Introducing
Novice Pastor Al Dente of the Damnèd Dental Dam
the Mystical Quadrilateral, Which None Hath Seen Yet All Must Reverence
The Sisters are thrilled to welcome Novice Pastor Al Dente of the Damnèd Dental Dam to the Sydney House of the Order of Perpetual Indulgence.
Novice Pastor Al Dente is the first female clergy member to join the Sydney House for a number of years and the Sisters look forward to her company.
In the beginning, my grandmother, a minister and widow of another minister, baptised me into the Uniting Church. Growing up, I heard about the Sisters through family stories of a certain house blessing, and sightings round the city. (My mum was a Professor of Politics specialising in its intersection with religion, so she'd had an eye out.) Then I found myself gay and also a religiously atheist church-goer in a High Church Anglican tradition whose doctrines and practices stir up mixed feelings. I felt a Calling.
In my Masters in Languages, I wrote a mini-thesis on how Melissa M. Wilcox's Queer Nuns (about the Order) provides the answer to the quandary of Translation Theory. And I'm convinced their principle of Serious Parody will also prove the answer to the ultimate question of Life, the Universe, and Everything else, too. I'll find out for sure and let youse know.
I'd been hesitating for a few years over actually joining the Sisters, as a girl with no particular personal connection to AIDS activism. But it was during Mardi Gras 2025 that I finally clued on to just how many really conservative gays were running in my religious circles. In response, I bit the bullet and sent the Sisters my Email of Aspiration. I am very glad I did. (Actually they've had heaps of women in the past.)
I am dedicated to the Oraltory of the Good Shepherd.
Pastor Al Dente of the Damnèd Dental Dam,
the Mystical Quadrilateral, Which None Hath Seen Yet All Must Reverence.