Our work will ever exist on many levels: making people happy, stamping out guilt brought on by judgmental society, drag activism, helping various organizations and charities, etc. This is the core mission of the San Diego House of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence—The Asylum of the Tortured Heart in San Diego.

Freedom of Expression

In the spirit of freedom, we try to have as few restrictions as possible on our creativity and self-expression. However, rules exist that are meant to enhance the order as a whole. Teamwork and effort are important to SPI-SD. Our habits have common elements individualized with jewelry and white face make-up in the style of each member’s personal preferences.

We create habits that reflect and suit our personalities.

Each San Diego Sister develops a style of white face make-up that best captures hir true self.

Diversity

This is a defining statement to our Order. We are family. “Family” means freedom to be an individual in a close-knit group of individuals: Diversity and Unity. The sisterhood, priesthood or any subset of SPI membership is open to women and men, young and older, rich and poor, gay, lesbian, straight, bisexual and transgendered. Our organization includes masculine, feminine and androgynous identified personae. We feel no need to separate or discriminate different people into separate affiliated organizations. In fact, to do so would be hypocritical and contrary to our statement of purpose. Our rules are frequently bent and stretched. They are not made of concrete and we are not machines. Rules are guidelines. Sometimes they must be enforced strictly and other times loosely applied. Each person is an individual and each situation is unique. That’s life.

Our lengthy screening process for new members has important reasons. Some people will want to join for incompatible motives; egotism (“I want to be a star”), party animals, etc. They have no commitment to our philosophy, the ability to work with people or the desire to learn and grow.

Social Activism

SPI members are inherently, by their very nature, inescapably agents of political change. Some members wish to identify only with the social service or spiritual aspects of the order, but there is no escape from the controversial and political qualities of the membership. Sub-committees in SPI plan actions affecting various social issues or appear at events in support of varied political and/or social happenings.

Social Service

SPI has a long history in helping the community. SPI-SF printed the world’s first safe sex pamphlet, and organized the first known AIDS benefit.

When asked, “Why are you mocking nuns?” we answer, “We are nuns!” We do all that traditional nuns have done for centuries. We are 21st-century nuns, free from guilt associated with many traditional religions. SPI worldwide has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for AIDS and other social causes. We visit the sick, educate and promote safer sex and generally service the community.

Spiritual Development

Each member is encouraged to develop and grow with hir own spirituality, whatever it might be. Members come from diverse backgrounds so there is always much to explore with one another regarding spiritual growth if a member wishes to do so. Members keep open minds and respect different points of view.

There is a great freedom within SPI to discover and express various qualities, aspects and characters an individual may feel.

One of the goals of SPI is to downplay the egoism that leads to bitchy and uncooperative impulses within that permeate our past and tend to continue today in many aspects of gay culture.

Commitment

Once a Sister attains Fully Professed Status, s/he is considered a member for life, although the road to that end is not an easy one. The Order requires its members, especially new ones, to demonstrate commitment to the ideals of the Order, the community at large and to the individuals that comprise the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.

As with all nuns, priests, clerics, shamans, Brahmins, and other holy individuals around the world, there is inherent in their title an immense amount of self-sacrifice. SPI members may not always agree with each other on a particular direction that the Order is pursuing, but they are expected to work for the good of the group and the community. Many, many times since the founding of the Order our members have made personal sacrifices so that SPI would reap the full benefits of their efforts. Members have performed mundane but necessary services to the Order, participated in functions that they would not normally care to attend, and given up some of their personal freedoms so that the group would flourish, or even participated with the group though they were in severe physical pain.

This is what it is to be a nun:

To support and advance the freedom of self expression
and all inherent human values of all GLBT persons.

To serve the GLBT community in achieving social, economic, and political equality.

Back Row:  Sister Samoa, Aspirant, Sister Clem, Postulant Shirley, Sister Ghana,
Sister Epiphany, Sister Amanda, Saint Butch, Sister Polly, Sister Nora,
Sentry Ildo & Guard Inya
2nd Row:  Guard Whip-Hir, Sister Freeda, Sister Ashley, Sister Hecate,
Sister Iona, Postulant Pixie & Sister Kali
Front:  Sister Evelyn, Guard Rolodex & Friar Stogie