After $5M embezzlement, how a Michigan Catholic community rebounded

Christopher Haxel | Lansing State Journal

OKEMOS — In 2014, Tom and Sharon O'Dea were new to Lansing, and looking for a Roman Catholic parish to join. They attended mass at a few local churches, but ultimately settled on St. Martha — a small parish with a big church.

That church, with its soaring ceiling and walls of stained glass windows, was impressive, Tom O'Dea said. But it was the people who drew them in. "They were more friendly," he said. "We felt closer to them, felt we had more in common with them than we did with people at other parishes."

The Rev. Jonathan Wehrle, who founded the parish in 1988, "wasn't a real warm person... wasn't an easy person to get close to," said Tom O'Dea said. "And that kind of bothered us. But we thought, 'That's not what we're here for. We're here for our religion and for the people.'"

Wehrle was a good priest who gave excellent homilies, Tom said, but the couple found it strange that Wehrle was the only priest around. Every other parish they'd belonged to had at least one priest or deacon to assist the pastor.

And looking back, O'Dea, 75, also remembers something strange about how Wehrle handled collections: "He had this big, great big, wooden box. After mass, he'd walk down the aisle with that box. And I'd think to myself, 'Geez, oh man, how can they let that be?'"

O'Dea had served as an usher before, and at other churches the cash and checks donated from parishioners were quickly counted and locked up by a rotating cast of volunteers.

"(Wehrle) walked out of there like, 'Here's my money,'" O'Dea said.

Now, while Wehrle awaits trial more than a year after his arrest on felony embezzlement charges after allegedly stealing more than $5 million from the parish, St. Martha is still recovering from the shock.

But as the Lansing area's newest parish prepares to celebrate the 30th anniversary of its founding, officials and parishioners alike say St. Martha has rebounded to a remarkable degree, even as the congregation is surrounded by the work of a man who appears to have spent decades betraying their trust.

Adding a drop safe

"This is where the healing began," the Rev. Michael Murray said recently, as he walked into the cavernous church which serves as the centerpiece of the parish that serves about 900 families.

Murray, 68, was sent by the diocese to take over after Wehrle was placed on administrative leave in May 2017. At first his title was "administrator," but now it's "pastor."

Thinking back to his first homily at St. Martha, Murray said he acknowledged the change, but didn't dwell on it. "The end of it all was that we're gonna be OK," he said. "We don't know where this is going, but we're gonna be OK.

"It was emotional for everyone, myself included. But we got through the first weekend, and off we went."

One of the first steps was to implement changes that Murray calls "the cost of running a proper 21st-century parish."

New systems for counting and securing the money collected from parishioners have been introduced, he said. After Mass, the money is placed in a drop safe within minutes. It takes two people to open the safe.

Other changes include cloud-based accounting software, which allows the diocese and members of the parish finance council to see every financial transaction.

Previously, the council relied largely on reports generated by Wehrle.

"It's as airtight as we can get it," Murray said. "And I never touch the collection."

The parish has so far recovered $2.9 million from an insurance policy, which carries a limit of $5 million. And officials are hopeful they'll eventually receive the other $2.1 million.

Murray wouldn't say exactly how much is believed to be missing — prosecutors have said the total exceeds $5 million — but he acknowledged it doesn't much matter, because once the insurance limit is reached, "the prospects of full recovery get a little hypothetical."

Even if St. Martha does receive more money, Murray expects it will simply replace what was lost over the years, and hopefully cover the remaining $2 million still owed on the mortgage for the original 45,000-square-foot complex.

Related: Insurer for Lansing diocese files suit against Okemos priest accused of embezzlement

Flying cars

Some families left the parish after Wehrle's arrest, Murray said, but overall attendance is up in the past year, and collection tallies have also rebounded.

"We have great people and they see the need here," he said. "And they're excited to be part of the rebirth of this parish."

St. Martha's School, which houses classrooms for children up to eighth grade, recently opened a long-awaited additional wing.

Construction on the $5 million project began before Wehrle left, and concluded in February. The new structure includes a gymnasium, additional classroom space and other features.

Related: Builder, priest, accused embezzler: Who is the Rev. Jonathan Wehrle?

A recently-discovered time capsule revealed that children have spent many years hoping for a gymnasium, Murray said. "The children thought 20 years ago, that today there would be amazing things in the world. Like flying cars, and St. Martha would have a gym.

"And we have a gym," he chuckled. "Brand new."

That gym is part of the parish's plan to grow the school, which in the 2017-18 school year enrolled 91 students in kindergarten through eighth grade. About 160 students were enrolled at the start of the 2006-07 academic year, according to Lansing State Journal archives.

"It's a tremendous small school, it's going to become become a tremendous larger school," Murray said.

Enrollment has risen for two consecutive years, and pre-school classes for 3- and 4-year-olds are approaching capacity for the upcoming school year, so officials are hopeful that new families will continue to enroll their students in the school.

The parish may also shorten the school year, which currently runs 200 days, down to 180 days. That would put the school calendar more in line with local public schools, and could help increase enrollment.

"The future of any parish is its young families," Murray said.

How could he do that?

Neither police nor prosecutors have said they suspect anyone other than Wehrle stole money from the parish, but many at St. Martha nonetheless are careful about how they speak of the former pastor.

"Kids in our school, a lot of them were baptized by him," Murray said. "They had their first communion with him. So the conversation is, 'It looks like he made a mistake.'"

Wehrle has not been back at the parish since he was placed on administrative leave, Murray said.

Okemos priest accused of embezzlement An Okemos priest is facing a court battle over his alleged use of parish money.

Prosecutors said during a four-day preliminary examination last year that Wehrle used parish funds to pay for work and materials at his more than 11,000-square-foot mansion in Wililamston. The estate features pipe organs, grand pianos, a pool, hot tub, stained glass windows and an elevated steel footbridge connecting the home and barn.

In a 2007 deposition for an unrelated civil lawsuit, Wehrle told a lawyer he needed only two bedrooms in the home, but built eight tomaintain “balance and scale."

Wehrle's attorney, Lawrence Nolan, has argued his client had an arrangement with a now-deceased bishop regarding the use of parish funds for his private residence. Church officials — three Catholic bishops testified at the hearing — have denied such an agreement was in place.

Wehrle's trial is set to start Aug. 13 in Ingham County Circuit Court. Nolan did not respond to a request for comment.

Related: Okemos priest will stand trial in St. Martha's embezzlement

More: Questions about priests and poverty answered

Some parishioners, especially those who have been at St. Martha for decades, were deeply hurt by the missing money, Tom O'Dea said.

"They weren't discouraged or anything, just upset," he said. "A lot of people couldn't believe it. How could he do that? How did it even happen, let alone how did he get away with it?

"I mean, you can only imagine — somebody that's been there for 30 years is dropping a lot of money into the church over the years."

"He was quiet, but a kind man," said Grace Rosen, who graduated from St. Martha's School in 2009 and currently attends Oakland University. "I don't think he's a bad person... I hope the best for him after this, and especially (the parish) in general."

Rosen said she was at one point worried about the future of the parish, but her concerns evaporated once she saw how many people still attended mass.

"I wasn't sure if they were even going to be able to come back from it," she said. "It's kind of a small church, a small community. But I think they are ready... there's a lot of people that really care, and really want to move forward in a positive way."

Contact Christopher Haxel at 517-377-1261 or chaxel@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @ChrisHaxel.