Photo: RNZ / Tim Brown
A Gloriavale mother-of-seven has denied working under the whip of its leaders and accused former members of making misleading and exaggerated claims about life at the West Coast commune.
Priscilla Stedfast has told an Employment Court hearing her husband did not rule over her like a slave and the concept of some kind of child labour force at Gloriavale was ridiculous.
Six former Gloriavale women - Serenity Pilgrim, Anna Courage, Rose Standtrue, Crystal Loyal, Pearl Valor and Virginia Courage - are seeking a ruling they were employees, not volunteers, living in slave-like conditions at the Christian community.
Stedfast - who is Gloriavale founder Hopeful Christian's granddaughter - said she was devoted to working for her family and friends and the leavers' claims were false.
"I work for them and God and I do not expect to be paid for my work, that is not why I live the sharing life," she said.
"I am not an employee and have never intended to be."
Stedfast said she had a happy marriage built on love, respect and Biblical values.
"The Bible formula for marriage is that husbands should love and cherish their wives, that wives should love and obey their husbands. This formula works - my husband does not rule over me like a slave," Stedfast said.
Former Gloriavale members told the court they worked long hours on a gruelling four-day rotation once they left school at the age of 15, including doing cooking, cleaning, communal and commercial laundry and preparing food.
Stedfast said it was unrealistic to claim Gloriavale women worked "flat-out" all day and rejected suggestions they were brainwashed.
"Being on the teams was not all work, work, work with a whip over us as the plaintiffs have suggested," she said.
"The leaders do not have absolute power over me and my children. They do not control the community and micro-manage our daily lives," she said.
Primary school children helped out at Gloriavale but were no longer rostered to work, Stedfast said.
"The concept that Gloriavale is running some kind of child labour force is ridiculous," she said.
"It has always been a feature of cultures with large families that children and young people play a big part in helping and are needed to take responsibilities at a younger age. This does not mean that they are slaves."
The court earlier heard women could not refuse to work without significant consequences, including denial of food, public shaming, corporal punishment, expulsion from the community and the threat of eternal damnation.
Stedfast rejected those claims, saying Gloriavale's culture and working conditions had changed a lot over the last year or two.
Last year, former members testified about sexual harassment and abuse at Gloriavale, where they said women and girls were always blamed for sexual misconduct.
Stedfast said there were now clear policies and guidelines for reporting abuse to police.
"It is true that there have been incidents of sexual abuse in the past and they are a painful part of everyone's memory," she said.
"That this sort of thing is treated in a casual way is false, that girls were blamed for everything is false, that most men at Gloriavale treat women and children inappropriately is utterly false.
"Gloriavale has systematically sought to root out such instances from the past and put them through due legal process."
Overseeing Shepherd Howard Temple had apologised for hugging girls and making them feel uncomfortable, Stedfast said.
"He was like a grandfather to those who didn't have one," she said.
"He doesn't give hugs any more. I don't believe there was anything sexual about it."
Priscilla Stedfast said the plaintiffs, leavers and the media had created an unfair impression of life at Gloriavale, conditioning the public to demonise the community.
"The people of Gloriavale have become the victims of discrimination and insult," she said.
"The financial situation at Gloriavale is desperate. With our income slashed and our companies boycotted, it is becoming increasingly hard to keep our head above water.
"Many people in society do not want to be associated with us. They scream at you on the street, people are rude to you over the phone, or tell you they do not want to deal with you when they see your email address."
Gloriavale's defendants are representing themselves for the remainder of the Employment Court case, because they say they cannot sustain the cost of a legal team.
At the opening of the hearing Samuel Valor told chief judge Christina Inglis he was "not a lawyer, not even a wannabe lawyer", but was was appearing on their behalf.
The hearing continues.