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Carol Sowers
The Arizona Republic


SCOTTSDALE - A former pastor who once preached against leniency for thieves, could spend up to 10 years in prison if he is convicted of stealing thousands of dollars from parishioners.

Patrick A. Shetler, 49, was indicted on one count of felony theft for allegedly stealing between $25,000 and $100,000 from parishioners of the Glass and Garden Community Church between February 2004 and July 2005.

Shetler, who is not in custody, is scheduled to be arraigned at 8:30 a.m. Friday in Courtroom 501 of the Maricopa County Superior Court, 201 W. Jefferson St.

The sentencing range for a Class 2 felony theft is four to 10 years.

Although the one-page indictment does not detail the alleged thefts, Shelter admitted to Scottsdale police that he stole $20,000 from the church during those 17 months to pay for medical expenses and a second wedding reception.

But church auditors, including parishioner Paul Hurst, say church bank statements show that Shetler wrote himself checks, and used church credit and debit cards to allegedly dip another $21,000 out of church accounts in 2005.

He said Glass and Garden officials sent Scottsdale police bank records dating back to 2002 that put the total loss closer to $89,000.

Hurst said he was surprised that those earlier records were not included in the indictment, but said he is relieved that "we are at least getting somewhere in the case."

Parishioners have waited since Shetler's August arrest for word on whether he would be charged. He was released the next day pending further investigation.

A once popular pastor, Shetler fell out of grace at the church at 86th Street and McDonald Drive after a church secretary in June began getting calls from creditors saying that bills were not being paid.

Records show that Shetler had been using church funds, which come parishioners' pocketbooks, to pay for a $6,000 Disneyland trip and a $1,760 cellphone bill. Hurst said the church agreed to pay Shetler's cellphone bill, but never expected it "to go that high."

Shetler, who was hired at Glass and Garden in 1999, also admitted to police that he gambled occasionally. But he said that was not the source of his financial troubles, including a $174,000 bankruptcy filed in September.

A few months before his August arrest, Shetler, who once ministered to Maricopa County jail inmates, told parishioners that one of the weaknesses of the criminal justice system is leniency for thieves.

Quoting the Bible, he said the penalty "for this is slavery, restitution is to be made."
 
Comments:
Anonymous Anonymous said...
Well should anyone be suprized? I mean preachers and christians are all self-claimed and self-appointed and self-elected, if people are stupid enough to believe that one person is above another based upon what one has chosen to believe, why should people get suprized when a self-elected jerk does something stupid?

Religion it's all self-elected, self-appointed, self-claimed, self-indoctirinated, self-pitty, self-induced, it's all about what one can do for themselves.


Anonymous Anonymous said...
Ironic isn't it. I used to attend Glass and Garden Church as a child and that's really where I learned about Christ and got saved. I know many of you may disagree with that and it's o-kay. I understand with all of the backbiting going on. We have a business called faithfinders where we help expose relgious affintiy fraud.


Anonymous Dave8 said...
Anonymous 12/30/2005 12:00 AM: "We have a business called faithfinders where we help expose relgious affintiy fraud."

I personally like to see state and federal law intervention, especially when crimes are committed... they can at least administer equitable punishment by "force" if need be, and with authority...


Anonymous Anonymous said...
Thats to bad what happened to Pat Shetler. I feel embarrased for him and his family. Keep them in your prayers please.


Anonymous Dano said...
Anonymous wrote:
Thats to bad what happened to Pat Shetler. I feel embarrased for him and his family. Keep them in your prayers please.
posted: 1/31/2006 11:46 AM EST  

Indeed, right after you finish praying for all of the people in the world who are suffering from horrible diseases, babies and mothers starving, those innocent people being slaughtered by bloodthirsty tyrants seeking power, and other miserable unfortunates, PLEASE PRAY for brother SHETLER, for his unfortunate circumstances in getting caught stealing from the congregation for 6 years, people who thought they were giving money to do Gods work, in order to finance his $6,000 Disneyland trip, a $1,760 cellphone bill, $174,000 bankruptcy, medical expenses, a second wedding reception, and a gambling habit.

