Mary Manin Morrissey

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Mary Morrissey at a recent speaking engagement

Mary Manin Morrissey (born 1949) is an inspirational speaker and a former New Thought minister from Oregon, U.S.A. She was a founding minister of Living Enrichment Center in the 1970s. By the mid-1990s, the church's congregation was variously estimated at numbering between 2,000 and 5,000, making it the biggest New Thought church in the state of Oregon, as well as one of the biggest in the world. Morrissey has served as president of the Association for Global New Thought, and in 1995, she hosted an annual congress for the International New Thought Alliance.[citation needed]

Morrissey's church filed for bankruptcy and closed after she and her then-husband, Edward Morrissey, were sued by members of their congregation for more than $10 million of outstanding loans. Edward Morrissey later pled guilty to money laundering and spent two years in federal prison. Mary Manin Morrissey struck a plea bargain with the US Bankruptcy court and the State of Oregon, and as a result may not head a non-profit organization.[1]

Contents

Background

Mary Morrissey is the author of Building Your Dreams[2] which chronicles Morrissey's realization of her dream to create a ministry, and No Less Than Greatness, The Seven Spiritual Principles that Make Love Possible[3] Mary Manin Morrissey also appears in The Moses Code.[4] Mary Morrissey has also authored several audio programs, including the popular co-produced audio, The Eleven Forgotten Laws with Bob Proctor.[5] Morrissey appeared in the movie The Inner Weigh, written and directed by Dave Smiley. The movie is about tapping into the power of one's subconscious mind to create the body and the life that one wants.[6]

Legal controversy

"Friends of Mary" advertises in the lobby at LEC's final service

In a letter to Willamette Week in 2004, the lawyer for Mary Morrissey's then-husband, Edward Morrissey, admitted that the couple had committed commingling.[7] Mary Manin Morrissey's second ex-husband, Edward Morrissey, pled guilty to money laundering and using church money for the personal expenses of himself and his wife, and spent time in federal prison.[8][9] The Seattle Times reports that the Morrisseys committed "financial improprieties" and that some former members of Living Enrichment Center were upset with the deal the Morrisseys struck with federal prosecutors. Former congregant John Trudel of Newberg, Oregon is reported to have loaned the church $100,000 between 2000 and 2002. Trudel is quoted as saying that church money was being diverted.[10] Willamette Week wrote that Steve Unger, lawyer for the Morrisseys, admitted that the couple had committed commingling.[11][12] The Oregonian writes that Mary Morrissey signed a consent agreement with state securities regulators, agreeing to repay $10.7 million to her former congregation, but she is in default and that at the rate Mary Morrissey is making repayment it will take her 300 years to repay congregation debt in full.[13] KATU writes that the debt may never be repaid.[14] Wilsonville Spokesman has reported that the amount of money Mary Morrissey has repaid would amount to less than half a penny per dollar of debt.[15]

KATU reported that Edward Morrissey agreed to plead guilty to money laundering on the condition that Mary Manin Morrissey not be charged with a crime.[14] The Oregonian wrote in 2009 that Mary Morrissey signed a consent agreement agreeing to repay the debt, but that she is in default of the consent agreement.[16]

