Gloriavale – will they relocate overseas?

Opinion piece: Liz Gregory.

(Thoughts, opinions and views expressed here belong to Liz Gregory and may or may not represent the views of the Gloriavale Leavers’ Support Trust, former or current members of Gloriavale.).

Will Gloriavale relocate overseas?

Given the difficulties that Gloriavale are facing, many people in the wider public ask whether we think Gloriavale will upsticks and more to a new country. Perhaps one where they are more isolated and can fly under the radar of authorties and the media?

My assessment: History tells us that culty groups under pressure do move. What we now know of as Gloriavale (previously referred to a the Cooperites) moved to the West Coast from Springbank as they faced mounting pressure in the early 1990’s. Will they do it again? Might they relocate to their Indian branch? Or South America or a remote South Pacific atoll?

Might this be what the current disenfranchised third generation of community members need – an exciting and energetic project with a promise of utopia and security of salvation?

These are questions worth raising. But for various reasons I don’t see a mass migration away from New Zealand:

1. Moving to another country would take exceptional leadership skills and a vision. Leavers tell me there is no one who could successfully plan and execute the development of a new community in another country, and take the current population with them. Their original leader, Hopeful Christian, was the only person who could have successfully pulled off a move like that, but he died several years ago.
2. The original members of the community, and the majority of the leaders, are getting older. They are in their 70’s now and many of them have failing health.
3. Over the past few years Gloriavale leadership has lost the trust of many current members, and they are losing control week by week. I don’t believe they have the capacity to pull everyone back together and try to sign them up to a new utopian vision in another country.
4. Moving to a new country requires a lot of courage and excellent social and integration skills. I am not sure many families would feel confident making such a move.
5. In cults there are strong personalities who run rough-shod over people and have more influence than others. There are also family wars and tensions (all unspoken of course). Leavers regularly speak about particular family groups in “less then favourable terms”. The “unity” they say they have, doesn’t really exist in practice. This would make a mass move problematic.
6. There are still many men involved in court cases, or are under criminal investigation, or probation terms. I am sure some would struggle to receive the visas required for the move.
7. Finances are becoming very tight as the community spends more and more money on lawyers, and as their various income streams dry up. Where would they get the cash from to move and set up again? At present the physical buildings and assets are held in a Trust (which has charitable status). They have restrictions on what they can do with this money. (We can’t rule out a little group of followers might try this in the future if Gloriavale is eventually sold and all current and former members receive a payout.)

So, with all these factors in play, I believe it would be very difficult for the large group to relocate elsewhere and keep their values of sharing, unity, obedience and submission.

However, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the odd family or two decides to leave and head overseas and join a Hutterite-style community . But this is going to be more and more difficult, as many families have ailing parents in the community, and also young people who are not really going to be interested in living this kind of community life. And they would first need to receive the much hoped for “leadership blessing”, or they might not feel they are obeying God.

Gloriavale likes to remind their people of the Bible verse from Matthew 16:18/19,

“Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.  And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven…”

Gloriavale’s “keys” have become permission and access — where spiritual standing depends on leadership approval. This is very different from mainstream Christianity, where leaders are meant to serve, not rule, and the “keys” are understood as helping people meet Jesus — not controlling their lives.

As long as the leaders purport to be God’s authority here on earth in every “practical and spiritual” matter, the issue of where current members live will ultimately be decided by the leaders.

In their world there are only two options: Do what they think the leaders want to them to do (and get a blessing for any bespoke plan you may need). Or make your own decisions and deny their authority.

There are serious consequences for either option.

I guess it’s a case of watch and wait…