: By Michael Wright – Stuff – 19/05/2018 Few leaders meant as much to their cause as Hopeful Christian. So it was that, when the founder and spiritual leader of the reclusive Gloriavale Christian Community died this week, aged 91, the very future of the West Coast settlement was questioned. This…
: By: Martin van Beynen – 18/05/2018 (Video can be viewed in article link). OPINION: What is it that makes regular folks so fascinated by Gloriavale, the Christian sect of about 500 people based in godforsaken Haupiri on the West Coast? And believe me, people are. We can tell which stories…
: By Brad Flahive – Stuff – 15/05/2018 [Video can be viewed in article link] One of New Zealand’s most controversial figures has died after a battle with cancer, aged 92. Hopeful Christian, founder of the Gloriavale commune and convicted sex offender, died on Tuesday at the secluded community on the…
: By Jehan Casinader – Stuff – 15/05/2018 [Audio link in article] This story was first published in 2015, but has been republished after Hopeful Christian died after a battle with cancer on Tuesday. “Did you know”, Hopeful Christian whispers, “that some medical vaccines contain the embryos of aborted fetuses? Did…
: By Patrick Gower – 02/05/2018 (Video can be viewed in article link). A lawyer acting for a former Gloriavale member is preparing to take legal action against the fundamentalist Christian community. John Ready was kicked out of the sect after being caught with “religious contraband”. He was sacked from his…