RUC organizes regular workshops on clowning and magic in the church hall. They are run either by the minister or a professional magician. The benefits of these workshops are:

(1) It is one way of building up young people's self-esteem.

(2) It empowers them to stand up in public and speak and perform with self-confidence.

(3) A fun course like clowning or magic signals to the children that church is a place where we celebrate and explore together our personal talents and the beauty and wonders of life. After all, Christ came to bring life in its fullness.

(4) Magic is at the heart about our dreams to do the impossible: "If only I could ..." It puts us in touch with our profound longing to bring about change and transformation where there is great need and pain. Just think about the reasons for Harry Potter's popularity not only among the young. And while magic nurtures these hopes and dreams for change it also helps young people to understand the important difference between imagination and reality. It includes the difficult realisation that there is no such thing as a quick and easy solution. The old dilemma of wanting to be powerful while feeling powerless is addressed in a playful way. It reflects an important aspect of our faith journey challenging us to leave behind magical understandings of God which try to manipulate and control God and mirror our narcistic fantasies of being all-powerful and god-like. And yet, our magical dreams and longings are taken seriously expressing themselves in our Christian expectation that one day good will triumph over evil and God will wipe away our tears.

As a result of these workshops a small team of clowns and magicians ís preparing itself to minister to children in hospitals and orphanages around Cape Town once a week.