Minister’s comic strip exudes humor from the pulpit

The Rev. Karl A. Zorowski believes “God has a sense of humor.” 

Furthermore, Rev. Zorowski says that he believes he was called to enter the ministry to help spread that notion far and wide, using his talent as a cartoonist. 

Currently assigned as the full-time pastor at St. Peter’s United Methodist Church in Morehead City, N.C., Rev. Zorowski also is a panelist on “Faith Matters,” a weekly radio program that airs on 107.1 FM – WTKF “The Talk Station.”

 

In 2001, Rev. Zorowski launched his Christian-based comic strip, “Church Mice,” as an amusement – to get people to smile and laugh while engaging in spiritual thought. Now, by way of the internet, the comic strips are being enjoyed by a worldwide audience – in at least 150 different countries.

 

The imagery and symbolism associated with a lowly church mouse was introduced into literature many centuries ago. To be “quiet as a church mouse” meant to be silent during worship service. No whispering during the sermon. 

Other references to the proverbial church mouse depicted poverty and hunger. The early church did not provide a reliable source of food. 

Early Catholic and Orthodox priests were instructed to scrupulously prevent any crumb of the sacrament of Eucharist (the bread which is understood to be Christ’s body) from falling on the altar or to the ground, meaning that church mice had no crumbs to feed on. 

The main mouse character in Rev. Zorowski’s contemporary comic strip world is Reverend Cheese, who is the preacher at the fictional St. Camembert United Methodist Church. His congregants are a nest of mice who now eat rather well.

 

(Camembert is a cheese that was created in 1791 near the village of Camembert in Normandy, France. Similar to brie, Camembert is rich and creamy with a soft, edible white rind. As the cheese matures the curd softens, its color turns to a butter or straw hue and it develops a fuller flavor.)

 

It’s been an interesting journey for Rev. Zorowski, who was born in Pittsburgh, Pa., but grew up in Raleigh. His father, the late Dr. Carl F. Zorowski, served more than 50 years as a beloved professor at North Carolina State University and was the department head for mechanical and aerospace engineering. 

Karl, who started drawing as a child, said: “I wanted to be a cartoonist for as long as I can remember.” While attending N.C. State, he became a cartoonist for The Technician, the student newspaper. Karl created a comic strip about campus life named “Joe Rat” in 1980, which ran regularly up until he graduated in 1982. He earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental design/product design from N.C. State’s highly regarded School of Design. 

Karl found work as a designer and specialized in creating trade show exhibits. He later landed a job as an exhibits coordinator for the North Carolina State Parks system. 

But, his grand plan was always to produce a syndicated comic strip. In late 2000, Karl came up with a new strip called “Rat Race,” which was basically “an update of ‘Joe Rat.’” 

However, his proposals were rejected by all the syndicates. “I was really crushed,” Karl said. “For 20 years, I had dreamed about having my own comic strip. I believe in all sincerity that newspaper comics provide a balance to the bad news in the rest of the paper – they help keep people sane.” 

While attending a Wednesday night church service in December 2001, we were singing ‘Here I am, Lord’ and I felt the call,” Karl said. “I felt like God was telling me to do something, that He had plans for me, that He wanted me to be a minister.”

 

Here I am, Lord…I have heard you calling in the night,

I will go, Lord, if you lead me,

I will hold your people in my heart. 

Shortly thereafter, Karl’s best friend from college, David Bass, seriously suggested that Karl draw a Christian-oriented comic strip.

 

“David said God told him I needed to do a Christian cartoon,” Karl recalled. “I told him that was about the most ridiculous and dumbest thing I’d ever heard. The syndicates and newspapers didn’t want a Christian cartoon.” 

“But the thought wouldn’t leave me. It gnawed at me, so to speak. I sat down and started to sketch a mouse – a character more refined than a rat, but close – dressed in a pastor’s robe. I came up with the ‘Church Mice’ name. It all fell into place.”

 

Good things began to happen. Karl began his ministerial studies through Duke University’s Divinity School, a seminary supported by the United Methodist Church. Also, Karl met Cheryl Wilbur, a native of Denver, Colo, through an online Christian dating service. 

