Church discovers alleged misuse of funds, preaches resilience

Editor’s Note: On Monday, the following statement was released for publication.
August 1, 2016 – This past Friday, leaders at Trinity Episcopal Church uncovered evidence that the church’s office manager had been misusing church credit cards for personal expenses.
The alleged misuse runs to multiple tens of thousands of dollars and includes numerous luxury items. The unauthorized expenses were found on two different credit cards and went back many months. The designations of the expenses had been altered in the church’s accounting software to incorrectly suggest that they were for ongoing capital projects or operating costs.
Upon discovering the unauthorized charges, church leaders moved quickly to freeze credit cards, alter bank logins, change locks on the church doors, file a police report, and take other steps to secure the finances of the church and its members. They say they are confident that accounts and members’ financial information are now protected, but advised members to keep an eye on their accounts just in case.
In a meeting on Sunday morning, congregation members reeled at the painful news that someone they had liked and trusted might have abused their trust so profoundly.
The church’s Treasurer blinked back tears as he recalled watching his young daughter empty her bag of pennies and quarters into the children’s offering, which is designated to buy winter clothes for kids in need through a local agency. He said he wasn’t sure how he was going to explain to her what had happened. But he reported that the church’s finances remained strong, and that it was important for the congregation to remember that its giving supported many good ministries that helped a lot of people.
In an emotional sermon, the church’s Pastor, Ian Reed Twiss, read a line from the church’s prayer book: “Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace.” He acknowledged that, like Jesus on the cross, the church community had been wounded. “That wounding is part of the cost of stretching out our arms wide to embrace all,” he said.
Then he reminded the congregation that its people were Trinity’s greatest treasure and that while they would now become wiser in their business practices, they were called by God to keep their arms open in a stance of vulnerability and love.