Three winning lottery tickets donated to church

Aug 9, 2011, 8:33 am (19 comments)

Georgia Lottery

NORTHEAST COBB, Ga. — Unity North Atlanta Church on Sandy Plains Road in Northeast Cobb, Georgia, received an unusual gift last week from a generous churchgoer: winning lottery tickets.

The church member, who wishes to remain anonymous, donated three Georgia Lottery tickets totaling more than $4,000 to the northeast Cobb institution.

Staff claimed the prize on behalf of the church Aug. 1.

The Rev. Richard Burdick said the money would go toward the church's mortgage and monthly bills.

"The country is in a recession, and we, along with other spiritual communities, have been affected by it," he said. "We are very grateful for this donation. We've held fast to the principles we teach that the universe supports us and prosperity comes in unexpected ways."

The donor, who is a regular lottery player, gave his first two winning tickets totaling about $3,000 to the church on July 31, Burdick said. On his way home after services, the donor bought another winning ticket for about $1,000, which he presented to the church the next day.

Staff member Al Mango said the donor was using a spiritual practice of good begetting good.

"The more you give, the more you get," Mango said. "His motive was to help the church, and his goal is to pay off the church's mortgage."

The first two winning KENO! tickets were purchased at the QuickTrip at 671 North Cobb Parkway in Marietta on July 28. The second ticket was sold by the Chevron Food Mart at 1023 Sandy Plains Road in northeast Cobb.

While some institutions may frown upon the lottery because it is a form of gambling, Burdick said his church neither condemns nor condones it.

"We believe in the power of personal choice," he said. "Our church does not gamble the gifts we receive, and we do not encourage our congregants to do so. But we are not going to judge a member that has made the decision to play the lottery. We don't see it as being against God or not."

Mango said the gesture has had an inspiring effect on the church community.

"Sometimes people stand out and do remarkably generous things," he said. "His spirit lifted up the church as it goes through an economy that is challenging."

Founded more than 30 years ago, the church is part of the Unity faith movement, which is based on Christianity and an individuals' right to choose a spiritual path that supports the notion of one God. The church, which has between 350 and 550 members, moved to its seven-acre campus about 11 years ago.

News story photo(Click to display in gallery)

Thanks to truesee for the tip.

Marietta Daily Journal

Comments

konane's avatarkonane

Awesome!  Party

sully16's avatarsully16

That was a very nice thing for someone to do.

Coin Toss's avatarCoin Toss

I've always wondered who pays the taxes on something like this.

dallascowboyfan's avatardallascowboyfan

I like stories like this........Hurray!

shelby50

What a wonderful thing to do.I love stories like this too.

rdgrnr's avatarrdgrnr

There are still a lot of good people in this country.

God bless 'em.

tiggs95's avatartiggs95

Quote: Originally posted by rdgrnr on Aug 9, 2011

There are still a lot of good people in this country.

God bless 'em.

Thanks ridge you make tiggs blush...

Coin Toss's avatarCoin Toss

I still wonder who pays the taxes.

If the church goes the tax exempt route (can they?) "Uncle" would smdell a rat and think that the winners were running the money through the church to duck the taxes.

Think about it.

If the winners pay the taxes are they paying the tax on the winnings and not getting a dime (except as a write off for a charitable donation)?

HaveABall's avatarHaveABall

Quote: Originally posted by Coin Toss on Aug 9, 2011

I still wonder who pays the taxes.

If the church goes the tax exempt route (can they?) "Uncle" would smdell a rat and think that the winners were running the money through the church to duck the taxes.

Think about it.

If the winners pay the taxes are they paying the tax on the winnings and not getting a dime (except as a write off for a charitable donation)?

I, too, wonder if lottery winnings claimed by an IRS registered, exempt "church" get Federal and State taxes waved.  And if no taxes ... is their an annual limit?

cbr$'s avatarcbr$

Blue Angelthis is marvelous and I loved the story.

Trillionaire

Quote: Originally posted by rdgrnr on Aug 9, 2011

There are still a lot of good people in this country.

God bless 'em.

Yes, God bless them. But giving money to the church doesn't make this particular donor, or any other donor, good.

