From Western Michigan-The Rev. Jay Lawlor left St. Luke Episcopal Church in Kalamazoo on a decidedly sour note: His congregation had not only turned against him, but a member filed a criminal complaint accusing him of assault for shoving her aside during a heated conversation.
But Lawlor, who felt "vindicated" last May when a jury found him not guilty of assault, likely felt vindicated again by the severance package granted by Bishop Robert Gepert, who heads the Episcopal Diocese of Western Michigan.
The payoff to Lawlor was $468,000, which Gepert took from the church's reserve funds.
Lawlor, 42, served at St. Luke's for 21 months before resigning March 2011. The payout was equivalent to more than a three-year severance package. His 2010 compensation was $125,000, which included $85,000 in salary, plus housing and benefits.
The amount of the severance raised eyebrows among mlive.com commenters.
"Boy, nothing says Trust the Lord like a golden parachute written in to a pastor's employment contract," wrote amlive. "Way to hoard the manna Reverend."
More here-
http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2012/06/readers_debate_468000_severanc.html
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