabulous time, as you can see by these photographs by William.

We also did a laughter meditation.

Then we went outside to do a laughter blessing tunnel in the great splendor of the evening.

Here we are doing a giant, laughter praise circle.

Here I am with Dick Iverson, the camp's executive director. I've known him since my time on the camp staff. It was a delight to see him again. Below are some scenes from the picturesque camp.

Look! The goat smiled at us! Must be a laugher too.

Below is a short video of the camp staff doing the laughter meditation, which is a powerful form of prayer. It can connect you with your source of spiritual joy.

SEMINARY BLOG FEATURES HOLY HILARITY

I was just featured on the blog of my seminary, Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, Calfornia. The reporter was interested in learning more about how my laughter yoga work informs my faith and ministry. Read the article below or click on this link to visit the PSR site.

December 1, 2009

It’s not often that one’s spiritual practice inspires others to call the police, but Laura Gentry’s (MDiv and MA 1997) unique approach to happiness and spirituality isn’t typical, either. She and about a dozen others were sitting outside Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Lansing, Iowa, chuckling, emitting belly laughs and chortling in the sunshine when a passerby called the police, thinking they were all drunk. Gentry’s antics were hardly due to inebriation; she is a certified laughter yoga instructor as well as an ordained pastor and leads a church laughter club in joyful exercises every week. Thankfully, Gentry cleared up the misconception, and the reporting police officer even joined the church.

In an age of dwindling worship attendance, Gentry has found a powerful tactic to inspire solidarity in her Midwest church: humor. Although some may balk at reading Scripture with a smile, Gentry maintains that laughter is actually an appropriate—and fulfilling—response.

“To me, it’s a no-brainer: Church is a joyful place, so we should be laughing,” Gentry says. “The Good News is good news, and we should remember to be happy about it.”

Three years ago, the stresses and challenges of ministry threatened to overwhelm Gentry. It was then, when she was considering leaving ministry, that she discovered laughter yoga, a practice that originated in India that has more to do with ha-ha’s and breathing than with twisting one’s body into pretzel poses. The release she found when tapping into a childlike state of hilarity rejuvenated her ministry and inspired her to start a laughing club—the source of her run-in with the law.

The change in pace has garnered the nation’s attention, from articles in Lutheran magazines to an appearance on Oprah. Wanting to spread her ministry even further, she founded the Iowa School of Laughter Ministry, where she certifies other laughter teachers. She has also produced several laughter workshops on CD (including one for commuters) and an album of giggle-inspiring songs.

“Laughter is a great force for democracy, just human beings laughing together, no matter their background or social status or even religion,” Gentry says. “It’s like the gospel, bringing all of us together, where we’re all one in Christ Jesus.”

Much of her laughter practice is without political or religious overtones, but Gentry says that simply laughing has helped her along her spiritual journey.

“The Bible says we have to be like a child to enter into heaven. We’re children of God and don’t need to take ourselves so seriously,” Gentry says. “Developing a childlike playfulness enhanced my spirituality in ways I didn’t expect. To be silly opens up a new way of thinking: I don’t have to do only what is expected. It demonstrates that with God, all things are possible.”

Gentry gives some credit to PSR for encouraging her to try new things in church. She performed some “wild dances,” she says, in chapel, and that freedom helped her carve her own niche within her current church. “PSR was a great place to experiment with ministry,” Gentry remembers. “It helped me think outside box and push the envelope”—a practice she applied to her Iowa preaching, which she believes revitalized her church and her own dedication to ministry.

Although the hard work of ministry can wear on even the most enthusiastic religious leaders, Gentry has advice for avoiding that burnout. “I want to tell current PSR students, respect what you’re trying to do, find your own voice and honor who you are,” she says. “That’s the PSR spirit of independence, to be your own minister.”

THE FUNNY SIDE OF FAITH

I was mentioned in an article called "The Funny Side of Faith" in Ode Magazine. The entire issue for August 2009 is about laughter and my congregation, Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Lansing, Iowa, was noted for the laughter we induce by celebrating Holy Hilarity Sunday each year.

The section of the article about faith and humor is by Carmel Wroth. It reads:

THERE IS NOT MUCH HUMOR IN THE BIBLE. But some Christian churches make up for that by posting witticisms on their outdoor signboards, such as "Does life stink? We have a pew for you," "Google cannot satisfy your every search" and "Read the Bible. It will scare the hell out of you." (Create your own virtual sign at the Church Sign Generator: says-it.com/churchsigns). Laura Gentry, pastor of Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Lansing, Iowa, brings the humor indoors. Gentry's been known to give sermons in a pink feather boa and lead her congregation in gales of laughter. She's also among a small number of Protestant pastors to adopt a medieval tradition known as risus paschalis, or "Easter laughter," in which priests tell humorous stories around Easter. Contemporary pastors call it Holy Hilarity Sunday. "The resurrection is God's joke, the banana peel of the Christian faith," Gentry says. "When Christ rose from the dead, that was the great joke on death." On Holy Hilarity Sunday, Gentry's congregation dresses up in silly costumes, and even does the bunny hop to the hymn Lord of the Dance. The point is to experience laugther in church, in pastoral counseling, even at funerals. "It's one thing to say, 'I don't fear death,'" Gentry says, "but to laugh out loud somehow drives the idea home. It embodies our theology." —CW

Here's a photo of the article at Ode (page 43, August 2009).

Double click it to enlarge:

Click here to read The Medicine of Mirth: Why a laugh a day keeps the doctor—and the cardiologist and the psychiatrist away from this same issue of Ode. It features the teacher I first studied laughter yoga with, Sebastien Gendry.

