ELCA Synod Bishop Issues Statement after Arrest of Former Treasurer
Herr Today, Gone Tomorrow
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. B. Penrose Hoover, bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Lower Susquehanna Synod, Harrisburg, Pa., shared his sadness in a pastoral letter March 13 regarding events surrounding the charges and arrest of Barry R. Herr, the synod's former treasurer.
Herr, 61, was arrested March 13 and charged with misappropriation of church funds. The charges stemmed from months of investigation by the synod and the Lower Paxton Township Police Department into the misappropriation of endowment funds for which Herr was responsible. It was estimated that those funds were in excess of $1 million and that wrongdoing began in 1991.
***
GJ - Paul Kuske's golden boy, Floyd Stolzenburg, had the same thing happen at his congregation. The female treasurer was arrested and the case made the Columbus Dispatch for a time. Stolzenburg opposed a police investigation, but the insurance company would not cover the loss without it. The congregation voted for the investigation.
Nobody in WELS was arrested for the misuse of designated funds when Gurgel was SP. Nobody was arrested in Gurgel's district when the MilCraft estate funds evaporated. Gurgel was district pope at the time.
