They were given support and were welcome to visit as long as they were respectful. “We were always taught that if you left the community you would be damned,” Courage said.
Alden Williams/Stuff
The Gloriavale Christian Community is located by Lake Haupiri on the West Coast. “The commitment vow we signed said if we didn’t obey the leaders it was ‘to the peril of our souls’.” Isaac Pilgrim, who left the community in 2018, said in his experience leavers could not easily visit the community. “Many have been denied the right to visit their families, even when they promised to come in peace. If you try there will be repercussions on the people you try to visit,” he said.
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Concern for ex-Gloriavale man missing in Christchurch
16 Dec, 2020 11:15 PM
Quick Read
NZ Herald
A man who spent 40 years living at West Coast religious sect Gloriavale is missing and those who care for him are extremely worried about him.
Peter Faithful has been missing from his Bishopdale home in Christchurch since Saturday morning.
Gloriavale Leavers Support Trust spokeswoman Liz Gregory said in the past two years Faithful has spent time in mental health facilities, and then with family in Christchurch.
Faithful is 62 years old with grey hair and a short grey beard.
Advertisement He is not thought to have taken any food or belongings with him, Gregory said.
He is described as having grey hair and a short grey beard, and was last seen wearing jeans, a blue shirt and black shoes. “He is not thought to have taken any food or belongings with him. He does not have a mobile phone and has no access to money,” the spokeswoman said. Faithful had selective mutism, and might not talk to strangers to ask for help. “Faithful has an affinity for remote areas, and it’s possible he may be in the wider forested regions of Christchurch, or he may have started walking or hitchhiking towards Greymouth,” the spokeswoman said.