HOLY HILARITY SUNDAY

"Ha ha ha! Christ is risen! Christ is risen, indeed! Ha ha ha!" That's what we said throughout our worship service yesterday as we celebrated Holy Hilarity Sunday at Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Lansing, Iowa.

Link to the article in the Standard, Waukon, Iowa.

Yes, that's me—preaching in my pink wig, boa and opera gloves. Have you ever seen such levity in church? Well, perhaps I'm the only preacher to wear such a bright shade of pink but I'm not the only pastor to celebrate the Easter season with humor and laughter. Christians all over the world, you see, are resurrecting an ancient tradition of celebrating the Easter festival with humor and merriment. 

Church historians tell us that there is considerable evidence that during the early centuries of Christianity, Easter celebrations went on for days and even weeks. With it, the tradition of “Holy Hilarity Sunday” developed. This custom of celebrating the resurrection with lightheartedness is especially rooted in the religious life of Eastern Europe.

The theological reason for it is that the resurrection can been viewed as God’s great joke on the devil. You see, the devil thought he’d won: Christ had been crucified and was now dead in the tomb. Then three days later—ha ha ha—Christ is risen! It’s the unexpected ending that makes it funny. Some call the resurrection the "banana peel" of the Christian faith, the "cosmic pratfall." For indeed, because the resurrection, God has the last laugh.

And we can laugh, too, because the joy of the Lord is our strength. Laughter is a holy thing that helps us embody the exciting reality that Jesus is risen from the dead. Now death has no more sting. We can even laugh in the face of death, fully confident in the redemptive power of God.

Two years ago, I read about the tradition of Holy Hilarity Sunday in The Lutheran, the official magazine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (the Christian denomination in which I am an ordained minister). I found it to be an exciting option for worship and since our church had just launched a laughter club, we decided to try celebrating Holy Hilarity Sunday ourselves.

We have now held three such Holy Hilarity Sundays and it has been an absolute delight. These celebrations have kept worship attendance up on the Sunday after Easter—a traditionally low attendance day across the denominational lines.

At this service, people are invited to wear silly hats and costumes. My laughter hat collection is quite large and so I bring them in to share. It is hilarious to see the funny things people wear to worship. Many get creative and make their own hats with flowers, bows, rabbits and other animals perched upon it.

This year, Bob Wood of Desoto, Wisconsin (below) wore a costume with two sets of arms. “This way, when I fold my hands in prayer is has twice the power,” he joked.


Carol Schaefer (left) wore a resurrection hardhat covered in butterflies and amazingly adorable, mismatched polka dotted shoes (below). How about that for "church shoes"?


Gary Bahlmann (right) wore the Holy Hilarity T-shirt his wife, Gayle, made him last year. On the back of the shirt, it has a greeting to the people who normally sit behind them and declares them all “West Pew Friends.” This playfully pokes fun at our tendency to always sit in the very same pew.

We introduced some playful songs this year as well. These included interactive Sunday school songs that are fun for the whole family. We also debuted two original laughing songs from my laughter album, Today is a Laughing Day. Not only that, we did the “Bunny Hop” to the song “Lord of the Dance.”

Throughout the service, the praise word “Halleluia!” is replaced by a burst of hearty laughter, which also expresses praise.  We also do the passing of the peace by shaking hands, joyfully looking into one another’s faces and laughing (also known in laughter yoga as the laughter greeting). And, of course, I collect some appropriate church and Easter jokes to tell during the sermon.

Here is my favorite Easter joke:

Three sillies die in a freak banana peel accident and arrive at the pearly gates of heaven. St. Peter tells them that they can enter the gates if they can answer one simple question: "What is Easter?"

The first silly is eager to respond. He says: "Oh, that's easy, it's the holiday in November when everybody gets together, eats turkey, and is thankful..."

"No!" replies St. Peter, and proceeds to ask the second silly the same question, "What is Easter?"

The second silly replies, "Easter is the holiday in December when we put up a nice fir tree, exchange presents, and celebrate the birth of Jesus."

St. Peter shakes his head in disgust, “Can’t anyone get this simple question?” So he poses it to the third silly: "What is Easter?"

Now this silly is very confident. He says: "I know what Easter is. Easter is the Christian holiday that coincides with the Jewish celebration of Passover. Jesus and his disciples were eating at the last supper and  but he was betrayed by one of his own disciples so the Romans came and arrested him. They flogged him and made him wear a crown of thorns. They crucified him between two criminals with a sign over his head that read 'the king of the Jews' and when he died, there was a great earthquake and the curtain in the temple was ripped in two. The centurion who saw it said, 'surely this was the son of God.' Then his followers buried his body in a cave tomb and they rolled a huge stone over the entrance to seal it.”

Saint Peter can hardly contain himself, he nods his head and approvingly says, “Yes, yes!”

But then the silly continues: “And every year the stone is rolled aside and Jesus pops out, and if he sees his shadow there will be six more weeks of winter."

May we all live as joyful resurrection people today and every day. Christ is risen, indeed! ha ha ha!


Visit my sermon blog to see more pics and read my Holy Hilarity sermons:

2009—The Banana Peel of the Christian Faith 

2008—He He He is Risen 

2007—Holy Hilarity

DR. KATARIA TALKS ABOUT LAURA GENTRY & LAUGHTER IN CHURCH

Dr. Madan Kataria, founder of Laughter Yoga, talks briefly in this video about the work I'm doing to bring more laughter and joy to the Lutheran Church.