NEWARK (NJ)
New Jersey Monthly Magazine [Morristown NJ]
July 18, 2025
By James LaForge
Shadow of Hope examines the People of Hope, a fringe religious group that thrived in North Jersey from the late 1970s to the early ’90s.
It’s Sunday, October 27, 1985, in Berkeley Heights. The usual suburban sounds of birds chirping and neighbors chatting are drowned out by a chorus of some 200 protestors at Little Flower Church. The demonstrators’ grievance: Their township and parish are being infiltrated by what they view as a cult.
The organization in question, People of Hope, thrived in North Jersey from the late 1970s to the early ’90s. What started as a charismatic prayer group became the subject of abuse allegations and national news headlines.
Karen Ann Coburn was a Cranford teenager whose mother was briefly involved with the organization in its early days. In her recent podcast, Shadow of Hope, the writer attempts to bring this cryptic piece of Jersey history to light. “I had been a journalist, and in the back of my head all those years, I thought, There’s a story there,” Coburn says.
People of Hope was founded as a prayer group by a Newark priest and eventually opened chapters across New Jersey with members as far away as Long Island. At its height, the community had unofficial estimates of 3,000 members, who were encouraged to sell their homes and relocate to Berkeley Heights, and later Warren Township, to be closer to community leaders.
But as People of Hope grew, so did evidence of a disturbing culture of control, Coburn alleges in her podcast. Accounts by former members and church archives reveal that People of Hope instructed parents to use physical discipline on infants and suggested withholding food as punishment. Strict gender roles were upheld, requiring girls to wear skirts and discouraging fathers from attending the births of their children. Sexual abuse allegations were levied against leaders. Author Margaret Atwood has cited the group, whose community coordinators’ wives were called handmaids, as part of her inspiration for the 1985 novel The Handmaid’s Tale and the Hulu series based on the book.
As the 1980s came to a close, People of Hope’s membership dwindled. The organization still exists, and was recognized by the Archdiocese of Newark in 2006. Though the group looks much different than its 20th-century version, many of its original members still feel the effects of its history. People of Hope declined to comment for this article.
Coburn has little memory of her short time with the organization beyond a prayer meeting she attended at 14 where members spoke in tongues and girls played flutes.
Still, the seed was planted in her mind. Inspired by investigative nonfiction podcasts like S-Town and This American Life, Coburn wanted to apply a similar format to a story from the Garden State. In her interviews on Shadow of Hope, she tries to humanize the New Jerseyans who were affected by the group. “I’m on a lifelong quest to redeem New Jersey and take it back from all the jokes,” says Coburn. “I want people to hear a Jersey accent and then hear that these are intelligent, compassionate and interesting people.”
Ultimately, Coburn’s goal was to shine a light on high-control groups and create empathy for those who find themselves in their grasp. “We all have to remain vigilant to protect our freedom of thought, because there are real consequences to that,” she says.