Sunday 12 April 2009
Nun World Order:
The Sisters' 30th Anniversary Celebration
Celebrate 30 years of spreading joy and raising heck with the Sisters in Dolores Park. We'll be having our traditional events like Children's Easter, the Bonnet Contest and everyone's favorite, the Hunky Jesus Contest. We've also lined up some kick ass entertainment to help keep things rockin. And, we'll be joined by over 150 Sisters from around the world! All in all, it promises to be a huge celebration of joy, indulgence, community service and Sisterhood!

Dolores Park
566 Dolores Street
11a



The Sisters' 30th Anniversary: AfterBirth!
Every year after Easter, the Sisters and our guests take the party out of the park and into the Castro. This year, we've decided to make it a little more official and are setting up a stage and bringing entertainment to Noe and Market, in between Cafe Flore and The Lookout. Keep the party going with us at Afterbirth and then head on out into the Castro for more fun!

Noe Street and Market Street
6p

The Mother House of San Francisco, CA and 150 Sisters from Berlin, Germany; Chicago, IL; Cologne, Germany; Ediburgh, Scotland; Eureka, CA; Las Vegas, NV; London, England; Los Angeles, CA; Manchester, England; Milwaukee, WI; Nashville, TN; New York, NY; Palm Springs, CA; Paris, France; Russian River, CA; San Diego, CA; Seatlle, WA; and Tampa Bay, FL will be celebrating the 30th anniversay of Sister Vicious Power Hungry Bitch, Sister Missionary Position and Sister Hyestorctia taking to the streets of the Castro for the Easter Parade in 1979

http://www.thesisters.org
[Edited 4/7/09 12:10pm]
[Edited 4/9/09 13:52pm]
[Edited 4/13/09 20:04pm]

I wanna go! I need me some Hunky Jesuses in my life!

Holy moley! I can't wait to see the pictures from this!

Sounds like it will be funnnn! I wish I was in Cali

applekisses said:

couldn't we all use some hunky Jesuses!

Wish I could go.

thekidsgirl said:

Your own Personal Jesus . . .

thekidsgirl said:

Me three

Sister Soami is on the ladder she is a founder member. Sister Vicious Power Hungry Bitch is standing up she is another founder and the Sister who brought the habits from Iowa to SF

Sister Agnes the third founder she designed the fist headpiece

Sister Sarah Femme SPI-SF and Sister Bella Donna SPI-Berlin
The surviving Charter Members of the Sisters

myself, St Groupie, a french Sister who's names escapes me, Sister Rose SPI-Paris

this was last night at an unofficial social gathering for the Sisters, Guards, Brothers, Saints and friends that are all ready in town

love it!

I was looking forward to these can't wait to see more pix

that would make a cool tshirt

Very

'Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence' That's fabulous!

Sister Uma Gawd SPI-SF

Sister Barbi Mitzvah SPI-SF

Sister Flora Goodthymes SPI-SF

Novice Sister Anita NotherCocktail SPI-Milwaulkie

Sister Bar Bitch Ka SPI-Berlin

Wow the photos are amazing!

Sister Mary Timothy- SPI-SF

Sister Chasity Boner SPI-SF

Sister Mary Ralph SPI-SF

Sister Delta Goodhand SPI - SF

Sister Visicous Power Hungry Bitch SPI-SF founding member

Sister Mysteria of the Broken Hymen SPI-SF the first Female Sister
[Edited 4/11/09 7:28am]

Sister ROMA! There's No Place Like Rome SPI-SF

A French Sister who's names escapes me and Novice Sister Maya PooNoony SPI-PDX

Sister Penny Lane SPI-SF

Sister Mary Fuckin Poppins SPi-LA Nvc Sr Anita, Sister Loosy Lu Lust Bea Lady SPI-LV

Sister Sioux St. Seamen Sloth, Sister Hope n Grope Sister Lola Femeninsta Womyn of Justice all SPI-LV

Sister Selma Soul SPI-SF
[Edited 4/11/09 7:39am]

Sister Tilly Comes Again SPI-SF

Sister Titiana Humperpickle SPI-SF

Sister Gladys Pantzaroff SPI-SF

Sister Sybil Libertize SPI-SF
[Edited 4/11/09 9:01am]

It is hard to believe that a fit of boredom one night 30 years ago gave birth to one of the city's most beloved and creative institutions, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a group of mostly gay men who don nun's habits and face paint to conduct charitable activities within the community.

But thanks to the prospects of a lackluster evening the Saturday prior to Easter in 1979, and some religious garments "borrowed" from a Roman Catholic convent in Grand Rapids, Iowa, three friends living in the Castro created what has become a worldwide phenomenon and perennial thorn in the side of the Catholic Church.

"I was living with another friend from Iowa and I said, 'I'm bored. Let's put those nun habits on and go out.' We went to the Castro, Land's End, and Polk Street. Psychological car wrecks were happening left and right," recalled Ken Bunch, who would go on to christen himself Sister Vicious Power Hungry Bitch. "People were shocked, even in liberal San Francisco."

Bunch, 57, and his friends quickly discerned that they had hit upon something more than a mere prank. By pure luck of their wardrobe, they had invented a powerful tool for both political activism and social change.

"Once we saw the incredible effect wearing these nuns habits had on people we met on the streets, we recognized we had a stick of dynamite and we should do something more with it," said Bunch, adding that if it were not for his keeping the nun habits, "we probably would be the Clowns of Perpetual Indulgence. We liked to paint our face. With nun habits it takes on more activist and political tones."

