Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2003, Page 230
job when he refused to do so. At this point, Christine decided to support him and leave the
group.
Another former member, who left once but returned after three days, said that ―the
emotional pressure put on you to return is enormous. I realized that the only way of getting
out was to be cast out, which meant I had to so something really bad.‖ So he committed
adultery and confessed to his wife. ―I was out within hours [and] I‘ve never had a
conversation with my wife since that moment.‖
The Brethren, founded in 1863, have a long history of family schisms. In 1959, thousands
left the sect when it banned eating and drinking with ―worldly people.‖ (Julia Llewellyn
Smith, Sunday Telegraph, London, 3/16/03)
Gloriavale Community
Ex-Follower Wants to Be Paid for Life of Work
Mark Christian, the 21-year-old grandson of the Gloriavale Community leader Hopeful
Christian, says he wants to be paid $80,000 for work he did over many years while
growing up in the organization. He was one of some 300 people in the settlement next to
Lake Haupri, in New Zealand, working on the land and in community businesses. He says he
wanted to continue school, but was forced to leave at age 15, and that when young people
turn 18, they sign commitments that they‘re going to work for no pay. Christian‘s lawyer,
David Beck, says that the Community is simply running a trading [sic] organization based
on slave labor.
Hopeful Christian says that what people earn goes into a pool to run the school and
businesses, and to feed and house them all. (OneNews, Internet, 4/20/03)
Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians
Child Must Wait to Take Peyote
White Cloud, MI, Family Court judge Graydon Dimkoff has prohibited Jonathan Howler, a
member of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, from giving his
son sacramental peyote at American Indian ceremonies. The judge said that the 4-year-old
must wait until he is physically and emotionally ready for it, and when he has permission of
both parents. Fowler‘s former wife, the boy‘s mother, objects to the peyote, which the judge
described as ―dangerous.‖ Fowler says that the judge‘s action infringes on his religious
freedom. (AP, Internet, 4/23/03)
House of Prayer
Group Sues State for Custodial Child Abuse
The House of Prayer, some of whose members were convicted of child abuse last year,
have filed a federal lawsuit charging that when the state took some of its children into
protective custody, it sent them to foster homes and institutions more abusive than their
families‘ homes. The suit, which details the alleged abuse, also says that police used
excessive force and injured some children when they took them into custody.
Meanwhile, authorities have issued a warrant for the arrest of the House of Prayer Leader,
the Rev. Arthur Allen, Jr., because he has not complied with the terms of his court-
ordered counseling. (Jill Young Miller, Atlanta Journal-Constitution Internet, 3/1/03)
job when he refused to do so. At this point, Christine decided to support him and leave the
group.
Another former member, who left once but returned after three days, said that ―the
emotional pressure put on you to return is enormous. I realized that the only way of getting
out was to be cast out, which meant I had to so something really bad.‖ So he committed
adultery and confessed to his wife. ―I was out within hours [and] I‘ve never had a
conversation with my wife since that moment.‖
The Brethren, founded in 1863, have a long history of family schisms. In 1959, thousands
left the sect when it banned eating and drinking with ―worldly people.‖ (Julia Llewellyn
Smith, Sunday Telegraph, London, 3/16/03)
Gloriavale Community
Ex-Follower Wants to Be Paid for Life of Work
Mark Christian, the 21-year-old grandson of the Gloriavale Community leader Hopeful
Christian, says he wants to be paid $80,000 for work he did over many years while
growing up in the organization. He was one of some 300 people in the settlement next to
Lake Haupri, in New Zealand, working on the land and in community businesses. He says he
wanted to continue school, but was forced to leave at age 15, and that when young people
turn 18, they sign commitments that they‘re going to work for no pay. Christian‘s lawyer,
David Beck, says that the Community is simply running a trading [sic] organization based
on slave labor.
Hopeful Christian says that what people earn goes into a pool to run the school and
businesses, and to feed and house them all. (OneNews, Internet, 4/20/03)
Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians
Child Must Wait to Take Peyote
White Cloud, MI, Family Court judge Graydon Dimkoff has prohibited Jonathan Howler, a
member of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, from giving his
son sacramental peyote at American Indian ceremonies. The judge said that the 4-year-old
must wait until he is physically and emotionally ready for it, and when he has permission of
both parents. Fowler‘s former wife, the boy‘s mother, objects to the peyote, which the judge
described as ―dangerous.‖ Fowler says that the judge‘s action infringes on his religious
freedom. (AP, Internet, 4/23/03)
House of Prayer
Group Sues State for Custodial Child Abuse
The House of Prayer, some of whose members were convicted of child abuse last year,
have filed a federal lawsuit charging that when the state took some of its children into
protective custody, it sent them to foster homes and institutions more abusive than their
families‘ homes. The suit, which details the alleged abuse, also says that police used
excessive force and injured some children when they took them into custody.
Meanwhile, authorities have issued a warrant for the arrest of the House of Prayer Leader,
the Rev. Arthur Allen, Jr., because he has not complied with the terms of his court-
ordered counseling. (Jill Young Miller, Atlanta Journal-Constitution Internet, 3/1/03)
