Divine Play: How Drag Clowning Became My Sacred Spiritual Practice | Monday Invocation

International Drag Day is celebrated every year on July 16th, honoring the art of drag and its impact on LGBTQ+ culture. While drag is often seen simply as entertainment, some artists use it as a form of ministry and a way to express their faith—challenging common assumptions about what drag can be.

In this new series, we’ll hear from drag artists who share how drag deepens their connection to God and helps them spread God’s love.

Today, King Julez shares their story with us:

Julian Munro, an MDiv/MPS student at Emmanuel, as their drag persona King Julez. (Photo by Will Dang and Shawn Kazubowski Houston)

My drag is my most sacred spiritual practice. What started as a tool for me to explore gender performance and get over my stage fright quickly morphed into a transformative and profoundly moving element of my life. I have explored the art and have been a part of the community for many years. My art has flowed through many phases of expression–love and joy always being at the centre.

My drag persona is a clown—one who is genderless, ageless, boundary-crossing and full of fun. Clowns, to me, are a vessel through which we can access childlikeness, sensitivity, and hope. Henri Nouwen writes about clowns as humble servants who fumble and fall to ease the tensions of the day. They can be awkward, out of balance, and completely goofy, but they are on the side of the viewer. There is a relationship that is built between clown and observer of hope and joy (“Clowning in Rome” by Henri J.M. Nouwen).

I know my drag and call to ministry are connected because of the process that happens when I get in drag to offer worship leadership. When I am prepping for a drag worship, I do not go into it with a plan. I lay out my makeup, put on a curated playlist, go over my order of service, and then I follow where the Spirit leads me. Whatever colours and ideas come to me are where I land, and often it is different than where I anticipated.

On many occasions, I have shown up to the church where I was leading worship, and the colours on my face and in my outfit matched the colours in the sanctuary. It might have been the banners and carpet, or the stained-glass windows; the colours that had inspired my makeup that morning were all around me. In these moments, I am filled with warmth and feel the connection to God and my art.

My drag clown is meant to give a little tug to what we think we know about ourselves and our faith and play with the space beyond those boundaries. All of my art is meant to put us in touch with our shared humanity, our shared blessedness. That is my work from God.