She worked as a children’s entertainer and performed professionally as “Skeedaddles the Clown.” They courted and the couple married in 2002. Now, they are raising two daughters. Aspen is a freshman at East Carolina University in Greenville, majoring in elementary education. Amber is three years younger and is being home-schooled.

 A photo of Cheryl in her clown costume is there in Karl's office, so she can watch over things.

There’s no more clowning around for Cheryl, but she maintains her business. named Skeedaddles Entertainment, to provide balloon artistry, balloon structures and face painting. 

Rev. Zorowski received his first pastoral assignment in 2004, serving as a part-time minister for a pair of small, rural churches in Franklin County, near Louisburg…while continuing to work his State Parks’ job. 

Later that year, when Rev. Zorowski was promoted to become a full-time pastor for two churches in Columbus County near Whiteville, it became necessary for him to resign from the State Parks. 

(He had been in Columbus County about three years when Rev. Zorowski was interviewed in 2007 by journalists David Snipes of the Tabor-Loris Tribune and by Amanda Greene, who was working for the Wilmington Star News at the time. Their stories have been helpful reference resources for these articles.) 

After nine years in Columbus County, Rev. Zorowski was appointed pastor at St. Peter’s in Morehead City in 2013. He will mark his 10-year anniversary in the pulpit here on (add date). 

 

Will the real Reverend Cheese please stand up? 

“You might say that in the “Church Mice” comic strip, Reverend Cheese is very much me, or I’m him,” said cartoonist and pastor Karl A. Zorowski. 

Here’s the official biography of Reverend Cheese: “The pastor of a small church of mice, he cannot understand why God chose him to be a minister. Reverend Cheese sometimes finds the Lord’s ways hard to understand. His faith is strong, and he really cares about the members of his church. Long-winded in the pulpit, he constantly battles the congregation’s desire to get out of church early so they can go to lunch.”

 

Reverend Cheese’s constant message is: “God really loves you.” Rev. Zorowski says: “I try not to get too preachy, but to still keep it spiritual. God told me to use my ability to draw and tell stories to point people toward God so they can see him.” 

Rev. Zorowski says going to church should be fun and not a chore. Living a faith-based life can have its humorous moments, and Rev. Zorowski wants to “seize the day.”

 

His goal is to produce one new comic strip a week, but it’s not easy to deliver a steady diet of “mice-sized sermonettes.” 

He said: “My mind is always searching for ideas, and they don’t always come when I’m working on my computer.” He will jot himself a note and tuck it into a folder for future development. 

A regular character in “Church Mice” is Deacon Coffey. His first name’s Deacon, but he’s far from being a church deacon. “He approaches his church life like a hobby. His view of religion is rather light-hearted, but he has good and Godly intentions. He proves time and again to be a help to the pastor, but his flaky views keep the preacher on his toes.”

 

Anne is a server at the local diner who presents a challenge to Reverend Cheese. “She is a good person and represents the viewpoint of those interested in God, but disinterested in organized religion.” 

A relatively new addition to the cast is Tina, the church music director. “Music is such a central element in the church, there are many opportunities that revolve around music. “Tina is big into contemporary praise and worship music, while most of the congregation share a collective opinion: ‘We do not like change.’ So, there are many, many story lines there,” Rev. Zorowski said with a wink.

 

“Church Mice” is definitely a not-for-profit venture, and Rev. Zorowski offers the comic strip free of charge to any spiritual publication that wants to print it. His mission is to make God “a little more approachable” to people. “I’m not an in-your-face preacher thumping a Bible and neither is Reverend Cheese.” 

The comic strip adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic and became an indispensable tool to maintain connectivity at Rev. Zorowski’s home church, St. Peter’s United Methodist Church in Morehead City. 

Rev. Zorowski said: “What makes ‘Church Mice’ worthwhile is when I get an e-mail message from someone who says it helped him or her take a new direction in life. I’ve been surprised with the following we’ve built up. I am unbelievably happy with how it’s all worked out. Give credit to my friend David Bass, who planted the seed.” 

“Within the United Methodist Church,” Rev. Zorowski said, “we talk a lot about John Wesley and prevenient grace, which is God’s active presence in people’s lives before they even sense the divine at work in their lives.” 

“‘Church Mice’ can be a catalyst through which prevenient grace can smile down upon us.”