Mary Manin Morrissey

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Mary Manin Morrissey (born 1949) is a New Thought minister from Oregon, U.S.A. She was the founding minister of Living Enrichment Center, formerly the largest New Thought church in the state of Oregon. She 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. [1] In 1998, she spoke before the United Nations with Arun Gandhi (grandson of Mahatma Gandhi) regarding the Season for Nonviolence.[2] She has also participated in interfaith dialogues with the Dalai Lama.[3] Morrissey is the author of "Building Your Field of Dreams",[4] a book that was adapted as the basis of a PBS special titled "Building Your Dreams".[5] After the closure of Living Enrichment Center, Mary Manin Morrissey was investigated by the state of Oregon, later being enjoined and prohibited from heading any non-profit organization. According to KATU her current church operates as a for-profit entity. Morrissey's second ex-husband, Edward Morrissey, pled guilty to money laundering and using church funds for the personal expenses of himself and his wife, and served time in prison. [6]

Contents

[edit] Living Enrichment Center

Mary Manin Morrissey's BMW in the Senior Minister parking at Living Enrichment Center.
Mary Manin Morrissey's BMW in the Senior Minister parking at Living Enrichment Center.

Mary Manin Morrissey co-founded Living Enrichment Center, a New Thought Christian church, 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. Living Enrichment Center closed in 2004 as a result of $10 million of unpaid loans from the Living Enrichment Center congregation.[7] Willamette Week wrote that Steve Unger, lawyer for the Morrisseys, admitted that the couple had committed commingling. [8]

[edit] Legal controversy

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. [9][10][11] KOIN 6 writes that some believe Mary Morrissey spent a good deal of the church's money on herself. [12] The Newberg Graphic writes that former Living Enrichment Center congregant John Trudel, who loaned the church $100,000, was disappointed that Mary Manin Morrissey did not serve jail time for misappropriating funds. [13] 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. [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]

[edit] Current activities

"Friends of Mary", Morrissey's post-Living Enrichment Center company, advertises in the lobby at LEC's final service.
"Friends of Mary", Morrissey's post-Living Enrichment Center company, advertises in the lobby at LEC's final service.

Mary Manin Morrissey currently operates two companies, "Life Soulutions" and "Evolving Life Ministries". The Oregonian reports that the organization of Life Soulutions has prompted questions from the state of Oregon because Morrissey's partner in the venture receives as much as 40% of revenue, meaning that this portion is not required to be diverted to the restitution fund. The Oregonian reported that the state of Oregon has asked for documents detailing the structure of Life Soulutions, but that Morrissey says that on the advise of an attorney nothing has been put in to writing. [16] In the article "It's Only a Scam if You Believe It Is", Willamette Week made reference to Life Soulutions, noting that its prices for spiritual workshops are expensive. [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 reports that Morrissey has repaid only $74,000 since her plea bargain was struck in 2005. In accompanying footage available at the KATU website, Mary Morrissey becomes angry when reporter Thom Jensen presses questions regarding the finances of her for-profit church and the repayment of debt to the former members of Living Enrichment Center. Mary Morrissey proceeds to eject Thom Jensen from the office building where her service is being held. She is depicted as promising to speak with Jensen later, but at the end of the report Jensen says she has never returned his call. [19]

Mary Manin Morrissey is most recently married to entertainer Joe Dickey.[20]

Mary Manin Morrissey is listed as a subject for a future article on the Skeptic's Dictionary website. [21]

