Cupcake teams gather for brothel ministry conference
Cupcake teams gather for brothel ministry conference
20 October 2017
From left to right: Major Robbin Moulds, Nikki Capp and Major Heather Jenkins spoke at the Salvos Brothel Support Teams' annual conference in Melbourne last weekend.
Salvation Army “cupcake teams” from Victoria, NSW and South East Queensland gathered at Camberwell Corps in Melbourne for their annual conference on Saturday 14 October.
The teams, which make up the Salvos Brothel Support Teams Ministry, connect with and care for women working in the sex industry in Australia.
These teams are locally-based outreach ministry teams of corps or churches as part of local community engagement mission. They are led, administered and resourced through Camberwell Corps.
Across Australia, the teams visit more than 80 legal brothels in Melbourne and Geelong, eight in Auburn, Sydney, two in Tweed Heads, northern NSW, and nine in the Gold Coast/Brisbane area in South East Queensland.
Salvationist Nikki Capp, who has led this ministry over the past nine years, is a passionate advocate for the injustices faced by women around the world, particularly those that strip hope away from women through poverty, gender inequality and sexual exploitation. In addition to leading Salvos Cupcake Teams, Nikki is involved in advocacy and the movement for prostitution law reform in Australia.
An Advisory Group is also being established to lead the strategic direction of this ministry, with members from both senior Salvation Army leadership and key practitioners in the area.
Salvationists make up 60 per cent of the volunteer teams, with both Salvationists and women from a range of other churches also serving on visiting teams.
Guest speakers
Major Heather Jenkins, Camberwell Corps Officer, opened the conference, with a devotion centred on the topic of hope.
John Cleary, Salvationist, veteran ABC broadcaster and one of Australia’s best-known commentators on religion, gave the first presentation: “Our DNA – The Salvation Army and Prostituted Women.”
John’s colourful and story-packed presentation outlined the history of The Salvation Army’s work with prostituted women, including that of the first Australian commanders, James Barker and his wife Alice, who began this work in Melbourne in the 1880s.
Senior Sergeant Richard Farrelly, from the Victoria Police Sex Industry Coordination Unit, spoke to the women about some of the current challenges facing both legal brothels and the illegal sector, and the increasing work being done in the anti-trafficking space.
Major Robbin Moulds, Auburn Corps Officer and NSW contact for Salvos Cupcake Teams, led a workshop on personal boundaries, their importance in bringing order to our lives, and gaining a clearer sense of ourselves and our relationship with God and others.
The teams also shared working sessions on the challenges they face in their ministry, possible solutions, resources available and plans for the year ahead.
“It’s a blessing to have so many incredible, motivated, compassionate, Jesus-loving women together and engaged in this ministry, and it matters that we gather to share and learn from and encourage each other,” Nikki said.
Cupcake of hope
Through the gift of a cupcake, Salvos Cupcake Team members provide a contact point with Salvation Army services and communities where women can seek care and support, including assistance to exit the industry if they want to.
As a visible and available presence in brothels, strip clubs and other establishments, team members seek to reflect Jesus and connect with, and advocate on behalf of, vulnerable and marginalised women.
The teams listen to, care for, and build healthy and supportive relationships with the women, and with managers and receptionists in these environments, without judgement or discrimination.
Each team is also supported by a dedicated prayer team, and often baking teams from their corps or church.
“Our teams go out with the intent of sharing hope, life and transformation with those who are trying to survive on the margins,” Nikki said. “We are literally going into places of darkness and exploitation, to reach out to those who generally have little choice in being there.”
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