Trillionaire

Quote: Originally posted by Coin Toss on Aug 9, 2011

I still wonder who pays the taxes.

If the church goes the tax exempt route (can they?) "Uncle" would smdell a rat and think that the winners were running the money through the church to duck the taxes.

Think about it.

If the winners pay the taxes are they paying the tax on the winnings and not getting a dime (except as a write off for a charitable donation)?

Your "Uncle" is greedy. Lottery winnings should be tax free like they are up here in Canada and the UK.

rdgrnr's avatarrdgrnr

Quote: Originally posted by Trillionaire on Aug 10, 2011

Your "Uncle" is greedy. Lottery winnings should be tax free like they are up here in Canada and the UK.

We don't bow down to no dam Queen.

 

Reminds me of a song:

 

In 1814 we took a little trip
Along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Mississip.
We took a little bacon and we took a little beans
And we caught the bloody British in the town of New Orleans.

[Chorus:]
We fired our guns and the British kept a'comin.
There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago.
We fired once more and they began to runnin'
Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

We looked down the river and we see'd the British come.
And there must have been a hundred of'em beatin' on the drum.
They stepped so high and they made the bugles ring.
We stood by our cotton bales and didn't say a thing.

[Chorus]

Old Hickory said we could take 'em by surprise
If we didn't fire our muskets 'til we looked 'em in the eyes
We held our fire 'til we see'd their faces well.
Then we opened up with squirrel guns and really gave 'em ... well

[Chorus]

Yeah, they ran through the briars and they ran through the brambles
And they ran through the bushes where a rabbit couldn't go.
They ran so fast that the hounds couldn't catch 'em
Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.**

We fired our cannon 'til the barrel melted down.
So we grabbed an alligator and we balled another round.
We filled his head with cannon balls, and powdered his behind
And when we touched the powder off, the gator lost his mind.

[Chorus]

Yeah, they ran through the briars and they ran through the brambles
And they ran through the bushes where a rabbit couldn't go.
They ran so fast that the hounds couldn't catch 'em
Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

 

Yeah, most of us just don't bow down to nobody down here.

We'd rather die on our feet than live on our knees. (except for the libs)

That's why we whooped old king george and all his yeomen way back when.

I'd a spit a wad o' Beech-Nut in that dude's eye my own self.

Trillionaire

Quote: Originally posted by rdgrnr on Aug 10, 2011

We don't bow down to no dam Queen.

 

Reminds me of a song:

 

In 1814 we took a little trip
Along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Mississip.
We took a little bacon and we took a little beans
And we caught the bloody British in the town of New Orleans.

[Chorus:]
We fired our guns and the British kept a'comin.
There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago.
We fired once more and they began to runnin'
Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

We looked down the river and we see'd the British come.
And there must have been a hundred of'em beatin' on the drum.
They stepped so high and they made the bugles ring.
We stood by our cotton bales and didn't say a thing.

[Chorus]

Old Hickory said we could take 'em by surprise
If we didn't fire our muskets 'til we looked 'em in the eyes
We held our fire 'til we see'd their faces well.
Then we opened up with squirrel guns and really gave 'em ... well

[Chorus]

Yeah, they ran through the briars and they ran through the brambles
And they ran through the bushes where a rabbit couldn't go.
They ran so fast that the hounds couldn't catch 'em
Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.**

We fired our cannon 'til the barrel melted down.
So we grabbed an alligator and we balled another round.
We filled his head with cannon balls, and powdered his behind
And when we touched the powder off, the gator lost his mind.

[Chorus]

Yeah, they ran through the briars and they ran through the brambles
And they ran through the bushes where a rabbit couldn't go.
They ran so fast that the hounds couldn't catch 'em
Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

 

Yeah, most of us just don't bow down to nobody down here.

We'd rather die on our feet than live on our knees. (except for the libs)

That's why we whooped old king george and all his yeomen way back when.

I'd a spit a wad o' Beech-Nut in that dude's eye my own self.

Are you saying you prefer to bow down to your president instead of to Her Majesty, Her Royal Highness, a lady of class and culture? You've got to be kidding!

And your Uncle is still greedy. I think you're just a tad jealous that your winnings are taxed.

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