New lawsuit against Southern Arizona religious sect alleges forced labor

Joshua Lilly lived in Global Community Communications Alliance communes both as a child and later as an adult from 2006 to 2016, when he led their construction work in southern Arizona, his lawsuit says. He directed the design and construction of more than 40 structures on the property near Tumacacori that the group moved to around 2007, it says.

“The physical compound upon which GCCA’s operations are conducted — its buildings, infrastructure, and facilities — was designed and constructed by Lilly and the crew he supervised during his years of uncompensated labor as GCCA’s licensed general contractor,” the lawsuit says.

Lilly is seeking compensation in Tucson’s U.S. District Court under federal laws banning coerced labor and labor trafficking, among other statutes. His lawsuit was initially filed July 23, and an amended complaint was filed Sept. 25.

Lilly’s allegations are similar to those made in two lawsuits filed in Santa Cruz County Superior Court, in late 2025 and in April this year. Those lawsuits, filed by women identifying themselves as Jane M. Doe and Jane S. Doe, also alleged a pattern of forced labor and coercion, as well as a cover-up of sexual abuse.

The labor and financial practices of the Global Community Communications Alliance were the focus of an Arizona Daily Star investigation published in June. It found that the group was dependent on the unpaid labor of its approximately 100 members and the operation of Soulistic Hospice in Tucson, which has brought the group millions of dollars in profits per year.

GCCA denied the allegations made in the three lawsuits. Its lawyers argued in a motion to dismiss the case, filed Sept. 11, that the statute of limitations on some of Lilly’s claims had expired, and that his labor was not coerced, as shown when he eventually left in 2016.

“Plaintiff repeatedly uses words like ‘force,’ ‘physical,’ and ‘legal coercion,’ but those are mere labels and conclusions that are not supported by the well pleaded facts. The complaint does not describe any assault, confinement, physical restraint, threats of bodily injury, or other forms of physical pressure. Nor does Plaintiff plausibly allege that legal process compelled him to perform labor.”

Beyond that, a representative of the community emphasized in a statement to the Star earlier this year that adults voluntarily join the community after a six-month trial period, and essentially take a vow of poverty like religious people in Catholicism and other religious traditions.

In a new email Friday, Selendra Calverio said: “Mr. Lilly freely chose as an adult to return to a religious community and take its vow, knowing its terms. GCCA disputes his allegations, which are untrue or misleading half-truths, and will vigorously contest them if this nascent case proceeds past dismissal motions phase.

Joshua Lilly initially joined the community when it was in Sedona, in 1990, when he was 12, the suit says. He is the son of Dan Lilly, who left the group in 2017, and Catherine “Centria” Lilly, who remains a leader in the group, overseeing its finances and businesses.

The GCCA began moving from Sedona to the property along the Santa Cruz River in 2007. That’s where, Lilly said, he performed most of his work, including leading the complicated construction of the group’s Trinity Dome, a landmark in the community, which is known as Avalon Gardens and Ecovillage.

Among the other structures the lawsuit says he renovated: The offices of Soulistic Hospice, 2344 E. Speedway in Tucson, and the group’s Sea of Glass arts and event venue, 330 E. 7th St.

The lawsuit says Lilly rejoined the group in 2006 because his wife wanted to and because his family members were still part of it. The suit outlines a series of “coercive” practices that kept him and other members in the group and working long days for it. Among them:

— Keeping members economically dependent by forcing them to hand over assets and even imposing debts to the group on some members

— Signing documents swearing that if a member leaves the GCCA, custody of the person’s children will stay with the remaining parent or with the GCCA

— Forcing members to disclose personal information in “counseling” that would then be shared with group leaders, and to inform on fellow members

— Labeling leaving the group “apostasy,” and enforcing a policy of shunning anyone who leaves the group

The founder and leader of the Global Community Communications Alliance was named Anthony Delevin when he arrived in Tucson and worked as a street preacher in the 1970s. He used different names related to the group’s religious beliefs, including Gabriel of Sedona, Gabriel of Urantia and TaliasVan, eventually changing his name legally to Van of Urantia before he died in August 2025.

His estate is one of the defendants in the suit, along with three businesses owned by the group and four leaders of it — including Lilly’s mother.