Mary Manin Morrissey also operated two companies, "Life Soulutions" and "Evolving Life Ministries". The Oregonian reported in 2007, that the organization of Life Soulutions has prompted questions from the state of Oregon because Morrissey's partner, Karen Hanzlik, in the venture receives as much as 40% of revenue, meaning that this portion is not required to be diverted to the restitution fund. "State officials have asked Morrissey for documents detailing the corporate structure of LifeSoulutions," writes The Oregonian. "Morrissey told them that on the advice of an attorney, there are no such documents. Nothing was put in writing. 'We're researching the law and considering our legal options,' Whang said. 'But it is a very unusual situation.'"[17] KATU, Portland's ABC affiliate, reports that because Mary Morrissey was permanently prohibited from holding the position of Officer, Financial Manager or Financial Fiduciary for any charitable or religious non-profit entity, her current companies, Life Soulutions, Evolving Life Ministries, and her church in Lake Oswego, Oregon, are operated as for-profit entities.[18] KATU also reports that in an interview Morrissey was evasive about her finances, but the news team tracked online donations to Morrissey's business, discovering they make their way to a Portland mail box controlled by Morrissey. Investigators from the state of Oregon want to make sure that Morrissey is not diverting money from her income, as a stipulation of her plea bargain with the state was that a portion of her income must be used to repay her debt to her former congregation. KATU reported in 2007, that Morrissey has repaid only $74,000 since her plea bargain was struck in 2005.[19]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Ex-church leader falls far behind repayment schedule by KATU: "In her 2005 bankruptcy case, Manin-Morrissey was permanently prohibited from holding the position of Officer, Financial Manager of Financial Fiduciary for any charitable or religious non-profit entity."
  2. ^ Building Your Dreams - Random House, Inc. ISBN 978-0-553-37814-6 (0-553-37814-7)
  3. ^ No Less Than Greatness, Random House, Inc. ISBN 978-0-553-37903-7 (0-553-37903-8)
  4. ^ The Moses Code Retrieved August 31, 2008
  5. ^ 11 Forgotten Laws By Bob Proctor and Mary Morrissey (free download) | Bob Proctor
  6. ^ http://www.amazon.com/Inner-Weigh-Dr-Dave-Smiley/dp/0615422853/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1326927213&sr=8-11
  7. ^ "The fact is, unfortunately, that neither Mary nor anyone else at this point can answer questions about the disposition of funds loaned to Mary and [the] LEC," lawyer Steve Ungar wrote in an April 19 email to WW. "Why? Because the finances of [the] LEC, New Thought Broadcasting, Mary Morrissey and Ed Morrissey were treated not separately, but as a kind of 'financial family.' The technical accounting term for this is commingling." The Prophet Margin
  8. ^ KOIN 6 News Retrieved June 7, 2007 [1]
  9. ^ Wilsonville Spokesman: Morrissey to meet with LEC 'refugees' Retrieved June 9, 2007
  10. ^ Seattle Times. Oregon pair may reach fraud plea deal. Thursday, April 7, 2005 http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20050407&slug=pastor07m
  11. ^ Robbin, Janine. The Prophet Margin. Willamette Week. ISSUE #30.29. [2] : "The fact is, unfortunately, that neither Mary nor anyone else at this point can answer questions about the disposition of funds loaned to Mary and [the] LEC," lawyer Steve Ungar wrote in an April 19 email to WW. "Why? Because the finances of [the] LEC, New Thought Broadcasting, Mary Morrissey and Ed Morrissey were treated not separately, but as a kind of 'financial family.' The technical accounting term for this is commingling."
  12. ^ Schellene Clendenin The question is: Where did all the money go?: "John Trudel just wants to know what happened to his money. A Newberg resident, Trudel’s name is one of a congregation of 4,100 people in the Portland area who loaned the Living Enrichment Center (LEC) in Wilsonville a total of $10.7 million to help pay off loans to purchase property. The LEC was affiliated with the New Thought Church.."
  13. ^ Ex-church leader falls far behind repayment schedule by The Oregonian
  14. ^ a b Prophet of Profit?
  15. ^ Wilsonville Spokesman Morrissey to meet with LEC ‘refugees’. Kipp, Curt. May 30, 2007. (NOTE: Wilsonville Spokesman doesn't provide direct hotlinks to archived articles. In order to read this article in its original context on their website one must log on to their website and utilize the search engine by entering article's title.)
  16. ^ Ex-church leader falls far behind repayment schedule by The Oregonian
  17. ^ [3] Retrieved August 8, 2007 [4]
  18. ^ KATU News: Prophet of Profit (11/8/07): "In her 2005 bankruptcy case, Manin-Morrissey was permanently prohibited from holding the position of Officer, Financial Manager or Financial Fiduciary for any charitable or religious non-profit entity."
  19. ^ KATU News: Prophet of Profit (11/8/07): "Manin-Morrissey said she is following those rules. Her current church operates as a for-profit business, according to the state. She would not talk specifically about her finances, but we tracked down where the online contributions go. They are sent to a UPS store on Barbur Boulevard - to a post office box controlled by Manin-Morrissey. State investigators told KATU News they want to make sure Manin-Morrissey is not diverting income because a portion of her pay is supposed to go into an account for victims. So far, there is $74,000 in the account. She and her ex-husband owe $10.7 million."

External links

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