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The Rev. Lia Scholl leads
The Rev. Lia Scholl prepares cookies for women in the |
BY AMY FLOWERS UMBLE
God finds strippers in mysterious ways.
In religious pamphlets warning of sins, which miraculously show up in the bathrooms of strip clubs.
In the glares of churchgoers who encounter exotic dancers.
In the men who pay for lap dances on Saturday nights and slip into pews the next morning.
In the missionary zeal of evangelists who tell the dancers that Jesus loves them, as long as they stop taking their clothes off for money.
And in the Rev. Lia Scholl, who walks into Richmond clubs with gifts for the dancers, teaches them how to save their money, talks to them on the phone and ends every conversation by saying, "I love you, you're a star."
Those words--and the attitude behind them--set Scholl apart, said a Philadelphia stripper who used the stage name Brooke and who met Scholl on the Internet.
The club where Brooke works employs several churchgoers, she said.
"God is present, and we really don't talk about it because so many people have been hurt by evangelicals, the pressure and the condemnation," said Brooke, who grew up Southern Baptist. "You feel almost dirty, and a lot churches do make you feel that way."
But Scholl, an ordained Baptist minister who preaches Sunday mornings at a Richmond Mennonite fellowship, presents another side to religion.
"She's of the attitude that Jesus loves strippers, too, and that Jesus is going to love you even if you dance and that he's going to care about you as a person, regardless," Brooke said.
Scholl, who will preach in Fredericksburg on Sunday afternoon, formed Star Light Ministries in 2000 while attending seminary. She began in Birmingham, Ala., with a welfare-to-work program for women leaving the sex industry.
Scholl met mothers who stripped at night so they could spend days with their children. Teachers who stripped because their jobs didn't pay enough. Women who stripped because they needed fast money.
Brooke, for example, became a stripper nine years ago because she needed money for a car to visit her infant daughter. She had a college degree and worked as an editorial assistant, but couldn't make ends meet.
Scholl thought the dancers were damaged by stigmas. Brooke said stripping had many other downsides: eight hours in 7-inch heels, $200 for a dress and getting solicited every night.
You lose your friends quickly. If they don't judge you for stripping, they can't keep up with the crazy schedule of dancing. And forget romantic relationships.
"You can lose a date very quickly by saying, 'Hey, I was a stripper,'" said Brooke. "They'll want to sleep with you in a heartbeat, but as far as creating relationships or marrying you "
And when a stripper gets ready to move on, she'll have an empty space on her resume. She can't write "stripping."
And most jobs can't offer the same money. In a good club in Las Vegas, for example, Brooke sometimes earned $1,200 in four hours.
Scholl created Star Light Ministries, training chaplains to visit strip clubs, to offer friendship and support.
The ministry moved to Richmond in 2005 and works in four states. Scholl also counsels strippers across the country through her Web site.
About eight churches have partnered with the ministry. Scholl admits many have been slow to embrace her work.
They get the general concept, she said.
"I think most people resonate with second chances and third chances and 70-times-seven chances," she said, referring to the number of times the Bible said Christians are supposed to forgive.
Some churches want the ministry to counsel women to get out of the business. Or to provide more data on how it changes their lives.
"The idea that a woman who is a stripper can be included in the family of God is a really hard thing for people to get through," she said.
But for the Rev. Scott Erwin of Revolution, a downtown Fredericksburg church, it's not so tough. His church will host Scholl on Sunday at its worship service and hold a benefit concert for Star Light Ministries afterward.
"Jesus upset the apple cart with who he hung out with," Erwin said. "And what would upset the apple cart more than if Jesus was at a ministry with the women who are stripping and the men whose lives are so empty that they're going to strip clubs?"
Amy Flowers Umble: 540/735-1973
Email: aumble@freelancestar.com
WHAT: Kate Campbell concert WHEN: Tomorrow, 6 p.m. WHERE: 810 Caroline St., third floor WHO: Revolution, a downtown church, will host the concert to benefit Star Light Ministries. WHY: $10 admission will benefit the ministries' Exotic Dancer MBA program, which teaches dancers how to save money, giving the women more choices in their lives. DETAILS: The Rev. Lia Scholl will preach at 4 p.m. at Revolution. ON THE NET: www.starlightministries.org ; www.katecampbell.com; www.downtown-revolution.org |
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KATE CAMPBELL
The Rev. Scott Erwin, pastor of Revolution, has wanted to get singer Kate Campbell to Fredericksburg since he moved to the area in 2001. "Her music fits in Fredericksburg," he said. "Her songs are about stories, and Fredericksburg is a place of stories."
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