But then there IS the little guy with the horns and a tail running around making people do stuff like this and telling mothers to drown their children, and God can't or will not do anything to stop the little freak.
Dan


Anonymous Anonymous said...
This isn't the only Pastor, their is a pastor in Queen Creek who took several hundred thousand from his congregation and so far nothing except a dismal is being done. The AG is more concerned with saving name then showing Pastors they are not invinsible. The message I get is " Let's all become Pastors they are the highest paid people around and can get away with anything". Eron employees took just about the same amounts of money and they were sent to the cross. Looks like the new trend is to set up church and preach words it is the highest paying job around. This needs to be stopped and all need to be proscuted. Being a Pastor should be a blessing from God not a money making goal. Very angry Christian.


Anonymous Anonymous said...
I don't know what Pat Shetler's intentions were. I do believe in a "Higher Power" and this may have been the higher powers way for making way for something BIG for the congregants of "Glass & Garden" community church. There may be a pastor coming that will really turn that church "Around" and bring "Completion" to Gods' Masterplan! I mean, should we really even blame Pat Shetler? I mean, after 6 years! We hear about the wrong that he did........was wrong done to him? Did the elders of the church promise him raises or bonuses for all the souls that he saved or was there a promise broken on the churches end? Who knows! It is easy to point the finger and cast judgement on something without knowing all the facts. IF he was stealing from the church intentionally, then that is wrong! God works in mysterious ways...........this just may be another one of them! God bless Pat Shetler!


Anonymous Anonymous said...
I agree with the above comment. I have been to "Glass & Garden" before and I have felt a real weird vibe coming from that place. I can't describe it. It is scary! I feel that a tremendous outpouring of Gods Salvation and miracles are going to occur at that place! That church was one of the original churches built here in Az in the 60's! There wasn't anything around but that church! I would hope for the sake of that church that Gods messenger does arrive and delivers Gods message! I have driven by that place and it looks like the Koreans have taken over that church as well! I never saw Pat preach but he must have been good if he was allowed in one of the most recognized churches in Az. There probably is more to the story that we are not being told. I want to visit that place again.


Blogger .:webmaster:. said...
So, anony-bot, I take it that even though stealing is a "sin," if a pastor steals, that's God's plan?

If a thief broke in and robbed the church, that would be... what?

Christians are funny.


Blogger dave-worm said...
Sorry for not getting back sooner. Yes, you are right, Stealing is one of the 10 commandments. I agree %100 that people are not to steal. God works in mysterious ways. Moses had a Cushite for a wife. Miriam, Aaron's wife, talked badly about Moses for having a Cushite as a wife. God stricken Miriam with taraaz for her speaking against the prophet. Yes, Moses was "wrong" to an extent against the written word for mixing with that "group" of people. Don't forget, Moses killed two Egyptian guards that were harassing a Hebrew slave. Moses then buried the dead in the sand. See, Gods' prophets are not robots. They do "Bad" things from time to time. After Moses left the presence of Egypt, he met up the Jethro. It was from Jethro's flock of sheep that got lost that lead him onto the mountain of God. There Moses encountered the burning bush and was given his mission to lead out the children of Israel. So, a double homicide actual lead into one of the biggest biblical transformations! Now, Pat Shetler did not kill anybody! He may have been dipping into church funds that "in the end" added up to a huge number. Do you ever charge anything on your credit card? It is SO easy to add up $100.00 in a week with gas, food, groceries. Now, spread that over Pat Shetler's career at "Glass & Garden" and really think about it! He MAY have done wrong, it could just lead into another biblical transformation of the church! TIME WILL TELL!


