Sect woos recruits among the fairy floss at Easter Show - USA/Australia
Tim Elliott; 24/3/08
Among the fairy floss and fun rides at this year’s Royal Easter Show, one of the most popular attractions is the Common Ground cafe, a wholefood outlet that specialises in organic breads and barramundi burgers. The show’s website touts the cafe’s “unique flavours and energy”, calling it “a must for every showgoer”. But the Common Ground cafe is one of several businesses owned and operated by the Community Apostolic Order, also known as the Twelve Tribes, a messianic Christian sect accused by former members of harsh child discipline which in some cases could amount to child abuse, family break-up and thought control. Founded in 1971 in Tennessee by a former carnival barker called Elbert Eugene Spriggs, the 3000-strong group has been embroiled in several high-profile scandals overseas. Members in the US were convicted recently of child sex offences and child labour violations. “This is a secretive group that’s causing grief to a lot of people,” said David Millikan, a Uniting Church minister and cult expert. “Their whole history is surrounded by untold stories of destruction.”
See: http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/sect-woos-recruits-among-the-fairy-floss-at-easter-show/2008/03/23/1206206934258.html
Spare the rod and spoil the …; 24/3/08; http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/spare-the-rod-and-spoil-the-133/2008/03/23/1206206927458.html