Church administrator resigns after money found to be missing, officials say

An administrator at Garber United Methodist Church has resigned after she was found to have taken a large amount of money over several years, according to church leaders.

Church members were told about the missing money in a letter from Garber’s 2008 Administrative Council. The 19-member council oversees church administration.

The council’s letter said the church’s director of administration had agreed to make restitution. The former administrator could not be reached for comment.

“She acknowledged that she and she alone, took funds from Garber for personal use,” the letter said. Church officials learned about the matter in late January. They confronted the woman in February and placed her on leave of absence without pay. She then resigned.

The church’s pastor, Powell Osteen, said today that no charges have been filed.

District Attorney Scott Thomas said his office has not been contacted by church members or law enforcement.

Osteen said arrangements had been made to take the “Christian approach,” in handling the matter.

“The Christian approach is confession, repentance, restitution and restoration,” Osteen said. “We are going to pursue the restitution route.”

The letter to the congregation said a restitution plan is being developed and “return of money has begun.”

Osteen said the amount of money taken is still being examined. Asked about reports that the figure was $750,000, he said: “At this time, that figure has not been reached. We want to be very careful and have documentation before releasing an amount.”

The church in Trent Woods has about 1,200 members, according to Osteen. He said the church has three Sunday services and total attendances averages 500 people.

The amount of missing money is still being totaled, according to John Hoarty, chairman of the Administrative Council.

“No charges have been filed at this time,” Hoarty said Thursday. “The church is not in the business of punishment.”

He said he was concerned with restitution of the money, but he also was concerned with the woman.

She worked at the church for 13 years and has been a member. Osteen said she worked the first five years part time and the past eight years full time “related to finance.”

In the letter, members were told that the money taken was hidden from the Finance Committee and Administrative Council. “Indications are that all contributions/offerings were properly accounted for and reported to each giver correctly for tax purposes.”

The letter said that finding out how much money was involved in the irregularities is “an extensive process spanning years of financial reports, receipts and expenses. Many records were not immediately available, and had to be received from other institutions in order to be analyzed.”

The letter from the Administrative Council said Garber remains financially strong and secure.

Some safety measures have been put in place at the church, such as requiring that checks have two signatures, and requiring an annual audit.

Osteen and Hoarty said the members were told because the church does not want to hide any matters from them.