On March 22, 2014, fourteen Sisters came from north, south, and center to meet at The Convent before piling into three cars to attend Novice Sister Gloria LeLuia’s novice project, “WORSHIP!” The event was held at Great Scott in Allston, Mass. in coordination with the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell group of Boston who have been putting on monthly club nights for the past two years. “All Are Welcome Who Welcome All” is their slogan.
In attendance were: Sisters Amanda Tyan-Whip, Dearest Caught In Headlights, Eunice X, Frieda B Fabulous, Ima Miracle, KrisTall Mighty, Rosetta Stone, and Sandra Musique; Novice Sisters Gloria LeLuia, Lida Christ, Rachael Equality, and Tori D’Affair; Postulant Agnes Day; Aspirant DeCoda Apple; and altered boy Sam … along with a gaggle of gorgeous rugby boys, part of the New England Valkyries Rugby Team.
After setting up a corner for our coats, supplies, and prizes, we began hanging crosses around the room as well as hanging our official banner on the wall. Nine o’clock rolled around and the doors opened. It was a slow start to the evening with a few people trickling in here and there, but by 10:30, the room was getting packed, the music was thumping, and the energy levels were rising.
Most of the Sisters and Valkyries stayed near the front of the room to welcome guests as they arrived and to mingle, explaining who we were and what we were doing there. Around 11:15, Gloria and Sandra took to the stage to formally welcome everyone to the event. After a very heartwarming speech about non-judgmentalism from Sandra, Gloria explained the raffle and costume contest portions of the evening. Audience reaction was very positive during our first official stage presence with this group. Following the welcome speeches, Ima and Rosie took to the stage to welcome Stephanie, a young bachelorette out with her bridal party, and grilled her on the “intimate” details of her fiancé.
It was at this time that the Sisters began selling raffle tickets for four amazing prizes valued at just over $800; two pairs of tickets to the Gold Dust Orphans’ production of Snow White and the Seven Bottoms, a pair of tickets to the Huntington Theatre, and a pair of tickets to our table at Fenway Health’s Men’s Event (alone worth $500). Raffle sales started off slowly, but once everyone was aware what was on the line, the bills started flying into our donation buckets.
At midnight, the costume contest began. Rosetta and Gloria took to the stage to emcee the contest with Agnes acting as ‘secretary’; Frieda, Tori, and two shirtless Valkyries acted as contestant escorts. First, we ran through three Sexy Jesus contestants: a YOLO Jesus, shirtless with a wooden cross behind him; a Jeansus, with crepe hair glued to her face and a bulge in her jeans; and a Li’l Kim Jesus, with a toga and black tape covering her nipples. Following that, the Hot Mary contestants took to the stage: a Mary of the Sacred Heart-burn, with a flaming heart upon her chest; a Straw-Mary Shortcake, decked all in red with an adorable red flowered veil; and Shroud Mary (Keep on Burnin’), dressed as more of a traditional Mary with dark black head scarf. After the contestant parade, the judges held conference and through audience applause awarded the gift baskets (with sex toy bags courtesy of Good Vibrations, a gorgeous photograph print by St. Meg-a-Pixel Birnbaum, some Easter candies, a deck of Into The Habit playing cards, and a bottle of wine) to Li’l Kim Jesus and Shroud Mary (Keep on Burnin’).
After a lot more dancing provided by resident DJ (and Don’t Ask Don’t Tell co-founder) Colby Drasher, Ima and Amanda got on stage to announce the winners of the raffle prizes. Raffle sales totaled just under $600 and after the awards were handed out, Ima asked for everyone to reach into their pockets and help us get to $800.
And finally, after an amazing drag show featuring Rose Hell, Severity Stone, Sapphira Cristal, and our very own Rachael Equality, the room began emptying out and we stood by the door to thank people for coming and to get a few more donations in our buckets.
At the end of the night, we raised $761.01, just $39 short of our $800 goal, but just as we finished tallying our pot, Colby and his boyfriend (and fellow co-founder) Nick Day approached with an extra $200, a portion from the door. It was a very nice surprise and we thanked them profusely. This brought our grand total up to $961.01.
More importantly though, we made new friends, ministered to a neighborhood we hadn’t before, got great exposure with a crowd who didn’t know us, and had a truly amazing time. Colby and Nick were so pleased with what we did that they invited us to come back any time and host another evening with them.
