Hopeful Christian dies: What now for Gloriavale?

| Stuff | Paula Penfold and Eugene Bingham |

Phil Cooper is an exuberant, boisterous – and openly emotional – guy. But he’s uncharacteristically quiet when he calls and with good reason: an hour beforehand, he tells us, his father, Gloriavale founder Hopeful Christian, died after a battle with cancer.

He’s quiet because he’s numb, wondering how to process this news, having not seen his father for 22 years. He says he doesn’t know what emotions to feel.

Cooper is estranged from his father, having fled Gloriavale with his then-five children, 25 years ago.

His father, who was born Neville Cooper before changing his name to Hopeful Christian, was an Australian evangelist when he founded the religious sect then known as the Cooperites in 1969.

He loomed large over the community for almost 50 years, a domineering, charismatic presence.

Stuff Circuit witnessed Hopeful Christian’s leadership style a couple of times, most recently in 2015 when we were trying to seek answers over the death of a 14-year-old girl with Down Syndrome, Prayer Ready.

When Christian heard we were there, he burst into the room, refused to shake our hands, and said: “We’re not willing to talk to you. All you want to do is cause trouble. We’re not interested.”

Then aged in his late 80s, he stood over us, trying to physically intimidate us, while he and Fervent Stedfast trespassed us off the property.

Originally based at Cust in North Canterbury, the community was later moved to the shores of Lake Haupiri on the West Coast, and its name changed to Gloriavale – after Cooper senior’s first wife Gloria.

From this isolated, almost mystical location, the community based its teachings on the Bible but with strict interpretations, such as how to dress. Community members forfeit all income and must adhere to a document entitled “What we Believe”.

People marry young and have big families – usually more than 10 children. If someone leaves the community, they’re usually cut off from their family.

Neville Cooper was jailed in 1995 for sex offences. The community has been under investigation for the way children are disciplined. It’s also faced criticism over the past few years from former members who are left destitute when they leave.

19-year-old David Ready, who left Gloriavale 18 months ago, told Stuff Circuit: “Tonight I will be having my first ever drink.

“I was saving it for a special occasion, and this is it.”

He says with a tone of something like satisfaction in his voice: “Right now Hopeful Christian will be standing in front of God and he’s giving his account of everything he’s done. I would like to say to him ‘I hope it was worth it’.”

WHAT NOW FOR GLORIAVALE

For the past few years, an ageing Hopeful Christian has only nominally been the leader having stepped down from the trust which operates the community in 2010. However, he retained the title of “Overseeing Shepherd” and the power to reappoint himself to the trust board and to appoint other trustees.

Internal Affairs investigators who carried out a major inquiry into the running of the trust and allegations about the treatment of former community members sought to interview him in 2016. But their request was denied by the trust’s solicitors.

The running of the place has been left to what are called the “servants and shepherds” – and the two most senior of those are Howard Temple, known as the “Overseeing Shepherd’s Appointed Successor”, and secretary/treasurer Fervent Stedfast.

Last year the trust earned $19 million.

David Ready predicts those leaders will try to keep Hopeful Christian’s memory and legacy alive for a couple of years, rather than immediately replace him as leader.

“They will try to preserve his use of power. He would use everything – power, charisma – to get what he wanted. They will want to continue that legacy”.

But he predicts that in time, the likely successor is Fervent Stedfast, because he would be more interested than Howard Temple in vying for the job.

As for Phil Cooper, the inevitable death of his father is something he’s been thinking about for the past 15 years, but it’s happened before he achieved any resolution.

“I’ve always prayed that one day I would get the chance to speak to him face to face. Regardless of what he’d done, you’ve got to love him as your dad.

“It would be great to go to his funeral and pay my respects, but obviously that’s not going to happen.”