Hunky Jesus is the story of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and their infamous annual Easter Sunday tradition in San Francisco, and it recently had its North American premiere in Toronto as part of the Inside Out LGBTQ+ Film Festival. It was followed by a Q&A hosted by Sister Merry Q Contrary and Gay Jesus (Heath V. Salazar), along with producer Brian Benson and the Sisters of the Perpetual Indulgence. Scroll down for an exclusive interview theBUZZ did with Sister Merry Q Contrary.

The film captures San Francisco’s legendary, eponymous Easter celebration which has been running since 1995 and is hosted by the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, an order of queer and trans nuns who have spent more than four decades blending drag, performance activism and their irreverent wit to fight for social justice and equality. Hosted by the iconic Sister Roma and RuPaul’s Drag Race alum Honey Mahogany, Hunky Jesus showcases how the Sisters subvert expectations and confront oppressive systems within religious and conservative circles.

The film’s narrative unfolds over the annual Hunky Jesus Easter celebration event in San Francisco, which amasses an audience of over 10,000 people. The film weaves together rare archival material, theatrical visuals, vox pops and first-hand anecdotes. Presenting the Sisters as cultural trailblazers whose message of “radical joy” resonates at a moment of renewed global debate around identity, faith and freedom of expression. The film’s opening animation sequence is a nod to the playfully wicked collage style of Monty Python and is narrated by the one and only George Takei.

The annual Hunky Jesus celebration is an outdoor festival-style party in San Francisco with performance, drag, and a competition crowning the best ‘Hunky Jesus’ and ‘Foxy Mary’ from a line-up of feathery, sparkly and colourful Jesus and Mary impersonators from the public. The event footage is interspersed with interviews with the Sisters, their honorary Saints including Honey Mahogany as well as religious leaders Father Donal Godfrey and Sister Barbara Battista.

The U.S. East Coast premiere is set for June 12 at 14 at Provincetown International Film Festival, with the West Coast premiere set for June 26 as part of the San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival.

Sister Merry Q Contrary first met the Sisters in 1996. She spent the next 13 years gestating before taking her veil and being born a nun during a Radical Faerie gathering in 2010. Once birthed, she quickly went to work founding the Vancouver Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence House, and later founding the Toronto Order as well. She infuses her ministry with her sense of social justice, compassion and hope. Merry Q retired in 2016, after bringing  her training in theology, chaplaincy, and various earth-based spiritual traditions to her work with the Sisters.

theBUZZ recently had an opportunity to connect with Sister Merry to find out more about the film, The Sisters, and herself.

I recently had an opportunity to watch Hunky Jesus, which I very much enjoyed. How did you get involved with this project, and how many times have you personally attended the event in San Francisco? My first reaction was, why don’t we have any similar event here in Canada yet?

I’m glad you enjoyed the film – I did as well. I think it really captured the joy, diversity and inspiration of the Sisters, and the beauty of the communities we serve. I’ve attended Easter in the Park twice, where I saw the Hunky Jesus and Foxy Mary contests. When I was active in the Vancouver House, we talked about recreating an event like Easter in the Park, but at the time, we didn’t want our event to conflict with the San Francisco event – given that it is also the anniversary of when the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence were first founded.

You were involved with the Sisters for many years, starting the chapter in Vancouver, before moving to Toronto to begin one there, the first outside of San Francisco. What have been your most inspirational moments of good deeds that you recall?

My fondest memories of my work as a Sister have been whenever I’ve witnessed the beauty of our communities. There have been times of deep conversations in unexpected places, expression of profound grief, joy, stands of solidarity and so much more. The work of the Sisters, however, isn’t about the Sisters – it is about holding up and amplifying the beauty of our communities and standing with, beside and occasionally for our communities in times of struggle.  Many of us wear mirrors to remind ourselves and our communities that any beauty they see in us is simply a reflection and amplification of their beauty!

Beyond the goodwill and fundraising that the Sisters are known for, what are some of the political and advocacy efforts that you’ve been involved with, both past and current, as Sister Merry or personally since retirement?

As a Sister, our vows are to spread Joy, banish stigmatic guilt and be of service to our communities. Whether I am in Sister drag or not, I am a Sister and my work with communities is my Sister work. Through both my career in the social impact sector and my volunteer work as a Sister, I have been involved in the response to homelessness, domestic violence prevention, mental health, substance use and addiction work. I have also advocated for social justice and inclusion for those that our society often excludes and leaves behind. I have been lucky to have opportunities to do this work on the streets, in forms of protests and in our halls of power – supporting politicians and public servants to change the systems of our society.