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Synthesis Dialogues biography of Mary Manin Morrissey, listing her as president of AGNT Retrieved August 31, 2006
  2. ^ Season for Nonviolence speakers roster, listing Morrissey
  3. ^ Sythnthesis Dialogues website
  4. ^ Random House catalogue
  5. ^ Public Broadcasting listing for Building Your Dreams
  6. ^ >KATU News: Prophet of Profit
  7. ^ Manning, Jeff. (June 8, 2007) The Oregonian Ex-church leader falls far behind schedule in repaying $10.7 million. Section: Local News; Page C2.
  8. ^ Robbin, Janine. The Prophet Margin. Willamette Week. ISSUE #30.29. http://wweek.com/editorial/3029/ : "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."
  9. ^ KOIN 6 News Retrieved June 7, 2007
  10. ^ Oregonian
  11. ^ Wilsonville Spokesman: Morrissey to meet with LEC 'refugees' Retrieved June 9, 2007
  12. ^ Accused Church Head Faces Congregation "The 100-acre complex now sits idle and chained, and people who put their money into the church want to know what happened. Morrissey took the unusual step Monday of meeting behind closed doors with people whose money she lost. Some think that Morrissey spent a good deal of the money on herself." Retrieved July 12, 2007
  13. ^ 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.."
  14. ^ Ex-church leader falls far behind schedule in repaying $10.7 million: "More than two years since she signed a consent agreement with state securities regulators, Morrissey has paid just $60,000 into a restitution fund. At that rate, it will take her more than 300 years to repay the debt in full." Retrieved July 12, 2007
  15. ^ [http://www.wilsonvillespokesman.com/ Wilsonville Spokesman Morrissey to meet with LEC ‘refugees’. Kipp, Curt. May 30, 07: "She has met her monthly obligations to contribute 15 percent of her income. However, she paid only $20,000 of an up-front $50,000 fine. This failure triggered an additional $100,000 civil penalty. The state considers her in default on the fines, but is setting aside all her contributions for victims and not state coffers. “All the money goes to the restitution pool,” Wahng said. Ed Morrissey didn’t contribute while he was in prison. He was released Feb. 2, and since then, he has worked a fast food job in Beaverton and made small, though regular payments into the escrow account. “He really wants to pay, and he’s been paying up,” Wahng said. The state has not remitted any of the restitution money back to victims, largely because the checks would be minuscule considering the expense of sending them. The money would have to be divided among 300 victims, and so far the money collected amounts to about a half penny per dollar of debt, Wahng said." (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 schedule in repaying $10.7 million: "But the organization of Morrissey's new company, LifeSoulutions, has prompted questions from the state. As currently organized, Morrissey's partner in the venture receives as much as 40 percent of the operation's revenue, which means it is not subject to the requirement that a portion of it be diverted to the restitution fund. State officials have asked Morrissey for documents detailing the corporate structure of LifeSoulutions. 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." Retrieved August 8, 2007
  17. ^ It's Only a Scam If You Believe It Is (Friday, Jan. 19): "With all of today's buzzwords and inflated promises, where can self-help seekers turn? Enter Mary Manin Morrissey and the 2007 Miracle Mastery Conference (lifesoulutions.com). This is serious straight talk. No mumbo-jumbo, just paradigm shifting solutions and positive energy. Morrissey, who steered her megachurch Living Enrichment Center right into the miracle known as bankruptcy ("The Prophet Margin," WW, May 12, 2004), will explain, in simple down-to-earth terms, how to become "empowered" and "grow your hopes and dreams." If you want to be spoon-fed a quick fix, then this ain't for you—Morrissey invented the "Miracle Minute" one-minute meditations, so clearly she believes life change requires time and energy. At $299—plus an extra $99 for Friday, plus $75 for "preferred seating" and just $50 more to attend the "Wisdom Lunch"—the conference might seem expensive, but with your self-actualization on the line, can you afford not to attend? Doubletree Hotel Lloyd Center, 1000 NE Multnomah Blvd., 922-3460. 7-9 pm Friday, 9 am-5 pm Saturday, 9 am-1 pm Sunday, Jan. 19-21. $299. All ages."
  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."
  20. ^ Big Sky Retreat 2000 - Additional Speakers
  21. ^ Skeptic's Dictionary future entries Retrieved Nov. 10, 2007

[edit] External links

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