Student org at private Missouri college to host ‘Drag WERK!Shop,’ including two fake ‘nuns’ from offensive drag group

A student group at a Missouri liberal arts college founded by Baptists is set to host a drag-themed event Friday featuring two ‘nuns’ affiliated with the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a group that mocks the Christian faith in the name of LGBT values.

The event is put on by the student-led Gender Inclusivity and Feminism Team (GIFT), according to an email promotion obtained by The Lion from a concerned alum.

The evening will include “a Q&A, makeup tutorial, and drag bingo night with the City of Fountains Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (CoFSOPI), a modern drag nunnery, to learn about drag!” the email says. “With us will be Novice Sister Ditzy Dense and Novice Sister Twiggy Stardust.”

In an Instagram post, GIFT calls it a “collaboration with The City of Fountains Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.”

The “WERK!Shop” is scheduled for Friday, Mar. 1 at 6:30 p.m. in the Browning Theater on William Jewell’s campus.

The private college, which celebrated its 175th anniversary on Tuesday, was founded by Missouri Baptists and was part of the Missouri Baptist Convention until 2003. Since that time, it has distanced itself from its Baptist roots.

Makenna Gray, a former student at the school, publicly condemned the college’s decision to allow such an event, and announced her plan to peacefully protest.

“This is outrageous,” Gray wrote on Instagram. “That our world and school systems have come to this point. I am furious and on fire for God. My old college, William Jewell, is having anti-Christian drag queens perform and are welcoming them into the school.

“This was once a Baptist school. Now turning further away from Christ. This is not okay!”

GIFT actively seeks to “destigmatize taboo ideas associate with sex and intimacy,” said Alexis Harper, GIFT’s Event Chair, as she explained why the group gives out sex toys as prizes during an event. “Of course, we keep everything in the raffle anonymous to protect the winners’ privacy; we hope that giving students the opportunity to win sex toys will pave the way for future sex-positive conversations, perhaps with a partner or trusted friend.”

Multiple attempts to reach William Jewell and the City of Fountains Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence were unsuccessful.