As queerness and religion don’t typically play well together, it was nice to see some accepting religious individuals interviewed within the film as well. Did religion play any role in your initial desire to join the Sisters?

I was raised in the United Church of Canada, and in my twenties, entered theological college, studying to be ordained in that tradition. I left theological college and the Church because I was constantly fighting to make room for my lived experience, including that my sexuality was and is a blessed and holy part of who I am. While I left the church, my calling to be of service to spirit and community never went away.  Over the years, I found the Radical Faeries, a queer and trans spirituality movement. I was welcomed into a two-spirit sweat lodge community lead by Sandra Laframboise, a Métis and Algonquin Elder, and circled with witches in the Wiccan tradition. Through these traditions, I learned a great deal about who I am and who we, as queer and trans people, can be to one another and to our communities.

In 2009, at a Radical Faerie gathering, I heard my calling to serve spirit in an additional way – as a Sister of Perpetual Indulgence. The Sisters’ vows combined with their gender-bending theatrical political presence called to me. So, while religion shaped part of who I am earlier in my life, my desire to join the Sisters was informed, prompted and supported by my spiritual life and communities. Now, 16 years after I took my initial vows, I understand that it was Joy, far more than religion, that drew me to the Sisters.

I’d like to take a moment to talk about Joy. One of the things the Sisters have taught me is that Joy and happiness are not the same thing. Happiness is episodic, or situational and fleeting. Because of this, happiness is something we often chase. Joy is what is left behind after we have been through the crucible of life, and chosen to walk out the other side. In this way, Joy is enduring and a choice that we can strive to make every day. It does not depend on the situation or events we are part of, but rather on our perspective and willingness to choose Joy.

I read there are currently four Canadian Houses (Vancouver, Victoria, Regina, Montreal). It seems the Toronto chapter somehow dissipated, and the website indicates people are working on resurrecting it. Can you tell me if you know anything about this?

Founded in 1981, the original Toronto House was the second house in the world, and the first outside of San Francisco. The House closed around 1985. Since then, there have been several attempts to establish a new Toronto House. In the 1990s, Sr. Merry Peter was a solo missionary nun here in Toronto, doing a lot of work with the trans youth community and with the sex worker community on and around Church Street. In the 2010s, there were a few small groups who tried to get a House going, but weren’t able to get traction. Now, there is a small but growing group who are eager to serve the queer and trans communities of Toronto and bring the Sisters unique contribution to Joy, irreverent wit, and social justice to Toronto.  We want Toronto to reclaim its place in the world of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.  And we’re recruiting! If you’d like to join us let us know at contact@torontosisters.ca.

I understand potential Sisters have to attend a Radical Faerie gathering before becoming ordained. Can you tell me what your induction experience was like, and what qualifications should potential applicants have who might want to help getting the Toronto chapter up and running again?

There is no one place or one way that Sisters take their vows. I chose to take my vows at a Radical Faerie gathering as they are one of my primary spiritual communities, and I wanted my community to witness and hold me accountable to my vows.  But Sisters can take their vows in a meeting of the local Sisters, in a park, at a Sisters’ event, in a bar, anywhere that is important to the Sisters taking their vows. What’s important is that you’ve worked with the Sisters to learn about yourself as a Sister, and how you will serve the community. Becoming a Sister takes time, as we take our vows seriously (and irreverently) and we want you to as well. Qualifications sounds so formal in the context of the Sisters. Although the founding Sisters were four gay men, Sisters (and our more masculine presenting members, Paladins or Guards) now come from all walks of life; all genders and sexual identities, and a very wide range of racial and social identities. The main ‘qualification’ one needs to express interest in being a Sister is a desire to spread joy, banish guilt and, most importantly, be of service to the community. Some Sisters come with a religious or spiritual practice, some discover their spirituality after joining the Sisters, and some come for the irreverent wit, joy and community service without connecting it to a spiritual or religious experience.

About the Author

Bryen Dunn is a freelance journalist with a focus on travel, lifestyle, entertainment and hospitality. He has an extensive portfolio of celebrity interviews with musicians, actors and other public personalities. He enjoys discovering delicious eats, tasting spirited treats, and being mesmerized by musical beats.