Michigan-Based Fellowship Wants to Make April a ‘Holy Humor Month’

The Fellowship of Merry Christians suggests that believers be “fools for Christ’s sake,” an expression used facetiously by the apostle Paul, on April Fools’ Day on Sunday and throughout April as “Holy Humor Month.”

The interdenominational fellowship, which has enrolled 13,000 members since forming three years ago, seeks to restore April Fools’ Day--once called All Fools’ Day--as an observance on the Christian calendar.

The group based in Kalamazoo, Mich., is also urging that the Monday after Easter be observed as a day for frivolity, a custom in some Eastern European churches.

New Testament scholars say Paul, in his First Letter to the Corinthians, ridiculed opponents who thought they were wiser than Paul’s followers.

“We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak but you are strong,” Paul wrote. The apostle also advised: “If any one among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise.”