Why Christians need the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence

NEW YORK -The LA Dodgers were embroiled in controversy for much of the month of May over their inclusion of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a historic queer rights group, in their 10th annual Pride Night Celebration. Christian groups immediately lashed out against the Dodgers, claiming that the Sisters were an “anti-Christian hate group”, as Catholic Bishop Robert Barron stated on Twitter.

This accusation against the Sisters stemmed from a video that began circulating of a performance by the Sisters that included a depiction of the crucifixion of Jesus while a pole dancer danced around the wooden cross affixed to the top of the float. For many Christians, this appeared to be an act of blasphemy, meant to mock the central event in the Christian story- the death of Jesus Christ for the salvation of the world.

I am a Christian Pastor, and while I can understand the initial shock and outrage of seeing this image without context, I actually don’t find this image offensive at all. Instead, I find it to be an important provocation intended to highlight the harm that Christians have enacted on the queer community through the ages and the beauty of the queer community living out and proud in the face of many Christian denominations who continue to perpetuate hatred and harm towards our community.

In this performance, the Sisters were not stoking hatred towards Christianity, but rather were showing that they embraced one of the most central values of our faith- that love casts out all fear. 1 John :18 The Sisters were declaring that queer people no longer needed to be afraid of homophobic Christians, the Church, or of God. That even at the foot of the cross of Christ, queer people were invited to come, just as we are, and bask in the grace and love of God.

The Sisters have a long history of doing ministry to queer folks, reclaiming the forms and language of Christianity as a tool for healing and empowerment for the LGBTQIA+ community. Since their first performance on Easter of 1 7 in San Francisco, they have been on the front lines of queer activism, utilizing humor- ous performance art to demand queer rights and offering a wide array of community programs and services to support the queer community.

Far from being anti-Christian, the Sisters have often partnered with affirming churches for programs, performance, and demonstrations throughout their history. For instance, the Sisters were honored guests at a Pride Mass I was honored to preach at in San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral in 201 . In that service, the Sisters stood alongside me as we sang praise to God, prayed together, and took communion together. They were not and are not anti-Christian- I think they are exemplary Christians.

Anyone who reads the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ life will quickly find that Jesus himself was a performance artist and a comedian, using his quick wit and miracle-working powers to expose the hypocrisy of both the religious and political systems around him. Jesus often mocked the hypocrisy of some of the leaders in his own religious tradition, and willingly broke religious rules to demonstrate that God did not care about religious righteousness but about grace, compassion, and justice.

Many people were offended by Jesus’ teachings and actions. Many people accused Jesus of blasphemy. But Jesus prioritized standing in solidarity with the disenfranchised than the feelings of those with power and privilege. It’s hard to image the Jesus of the Bible being offended by someone using his image to critique an abusive religious establishment and celebrate a marginalized community.

Instead of feigning outrage at the LA Dodgers honoring the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence for their decades of service to the queer community, Christians would do well to study the ministry and message of the Sisters who look a hell of a lot more like Jesus than most American Christians do. If Christians are serious about following Jesus, then we should spend a lot less time defending ourselves, our institutions, and our feelings, and far more time serving the poor and the oppressed- just like the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.

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