Inside NSW’s most bizarre religious sects

INTERNATIONAL CHURCHES OF CHRISTWhile the ICC appears to be an outwardly respectable religious organisation, hundreds of people have fought to escape the control of the sect, which has a presence in NSW.Founded in Boston in 1979 by radical preacher Kip McKean, the group became renowned for its extreme views and rigid teaching of the Bible, but mainstream churches quickly disavowed the group.Followers believe only they will achieve true salvation and everyone else is doomed to the depths of hell. Sex before marriage is regarded as a sin and any potential romantic partners need to be approved by the church. Members are encouraged to isolate themselves from family and friends in order to prioritise their “spiritual” family.Much of ICC’s recruitment focuses on university students, with many active groups operating on NSW campuses. Although the group has formally been banned from universities across the country, they remain connected by changing their name.Emma Hodgkins, from Wollongong, was 22 years old when she became involved with ICC. She was convinced to cut off all communications with her family, and it took over a year for her mother Ros to help her get free from the sect’s emotional abuse.TWELVE TRIBESMembers of Twelve Tribes can often be seen serving sandwiches and hot apple cider in the Blue Mountains town of Katoomba. Following a mix of Christian fundamentalism, Hebrew roots and Messianic beliefs, the group claims to live like the first disciples and follows the teachings of founder Eugene Elbert Spriggs, who is considered a modern-day apostle.While founded in the US, the sect has been in Australia since the 1990s, with communes in Picton, Katoomba and Coledale near Wollongong.Conventional medicine is shunned, women must be subservient to men, children are homeschooled, marriage is forbidden outside the group, and information and technology from the outside world is restricted (although they do have a website).People who join the sect are asked to sell their possessions and give their money to the group because they believe all belongings are communal.To fund their communes, the sect has opened successful cafes and bakeries around the world.Child-rearing is strict. The group’s 300-plus page child-rearing manual demands children who are not unquestioningly obedient be spanked for any breach with a 50cm-thin rod, with “training” beginning at six months of age.Toys are forbidden, as is imaginary play, and children must be supervised at all times by an adult. Members other than parents can administer discipline.The Twelve Tribes has repeatedly denied allegations of child abuse.HERMES FAR EASTERN SHINING Tucked away in the Hinterland of Byron Bay, Hermes Far Eastern Shining is a spiritual group that claims to use alchemy to bring its followers “enlightenment”.Far from being an innocent New Age group, Hermes Far Eastern Shining, also known as the Water People, previously recruited members from festivals and universities before moving them to a property at Tygalum near Byron Bay.The spiritual group was founded in 1990 by Gerald Attrill, a clinical psychologist who renamed himself Jess O’My Heart. His wife changed her name to Showme Seven Showers.The group claims to create artefacts that enlighten mankind, selling them for hundreds of dollars.Their most popular are the “alchymeic wands”. The group claims wands can be placed under pillows to help sleep, tapped on the side of water glasses to imbue energy, or strapped to garden hoses so watered plants may receive an “alchymeic blessing”.The most expensive of these wands retails on the group’s website for $720.The sellers claim the wands “unlock the archaeological site of the born condition”.Ann Fitzgerald, who escaped the group, said they worked her like a slave.She spent 16 hours a day working for free in the group’s tearoom and shop in Tyalgum, dispatching artefacts and working as Jessa’s housekeeper at his cottage.“I realised I was being conned,” she recalls.THE FAMILY INTERNATIONAL Once known as the Children of God, the religious sect rebranded as The Family International in 2004.Best known for being the sect that US actor Joaquin Phoenix grew up in, COG was started in California in 1968 by David “Moses” Berg. Berg preached that sex should not be limited by age or relationship, as sex was synonymous with God. By the early 1990s there were almost 1000 COG followers in Australia, when police seized more than 120 children in raids across Victoria and NSW, fearing they were being subjected to sexual and psychological abuse.One court was told the sect said children should have sex with adults and that young girls should act in a “provocative, enticing and pleasing way”.The courts eventually returned the children to their families at the end of 1992, finding no evidence they were in danger.KENJAThe Australian company Kenja prefers to be called a “training facility”.Founded in 1982 by Kenneth Dyers and his partner Jan Hamilton, Kenja says its goal is “to increase understanding of the spiritual nature of man and our relation to the human spirit, coupled with practical training in the basics of effective communication — time, space and energy”.Dyers faced multiple allegations of child sex abuse before taking his own life in 2007.He was charged with 22 counts of sexual assault relating to alleged assaults on two underage girls during Kenja counselling sessions but was deemed unfit for trial.A parliamentary committee inquiry in 2021 heard the organisation had a culture of “complete control” which institutionalised child sexual abuse.SHINCHEONJIThe Shincheonji Church of Jesus was founded in South Korea in 1984. Since then they have spread to Australia and other parts of the world.Ex-members of the group said they were recruited at train stations and on university campuses, including the University of Sydney, despite being banned.Much of the group’s success hinges around the personality of its leader Lee Man-hee, who claims to be the second coming of Jesus Christ.His followers believe on judgement day their leader will help 144,000 believers receive eternal life as “high priests”. This poses a problem for the church, which claims over 200,000 members in South Korea and even more globally including Australia.The selective nature of those who can be saved creates fierce competition within the church. As a result members are encouraged to donate more of their money and spend more of their time recruiting others.Ex-members have reported being encouraged to quit their work and studies and dedicate their lives to the church as well as isolate themselves from family and friends.

