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Delco pastor's grand plans end with grand jury probeBy BILL ALNOftDaily Times Staff WriterCONCORD — It has not been a good rear for the Rev. Frederick Drummond ind his Church of Our Savior in Con* ordviUe.A year that started with grand plana for hurch expansion to capture the souls of tew converts throughout the tri-state irea, ended with a sharply declining ongregatkm and a federal grand jury nvestigation of church leaders.No indictments have been issued.Many of the setbacks the church has aced came after former members—many if them once holding high-rank becameufficiently outspoken to condemn public-y in the Doily limes what they coo-lidered abuses of authority and church inances.It’s difficult to gauge the actual decline if membership within the church. In a lummer interview, Drummond told a re-►orter membership at the church was oughly 1,000, though many former members told the Daily Times that actual atbwMlanfla at services never readied that point, not even during the brief period in the spring when the church moved its Sunday morning worship services into the Valley Forge Music Fair. Urn church was evicted several weeks after later.Now, surces say, membership ranges from 200 to 400.The exodus of the foithftil began in earnest in the mid-summer when Chester attorney John T. Tolbert and his wife Beverly went public with allegations against the church and Drummond in a front-page story in this newspaper. Beverly had been the church’s and Drummond’s secretary while John was legal counsel for Drummond and the church.In the story, the Tolberts detailed how Drummond arid other church leaders, using a now defunct corporation called Durawood of Delaware, induced many church members to join for the stated purpose of using the profits of the firm to send missionaries around the world. Butno missionaries were ever dispatched and Drummond and other church leaders received expensive cars instead.In all, the Daily Times published about 40 stories during 1966 on the church, many of them dealing with financial mat-ters. Here is a summary of some of what the Daily Times learned:a Drummond once placed the title of his Rolls Royce into the offering plate to convince members of the need to give all to the (hurch. But Drummond never had the title of the car — he was leasing it The Rolls was repossessed late in the year.• Drummond allegedly avoided paying about $2,600 in state sales tax over extensive rennovation work done on the Rolls. Federal agents have subpoenaed the records of a York County automobilee In 1986 while Drummond told his congregation he was going to Florida to pray for the direction ot the congregation, he was in the Sunshine State negotiatingthe purchase of an $800,000 yacht The deal fell through, but a yacht appraiser sued Drummond claiming he was aim paid for services rendered. Drummond denied that a law suit had seer ben filed in connection with the case — even after the Tunas had a eopy of the suitThe case was settled out of court when Drummond paid the appraiser in foU.• An Upper Providence man filed suit against Drummond, the church, and others, alleging that the church used emotions! pressure and beatings of Biblemembers to induce Mw to a second mortgage on hia home and loan it to the Durawood company. The man claims he loot his house and 'about $27,000. The suit is pending.• The church and administrative budding on Baltimore Pike have been dtsd for serious building code violations.a In December, a federal grand jury in Philadelphia convened and so for, the records of a number of firms associated with the church have been siesed.
Newspaper Details
Delaware County Daily Times
Chester, Pennsylvania, US
Wed, Dec 31, 1986
Page 18
Full Page
Clipped by
Kaeli B.
NA, 10 Mar 2025
Other Publications Near Chester, Pennsylvania
Chester Reporter
Chester Evening Times
Delaware County Daily Times
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