WICHITA, Kan. — Officials of Unity of Wichita held a news conference Sunday to announce the recent discovery that in excess of $100,000 was missing from church accounts, according to a media release from the church.

Senior Pastor Reverend Daybree Thoms said, “It is with great sadness that we had to notify our congregation today, that a trusted church member has confessed to systematically embezzling money from Unity of Wichita for several years.

Because the amount is in excess of $100,000, we have reported the loss to authorities and will allow the justice system to follow through with appropriate action.”

Thoms explained that because she was only recently appointed new Senior Pastor for Unity of Wichita, she had requested that a routine audit of church finances be conducted. “It was that routine request for an audit that prompted the church bookkeeper to submit a written confession to church officials,” said Thoms.

Unity of Wichita Board of Trustees President, Joe Dunlavy, said, “This revelation is, in no way, a reflection on our previous senior pastor, our interim pastors nor any member of the Board of Trustees. This individual was a highly respected member of the church leadership and has admitted to being solely responsible for the missing funds.”

Dunlavy explained that though the discovery is fiscally painful for the church, it is the emotional shock that is most difficult for the congregation. “Fundamental to Unity’s principles and teachings is the belief that we are each, individual expressions of God; so, this is extremely devastating because the individual in whom we had entrusted our finances was a highly respected and beloved member of our church family.”

If there is an “up side” to the discovery that such a large amount of money is missing, Rev. Thoms said, “It’s my hope — and the hope of everyone at Unity of Wichita— that our experience will serve as a reminder to all churches: that, though we trust in God, when it comes to finances, audits are still necessary.” She said no church should entrust so much responsibility in just one individual.

“Oversight and transparency,” explained Thoms, “should be paramount in the financial procedures of any church whether large or small. And, regardless of the misguided reasons for having betrayed the congregation’s trust, we still hold the individual who committed this crime in our prayers and extend our love and forgiveness. Unity is about making our spiritual principles and ideals come alive — even in situations like this.”

“As the President of the Board of Trustees,” said Dunlavy, “I am grateful that Reverend Thoms wisely requested an audit as she stepped up to become our Senior Pastor; because, if she hadn’t, the problem may, very well, have persisted indefinitely. If nothing else,” Dunlavy continued, “it is certainly a relief to one-and-all, to discover the problem sooner than later. With Wichita State University’s Innovation Campus ramping up right across the street from Unity of Wichita, we are on the threshold of an exciting new era in our history. Now, the healing can really begin.”

Unity of Wichita is a member of Unity Worldwide Ministries in Lee Summit, Missouri.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, is facing serious opposition before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which may not have enough votes to recommend him for confirmation because all Democrats, and at least one Republican, have said they will oppose him.

The full Senate is still expected to consider Pompeo’s nomination later this week. But the rare rebuke expected from the panel Monday, even after Pompeo’s recent visit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, would be the first time in years that a nominee for the high-level Cabinet position did not receive a favorable committee vote.

Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., the chairman of the committee, blamed partisan politics for opposition to Pompeo, now the CIA director, saying Pompeo is just as qualified as past secretaries of state nominees Hillary Clinton or John Kerry, both of whom received overwhelming support.

“We are in an era where somebody like this, who is qualified, unfortunately, is likely to be voted out without recommendation or with a negative recommendation,” Corker said Sunday on “State of the Union” on CNN. “It’s just sad that our nation has devolved politically to this point.”

Pompeo’s confirmation before the full Senate now hangs in balance, with the votes of just a handful of senators determining whether he becomes the nation’s top diplomat after Trump fired Rex Tillerson last month.

Key Democrats, including some who had voted for Pompeo as CIA director last year, are peeling away, and Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky remains opposed, despite personal overtures from the president.

Pressure is mounting on senators from both sides. White House allies are unloading ad campaigns against Democrats from Trump-won states, including North Dakota, Indiana and Missouri, to vote for the president’s nominee. But progressive groups are pounding senators’ offices in opposition to Pompeo’s hawkish foreign policy views and negative comments about gay marriage and Muslims. As soon as Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., announced her support last week, one group called on her to switch.

“I don’t agree with every position he’s taken or every word he has spoken,” Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said Sunday on “Meet the Press” on NBC. “But I believe he has an extensive knowledge of world affairs that has been enhanced by his time at the CIA.”

Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., who met with the nominee last week, “has concerns about Mr. Pompeo’s nomination to serve as secretary of state,” said spokesperson Ricki Eshman. The senator “is reviewing his record before making a final decision.”

In the committee, the opposition has been building ahead of Monday’s session.

Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., who was among the last Democrats on the panel to announce his no vote, said he’s is concerned that Pompeo “will embolden, rather than moderate or restrain” Trump’s “most belligerent and dangerous instincts.”

“I do not make this decision lightly or without reservations,” Coons said in a statement Friday. “However, I remain concerned that Director Pompeo will not challenge the President in critical moments. On vital decisions facing our country, Director Pompeo seems less concerned with rule of law and partnership with our allies and more inclined to emphasize unilateral action and the use of force.”

Rather than allow an unfavorable vote on the panel, where Republicans have a one-seat majority, senators could choose not to issue a recommendation if Pompeo cannot find enough backing.

The committee action won’t necessarily stall Pompeo’s confirmation before the full Senate, but it would be an unusual setback not seen since the panel took a pass on John Bolton, President George W. Bush’s pick for ambassador to the United Nations.

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., who has been among Pompeo’s most vocal champions in the Senate, lambasted his colleagues ahead of voting.

“Democrats, especially on the Foreign Relations Committee, are really engaged in shameful political behavior,” Cotton said Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

But several Democratic senators who supported Pompeo for CIA director say Pompeo’s views are not reflective of those they want in the top diplomat.

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RENO COUNTY — One person died in an accident during a chase just before 5:30 Sunday in Reno County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2005 Suzuki motorcycle driven by Logan Cooper, 28, Wichita, was being pursued by KHP westbound on 4th Avenue East of Obee Road.

The motorcycle rear-ended a westbound 2001 Lexus driven by Scott Gray, 51, Wichita.Cooper was pronounced dead at the scene. He was not wearing a helmet, according to the KHP.

Gray was possibly injured but the KHP did not report where he was treated. The KHP did not release details on what prompted the chase.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A homeless man has been convicted in the stabbing and beating death of a Springfield woman whose body was found stuffed underneath a mattress at her home.

Jurors found 41-year-old Andrew Jensen guilty Thursday of second-degree murder and armed criminal action in the 2015 death of Kathi Jones.

Jensen and Jones were friends, and she sometimes let him sleep in her van. His DNA was found on a cigarette and bloody clothing. But the defense said some of Jensen’s blood found at the home came from him crawling through a window and cutting his arm when Jones got locked out days before her death.

Pratt County Kansas Undersheriff Max Barrett, who shot out one of Jensen’s eyes during a 1994 gunfight, was among those to testify.