Gloriavale founder, Neville Cooper, know as Hopeful Christian, died on Tuesday at his community on the South Island’s West Coast. He had been suffering from cancer. Cooper’s funeral took place on Wednesday, but outsiders were not allowed to attend. They were able to email condolence messages to the community. Two cars blocked the entrance to the Read more
There is a battle going on for the souls of the people of Gloriavale – a battle that is taking place night after night at the fundamentalist Christian community Religious groups are undertaking night-time raids to drop off material that presents a different view of God. Read more
The controversial community of Gloriavale is under scrutiny again after a document that seeks to legally bind members to secrecy was revealed. The document allegedly included clauses that stopped members from speaking about the community to outsiders and others that prohibited any legal action, TVNZ reported. Continue reading
Ben Canaan is disappointed there are so many sensationalised accounts of Gloriavale. He thought the documentary aire late last month A Woman’s Place, which aired in late July, “accurately portrayed” parts of the community, but did not ask the hard questions. He said good and bad things and people existed in all communities, but the Read more
Every winter for the past three years we’ve been offered another rare glimpse inside the controversial West Coast Christian community, through a series of documentary specials which increasingly seem to be little more than a NZ On Air-funded PR exercise for one of the country’s richest churches. Wednesday night’s instalment, provocatively subtitled A Woman’s Place, Read more
According to Nielsen statistics, a whopping 429,000 Kiwis tuned into TV2’s Gloriavale special, A Woman’s Place on Wednesday night. The doco-series follows the young residents living in an exclusive Christian community on New Zealand’s West Coast, as they prepare for marriage, parenthood and life at Gloriavale. Gloriavale aired during the 8.30pm timeslot on TV2, with Read more
Segregated education at the secretive Gloriavale sect will not be investigated despite concerns for children’s rights, a select committee has decided. The Education Review Office was called before the Education and Science Select Committee today to explain why the extreme fundamentalist school was allowed to teach separate subjects for girls and boys, and stop education Read more
Gloriavale’s leaders have been told government funding for its three early childhood centres – which topped $2.4 million over a year – is likely to be at risk. Gloriavale could lose its funding because it is opposed to identification numbers for preschoolers. “Gloriavale … disagree with the use of a student number for their children,” said Read more
A family of 14 has left the West Coast’s Gloriavale Christian commune to make a new home in Timaru. Last Monday, a Facebook post circulated with details of the family’s plight, asking people for donations of housing, food, money, clothes, household items and a vehicle. The Facebook page has since been deleted. “This family came to Read more
A company owned by the Gloriavale Christian Community, on the West Coast, expects to drill a new oil well this spring with a rig that has recently arrived from Korea. Ocean Harvest International Ltd (OHIL) is planning the new well on the Niagara structure near Greymouth. Gloriavale’s geological consultant, Murry Cave, said oil had been Read more