Blogger AtheistToothFairy said...
dave-worm said...
Stealing is one of the 10 commandments. I agree %100 that people are not to steal. God works in mysterious ways.
--
Worm,

God's ways are only "mysterious" because xtians like yourself, have to try and make sense of inactions from an entity that does NOT exists. Just that SIMPLE really.
You would have the exact same "mysterious" quandary on your hands, if you tried to understand why my divine pet rock didn't heal your broken leg.


>...Moses killed two Egyptian guards that were harassing a Hebrew slave. Moses then buried the dead in the sand. See, Gods' prophets are not robots. They do "Bad" things from time to time.

Yes Worm, people sometimes do bad things because they ARE human, which btw has nothing to do with your fantasy sky-daddy.

> So, a double homicide actual lead into one of the biggest biblical transformations! Now, Pat Shetler did not kill anybody! He may have been dipping into church funds that "in the end" added up to a huge number.

Both these events merely show the inherent nature of human beings.
Just because someone takes an action that is ethically/morally wrong, and by chance a supposed 'greater good' results from said action, doesn't make that wrong action itself okay.
If you believe that, then you must be okay with the philosophy; "The end justifies the means"?

In the case of Moses here, it's a fictional story, so one can only debate the moral ramifications within the context of the story itself, much like we would do with any modern story of fiction.
In the case of the pastor, well, that is why we have a justice system and your god has no place in our court rooms, and I personally have great faith that your invisible god will not show himself at the pastor's trial, to defend one of his sheep gone stray.

In fact, he would have a far better chance of Little Bo Peep showing up to find this stray sheep, than for your god showing up to rescue him.


ATF (Who wonders if such pastors have a special hiding place to steal god's money, without god seeing them do it?)


Blogger boomSLANG said...
Dave-worm...Sorry for not getting back sooner.

Hey, don't sweat it. In the future, take all the time you need.

Dave-worm...Yes, you are right, Stealing is one of the 10 commandments. I agree %100 that people are not to steal.

So, if I understand correctly, the taking of someone elses property is "wrong" because it's a "commandment", and no other reason, correct? And it's something that we should NEVER do, as in absolute, yes?

What if I'm standing in line at the bank, and a masked-gunman steps to the front of line, and I say, "Hey, dude...your zipper's down!"....and when he puts his gun down to zip up, I STEAL his gun? Is that a "sin" on my part?...or was I acting perfectly ethically by taking what wasn't mine?..i.e.."stealing" his gun....which, subsequently, saves perhaps dozens of lives, BTW.

Do you see?....do you see how there cannot be an "absolute" morality?

Dave-worm...God works in mysterious ways.

Yes, "God" sure does. Similar, for instance, to how a lucky rabbit's foot mysteriously "works". It's simple: The "hits" are attributed to the trusty rabbit ped, yet, the misses are attributed to the mysteriousness surrounding the rabbit's foot. 'Funny how that works.

Dave-worm...Moses had a Cushite for a wife. Miriam, Aaron's wife, talked badly about Moses for having a Cushite as a wife. God stricken Miriam with taraaz for her speaking against the prophet.

Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater,
Had a wife and couldn’t keep her,
Put her in a pumpkin shell,
And there he kept her, very well.

Dave-worm...There Moses encountered the burning bush and was given his mission to lead out the children of Israel.

H.R. Puffin' Stuff, who's your friend when things get rough?
H.R. Puffin' Stuff, can't do a little 'cause you can't do enough!

Dave-worm...So, a double homicide actual lead into one of the biggest biblical transformations!

So then, "thou shalt not kill" isn't a "sin", provided it transforms lives! Praise Jebus!

Dave-worm...He may have been dipping into church funds that "in the end" added up to a huge number. Do you ever charge anything on your credit card?

Yes, I do charge things! So this is fantastic news, then... we can think of "stealing"/embezzling as a "credit card" debt. I'm sure criminals and thugs around the world will be elated to know that they can now make easy, convenient, monthly payments for stolen goods!

Christianity is retarded.


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