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March 26, 2023 at 11:30PM
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INTERNATIONAL CHURCHES OF CHRISTWhile the ICC appears to be an outwardly respectable religious organisation, hundreds of people have fought to escape the control of the sect, which has a presence in NSW.Founded in Boston in 1979 by radical preacher Kip McKean, the group became renowned for its extreme views and rigid teaching of the Bible, but mainstream churches quickly disavowed the group.Followers believe only they will achieve true salvation and everyone else is doomed to the depths of hell. Sex before marriage is regarded as a sin and any potential romantic partners need to be approved by the church. Members are encouraged to isolate themselves from family and friends in order to prioritise their “spiritual” family.Much of ICC’s recruitment focuses on university students, with many active groups operating on NSW campuses. Although the group has formally been banned from universities across the country, they remain connected by changing their name.Emma Hodgkins, from Wollongong, was 22 years old when she became involved with ICC. She was convinced to cut off all communications with her family, and it took over a year for her mother Ros to help her get free from the sect’s emotional abuse.TWELVE TRIBESMembers of Twelve Tribes can often be seen serving sandwiches and hot apple cider in the Blue Mountains town of Katoomba. Following a mix of Christian fundamentalism, Hebrew roots and Messianic beliefs, the group claims to live like the first disciples and follows the teachings of founder Eugene Elbert Spriggs, who is considered a modern-day apostle.While founded in the US, the sect has been in Australia since the 1990s, with communes in Picton, Katoomba and Coledale near Wollongong.Conventional medicine is shunned, women must be subservient to men, children are homeschooled, marriage is forbidden outside the group, and information and technology from the outside world is restricted (although they do have a website).People who join the sect are asked to sell their possessions and give their money to the group because they believe all belongings are communal.To fund their communes, the sect has opened successful cafes and bakeries around the world.Child-rearing is strict. The group’s 300-plus page child-rearing manual demands children who are not unquestioningly obedient be spanked for any breach with a 50cm-thin rod, with “training” beginning at six months of age.Toys are forbidden, as is imaginary play, and children must be supervised at all times by an adult. Members other than parents can administer discipline.The Twelve Tribes has repeatedly denied allegations of child abuse.HERMES FAR EASTERN SHINING Tucked away in the Hinterland of Byron Bay, Hermes Far Eastern Shining is a spiritual group that claims to use alchemy to bring its followers “enlightenment”.Far from being an innocent New Age group, Hermes Far Eastern Shining, also known as the Water People, previously recruited members from festivals and universities before moving them to a property at Tygalum near Byron Bay.The spiritual group was founded in 1990 by Gerald Attrill, a clinical psychologist who renamed himself Jess O’My Heart. His wife changed her name to Showme Seven Showers.The group claims to create artefacts that enlighten mankind, selling them for hundreds of dollars.Their most popular are the “alchymeic wands”. The group claims wands can be placed under pillows to help sleep, tapped on the side of water glasses to imbue energy, or strapped to garden hoses so watered plants may receive an “alchymeic blessing”.The most expensive of these wands retails on the group’s website for $720.The sellers claim the wands “unlock the archaeological site of the born condition”.Ann Fitzgerald, who escaped the group, said they worked her like a slave.She spent 16 hours a day working for free in the group’s tearoom and shop in Tyalgum, dispatching artefacts and working as Jessa’s housekeeper at his cottage.“I realised I was being conned,” she recalls.THE FAMILY INTERNATIONAL Once known as the Children of God, the religious sect rebranded as The Family International in 2004.Best known for being the sect that US actor Joaquin Phoenix grew up in, COG was started in California in 1968 by David “Moses” Berg. Berg preached that sex should not be limited by age or relationship, as sex was synonymous with God. By the early 1990s there were almost 1000 COG followers in Australia, when police seized more than 120 children in raids across Victoria and NSW, fearing they were being subjected to sexual and psychological abuse.One court was told the sect said children should have sex with adults and that young girls should act in a “provocative, enticing and pleasing way”.The courts eventually returned the children to their families at the end of 1992, finding no evidence they were in danger.KENJAThe Australian company Kenja prefers to be called a “training facility”.Founded in 1982 by Kenneth Dyers and his partner Jan Hamilton, Kenja says its goal is “to increase understanding of the spiritual nature of man and our relation to the human spirit, coupled with practical training in the basics of effective communication — time, space and energy”.Dyers faced multiple allegations of child sex abuse before taking his own life in 2007.He was charged with 22 counts of sexual assault relating to alleged assaults on two underage girls during Kenja counselling sessions but was deemed unfit for trial.A parliamentary committee inquiry in 2021 heard the organisation had a culture of “complete control” which institutionalised child sexual abuse.SHINCHEONJIThe Shincheonji Church of Jesus was founded in South Korea in 1984. Since then they have spread to Australia and other parts of the world.Ex-members of the group said they were recruited at train stations and on university campuses, including the University of Sydney, despite being banned.Much of the group’s success hinges around the personality of its leader Lee Man-hee, who claims to be the second coming of Jesus Christ.His followers believe on judgement day their leader will help 144,000 believers receive eternal life as “high priests”. This poses a problem for the church, which claims over 200,000 members in South Korea and even more globally including Australia.The selective nature of those who can be saved creates fierce competition within the church. As a result members are encouraged to donate more of their money and spend more of their time recruiting others.Ex-members have reported being encouraged to quit their work and studies and dedicate their lives to the church as well as isolate themselves from family and friends.