‘It saved me’: Adelaide ‘God Squad’ cult survivor tells all
An Adelaide woman says a globally-watched ritual saved her after a religious cult was shut down over abuse allegations.
When Serafina was still a teenager, everything she knew about the world was suddenly turned on its head. Her upbringing was vastly different to most in the community, she grew up in a controversial New Zealand religious cult commune and, when it was disbanded, Serafina felt like her life was a lie.
Now, she has regained a sense of community feared lost through her own successful television show Cycle Adventures with Serafina and Gus.
Camp David, or the “God Squad” cult, was established at Waipara, New Zealand in the 1970s and thrived under its leader Douglas Metcalf, who his followers believed was the Messiah, until his death in 1989.
Large watchtowers and looming walls kept members inside the closed-wall 100-hectare commune alongside stockpiles of firearms and ammunition, with members believing Jesus Christ would return and they were chosen to protect him from outside enemies.
Members followed rigid, modest clothing rules enforced by the camp leader, with women and young girls required to wear covered shoulders, long skirts and headscarves.
Serafina joined the commune with her family at a young age and recalls spending many years of her life living in tents and on a bus. But the cult was torn apart in 1995 when the sexual abuse of women at the hands of Metcalf and other pastors came to light, and the commune was eventually wound up and sold.
Suddenly, the walls came tumbling down and Serafina was forced to negotiate an open world.
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“It all fell apart when I was 17. So then you’re just out in the world and it was like my whole life was a big lie,” Serafina told InDaily.
“I thought I would be dead by the time I was 20, because I thought we’d be hunted and persecuted and killed as Christians because that’s what we were taught and that’s what I believed.
“But I always wanted to travel and I thought I’ll just travel when Jesus comes back. I’m not religious at all now, but that was what I thought.”
After spending years travelling the world through countries including the Netherlands and Japan, she ultimately settled on living in Adelaide for its “connectedness” and “zero degrees of separation”.
It was during the 2020 Covid lockdown that Serafina came up with the idea for Cycle Adventures, first uploading short videos to YouTube before its current successful showing on community television channels globally.
The show – now co-hosted with her friend Gus McCusker – has monthly viewers reportedly reaching upwards of 75,000 a week and Serafina says it is just the beginning, with plans to continue the show’s global growth and social media presence.
Cycling has become a ritual that Serafina says “saved” her life, while a recent legal change in her name from Miriyum – the one given by the cult – to simply Serafina, has helped her “claim” herself.
“You can’t grow up in a religious cult and turn out completely fine. Life gets hard and it’s a journey,” Serafina said.
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“Cycling is like meditation. It gets you out of your head, it gets you into your body, and it gives you confidence.
“Nobody else is turning those pedals. It’s you turning those pedals.”
Through her five years of hosting Cycle Adventures, Serafina says she has been “given back” a community feared lost forever.
“When you grow up in a closed community, even if it’s a high control community, that’s your home, that’s your family, they’re your people, and that’s all you know,” she said.
“When that falls apart, what do you have? You travel the world looking for that, and then as corny as it sounds, I feel like I found that here.
“Everything I do with cycling and the community is about bringing people together, and I just say everyone’s welcome. I say this to people on Cycle Adventures that everyone’s welcome here, just don’t be a dick.”
Alongside her co-host Gus, Serafina now travels by bike across the state exploring destinations, landscapes, communities, culture and food in regional and rural Australia.
But the show is more than just about cycling, Serafina says, it is about showcasing local communities and building strong connections with people.
She recently cycled through Burra in SA’s mid-north region, and has featured episodes in Christchurch, New Zealand, WA’s Rottnest Island and the Yarra Ranges in Victoria.
“Everything’s unscripted. It’s just real life, it’s just in the moment, so that if you’re watching it you feel like you’re another person there just hanging out with us,” she said.
“You’re giving voice to people who otherwise wouldn’t have one. They’re just amazing people.
“Everyone comes from all different walks of life. I’ve had different experiences at different stages of life, and cycling has united us all.”
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