The group went on to don their outfits that year at the opening day of the Gay Softball League, the Castro Street Fair, and at a Radical Faerie gathering near Los Angeles, drawing in new recruits to their merry band.

"That was it. We were then off and running," recalled Fred Brungard, one of the Sisters' four original founders.

[Once known as Sister Missionary Position, Brungard changed his name in 2002 to honor the death of a fellow sister and goes by Sister Iamosama DeLite, the Sodomite of the Most Holy and Beautiful Dove Rumi Sufi Heart Now. For a shorter version, he refers to himself as the nun now known as Sister Soami (pronounced as So Am I).]

By December 1979 the early members of the group met at a house on Frederick Street and settled upon the name Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and the guiding principle that their "mission is to promulgate universal joy and expiate stigmatic guilt."

"We like to say we're 21st century nuns, and we said that in the 1980s in the 20th century," said Bunch. "People always ask 'You aren't real nuns, are you?' We do the same work as Catholic nuns. We do raise money for charity and serve the hungry and needy."
To Brungard, who once studied to become a member of the Capuchins, a branch of the Franciscan Friars, the Sisters have been a way to reconcile his calling to religious life with his gay political activism.

"It has been the fulfillment of my vocation to spiritual life," said Brungard, who lives on a Radical Faerie farm in Tennessee.

Almost immediately the Sisters gained international notoriety for their work. They joined in demonstrations, launched their bingo nights to raise funds for charity, and won scorn from Catholic officials for creating their own rosaries.

While exact figures are hard to come by, locally, the Sisters raise on average about $100,000 a year, most of which is distributed to smaller LGBT organizations. The IRS Form 990 from 2007, the latest year available, shows the Sisters in San Francisco raised $150,000. In 2005 that figure was $109,000 and in 2004 it was $97,000, according to the tax forms.

As the AIDS epidemic began to devastate the city's gay male residents, it was the Sisters who in 1982 created "Play Fair!," the first safe-sex pamphlet to use plain sex-positive language to educate men about the then little understood disease plaguing the community. They also held the first AIDS fundraiser that year, which drew actress Shirley MacLaine, and in 1983 launched the AIDS Candlelight Vigil to remember those lost to the epidemic.

When the pope visited San Francisco in 1987, the Sisters canonized Harvey Milk as a saint and conducted an exorcism in Union Square. The pope returned the favor by officially declaring the group papal heretics. The feud came to loggerheads during preparations for the Sister's 20th anniversary when they sought to shut down Castro Street during Easter Sunday in 1999.

Catholic officials vehemently opposed the Sisters' street closure request, and the controversy once again brought worldwide attention to the group. The issue eventually went before the city's supervisors for final approval and led to then-board President Tom Ammiano's famous retort, "Walk a mile in my pumps and you will see what I mean."

When the openly gay politician later ran for mayor, some tried to tarnish the Catholic-raised Ammiano as anti-Catholic for allowing the Sisters to hold their street party. The Sisters even entered the debate over the appointment of Jim Hormel, an openly gay man, as ambassador to Luxembourg.

"Jim Hormel stood up for the Sisters. He said they are a worthy charitable organization and the right-wing used that against him as ambassador," recalled Ammiano. "They are that powerful that the right-wing likes to use pictures of the nuns with people who are elected against them."

This year's celebrations have not born any backlash like the one seen 10 years ago. To Ammiano, it is a sign of just how woven into the fabric of the city the Sisters have become.

"I think people are now used to the idea. They still make some people uncomfortable. But that is what makes them delicious," he said. "I think they are just great."

Today, the Sisters are most known for hosting the Pink party during Pride weekend and their annual Easter party in Dolores Park. They hold countless fundraisers throughout the year and help man the entrance gates at Pride and LGBT-oriented street fairs.

"The need for activism is needed as much today as there was a need for it in 1979," said Brunch. "The artistic things each order does and the creativity that goes into it is so great. The whole idea of putting a nun's habit on opens your artistic and creative channels. Then it just flows out."

In Ammiano's eyes, San Francisco would not be the same city without the Sisters.

"It is a perfect marriage, no pun intended, of San Francisco and the gay community and the Sisters," said Ammiano, now in the state Assembly. "They are divas but they do do good work. Some people take what they look like as meaning disrespect. I can respect that but that is not my take on it."

More than 200 Sisters from across the globe are in town to celebrate their anniversary, starting tonight (Thursday, April 9) with a tribute to the original members at the Dance Mission Theater, an opening night ritual Friday for a new show about the group at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, and a conclave and beverage benefit Saturday at the Eagle Tavern.

Sunday brings the return of their annual Easter party in Dolores Park, starting at 11 a.m. with a children's egg hunt and later in the day the popular Hunky Jesus and Easter Bonnet contests, as well as live entertainment. For the special occasion this weekend, the Sisters have also planned a "Rebirth Processional" that kicks off at 4 p.m. and ends up at the "Afterbirth Block Party" at Noe and Market streets in the Castro. The dance party goes from 5 to 10 p.m.

For more information about the weekend's events and the Sisters themselves, visit http://www.thesisters.org.

http://www.ebar.com/news/...ticle=3856

[Edited 4/11/09 21:49pm]

happy easter sister iona!

hope to see more pictures from today's events!

Wow! This is FABULOUS!! Fun and charitable

I love the names of the sisters

Are you a member Eric? I'd love to see you in your habit

Is that SisterWoodyAllen?

all kidding aside, no NWO pictures of you...??

that's HER beside woody allen i believe

sister iona


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[Edited 4/12/09 18:24pm]