Sex and God - all in a day's work

Rev. Beverly Dale knows what her detractors might say about her.

"'She's that crazy person interested in sex and God,'" she said, mimicking her critics.

But Dale - director of the Christian Association and informally known as "Rev Bev" - isn't concerned with naysayers. With a one-woman show in the Philadelphia Fringe Festival and social justice on her agenda, Dale has bigger fish to fry.

Like putting on a show about sex in a church sanctuary.

An Irreverent Journey From Eggbeaters to Vibrators deals with both the suppression and celebration of women's sexuality in relation to faith, and it draws on many of Dale's own experiences.

"When I was 11 years old I felt called to the ministry, but I thought God made a mistake because we all knew women couldn't be called by God," she said.

In the one-woman show, Dale takes on 10 ten different characters with a variety of sexual experiences. Some face abuse, others sing: "Move my spirit as you touch my body."

With the performance, Dale hopes to "shake up people's view of God" and create a more open sexual dialogue at Penn.

"There's not enough sex talk happening on this campus that's helpful to developing intimacy," Dale said.

The reverend, who has been at the Christian Association since 1989, said studying sociology in college and graduate school made her more critical of issues regarding sexuality.

She moved on to seminary "to try to figure out how a loving God concerned about justice could be intertwined in a church that was too often promoting injustice for women and sexual minorities," she said.

Holly Phares, the music director at Tabernacle United Church at 37th and Chestnut streets, directed the production.

Phares acknowledged the show's more controversial aspects, but hopes the audience will remain open-minded.

"The far right is going to feel very uncomfortable, but I invite them to come," she said.

College senior M. Tong, who served as a stagehand for An Irreverent Journey, got to know Dale through a work-study job at the Christian Association.

Tong said Dale's role on campus is essential. She is "one of the few . progressive voices for Christianity," Tong said, adding that Dale shows that Christianity is "not just about sin and following the rules and Bible-thumping."

Phares summed up Dale as "a presence of peace but also a noisy gong to keep us awake."

An Irreverent Journey from Eggbeaters to Vibrators will show at 7 p.m. on Sept. 15 at the Prayer Chapel of the Arch Street United Methodist Church at Broad and Arch streets. Tickets can be purchased at the door for $10.

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