Father of 15 speaks of new-found freedom after Gloriavale
By: Rachael Comer – 27/07/2019 (Video can be found in article link). Growing up in Gloriavale, the grandson of founder Hopeful Christian who died in 2018, Harrison said life had been controlled, busy and “if you went along with what they believed, life could be stress-free”. He, and his wife, had done just that, living […]
More help for Gloriavale members who make ‘massive’ decision to leave
By Rachael Comer – 25/07/2019 (Videos can be viewed in article link). Former Gloriavale members will soon have support available in the form of a trust set up by a group of South Canterbury residents who have helped dozens of people that have left the secluded religious community. During the past six years about 70 […]
Starting a new life outside of Gloriavale
By: Stuff Reporter – 25/07/2019 (Video and Audio can be accessed in article link). Former Gloriavale members James Harrison, his wife and twelve children fled the secluded West Coast religious community with little more than $40 and a sewing machine between them. In an interview with RNZ, Harrison said the support he was given by […]
Former Gloriavale resident’s dreams of pop stardom helped him escape
By: Al Williams – 23/06/2019 (Video can be viewed in article link). Enoch Loyal used to sneak away from Gloriavale as a teenager, and would reattach aerials to his transistor radio that had been removed by the sect’s leaders. Loyal, 20, would tune into FM radio during these clandestine missions and there he discovered the […]
Family of 11 leave Gloriavale over community’s new leadership
Newshub Reporter – 16/08/2018 (Video can be viewed in article link). A family of 11 have left Gloriavale for Timaru because of the secluded community’s new leadership. Newshub understands nine children aged between 15 months and 16 years old along with their parents have left the West Coast religious community. Read more here: https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2018/08/family-of-11-leave-gloriavale-over-community-s-new-leadership.html
Our fascination with Gloriavale is all about secrets, sex and salvation
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 on Stuff are well read […]
Lawyer prepares action over Gloriavale expulsion
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 job, ordered to leave with […]
Secretive religious community Gloriavale’s ‘Declaration of Commitment’ – revealing the rights members must sign away for the rest of their lives
By Paul Hobbs, 1News – 07/04/2018 [Video can be viewed in article link]. For the first time, the full details of Gloriavale’s “Declaration of Commitment” document can be unveiled. It includes an array of sweeping waivers, including how the religious group tries to legally bind people to a lifetime of servitude and secrecy. 1 News […]