A group of nuns gathered in a small circle holding hands and closed their eyes in prayer at Jack Adams Hall. Afterwards, they sat down and talked to students about sex, STDs and gender identity.

The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence visited SF State on Tuesday to talk about their "ministry" and share their personal experiences with gender confusion, sexually transmitted diseases and how they used those experiences to help the community.

The night's event was hosted by the Educational and Referral Organization for Sexuality, a group on campus that assists students looking for answers to all things sex-related. EROS has an office in Cesar Chavez Student Center with a library of books and free condoms.

Eddie Herrera, a 20-year-old engineering major, said he wanted to find out what the Sisters had to say. "There's not enough talk about sex at school and when there is, it's usually negative," said Herrera.

Sister Eunice X started the evening off by asking everyone who identified as being gay, lesbian, or bisexual to stand up. "You may not be able to stand up like this in the outside world but in here, it is a safe environment where you can be comfortable with who you really are," she said.

"We are actual nuns who took vows to promulgate universal joy, expiate stigmatic guilt and serve the community," said Eunice X.

The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence began 30 years ago with three men who wanted to "give tokens of joy and shock" to the Castro district and who were into trying new things, according to Sister Eunice X.

Over the years, their look has evolved, and the sisters now wear heavy clown-like make-up and habits that were designed after Flemish 14th-century ladies-in-waiting.

The Sisters can be seen at many San Francisco events where they promote their ministry, like the Folsom Street Fair and Pink Saturday.

"We grant people the right to live without shame and live life to the fullest amount of joy without hurting anyone," said Eunice X.

"To indulge is to grab onto the juicy pearls around us in life," said Sister Jezabelle of the Enraptured Sling.

Sister Kris Tall Mighty is in charge of the Sisters' direct ministry, which involves collecting coats, gloves and food and then giving them to people who live on the street. "In San Francisco, we can use coats and jackets year-round," said Kris Tall Mighty.

Pink Saturday, the largest underground street party in the city, is a big event for the Sisters. It is the Saturday night before Gay Pride Day when they get most of their donations. "We start the day off by picking up dog s--t in the park," said Kris Tall Mighty.

Sister Jezabelle of the Enraptured Sling, who is in charge of the safe-sex ministry, spoke about his experiences with STDs and HIV. "When you're with a person, looking at them eye to eye, smelling them, and your partner is touching you in all the right places and the electricity is flowing and all you want is for that person to go right in, remember that you can create life or transmit a disease," said Jezabelle of the Enraptured Sling.

Jezabelle is HIV positive and has had multiple STDs, including syphilis, gonorrhea, and MRSA, which is a form of staff.

To promote safer sex, the Sisters have put up pages on their website called "Top Ten Ways Clever Sluts 'N Ho's Stay Alive" and "Top Ten Ways Clever Drag Queens Stay Alive".

Sister Dinah Might ("If you ask her right") is 55 and says she has been out since she was 5. "I was putting on my mother's make-up in 1958," said Dinah Might.

Dinah Might has been a post-operative female since 1995 and works in the transgender ministry for the Sisters. "I don't believe in gay people, heterosexual people, or transgendered people," she said. "There's only one kind of people on this planet and that is human."

Sister Sara Femme, who also works in the transgender ministry with Dinah Might, says she was born with a lot of gender-related issues. "I was a big, hairy girl," said Sara Femme. While she still is biologically a woman, Sara Femme identifies with the inter-sex community because of the way she looks.

According to Sara Femme, inter-sex is a newer term that refers to people who fall in neither a male or female category, but were born with ambiguous genitalia or gender characteristics.

Growing up, Sara Femme was teased a lot and had a difficult time figuring out where she fit in. "In the end, it's all about loving yourself because if you don't love yourself, who is going to love you?" she said.

Many students who attended the lecture were given extra credit as an incentive from their biology class, but most were happy they went.

"It was very informative and it was a very friendly and open environment," said Juliana Bushore, 19, an art and interior design major.

Jessica Presley-Grusin, an 18-year-old business major, came to the event for personal benefit. "This is a diverse campus, but so many people still don't know about LGBT or safe sex," said Presley-Grusin. "A lot of students think they know all about safe sex when they don't."

For more information about the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, go to www.thesisters.org.