By Andrew Alonzo, Anglican Ink
With Sunday, June 1 marking the start of Pride Month, the Rev. Jessie Turnier, rector of Claremont’s St. Ambrose Episcopal Church, called on an old friend, John Brett, to help deliver a unique 9 a.m. service dubbed “drag Eucharist.”
Brett, a chaplain and vicar with the San Francisco Night Ministry, introduced himself to St. Ambrose parishioners in his drag persona, Bene Diction.
“In addition to walking the streets at night in the Tenderloin and other densely populated parts of [San Francisco], listening and providing care and crisis intervention for our neighbors in the streets, I also engage with folks in the nightlife industry and the queer community,” Brett told the Courier. “I have been working as a chaplain for 10 years and I found my way to the night ministry in San Francisco through seminary in Berkeley.”
As parishioners made their way in, a volunteer distributed pride flags. LGBTQ+ dedications were made during the intention portion of the service, and as Turnier read aloud the Gospel, Brett read aloud a parallel story by Jay Hulme titled “Jesus at the Gay Bar.”