Note: I'm not

religious or a member of any church. But I thought this was a great act and would love to see such things more

often. In my mind, that is what life is about and how to help others. Do it at the personal level. -B.



Church Hands Out $50G To Parishioners Faithful told to use the money to "bless someone"


By EMILY FELDMAN
Updated 12:15 PM EDT, Thu, Jun 4, 2009
An Alabama

church handed cash to parishioners with the instruction for them to use it on others.

The pastor of an Alabama Church called it a "Faith Stimulus Package." The recipients may call it a

miracle.

Bay Community Church in Malbis, Ala., gave away $50,000 to its

parishioners.

Instead of asking its members for donations, the trustees

of Bay Community doled out cash. Each of the church's 2,000 congregants walked away with an envelope containing

between $20 to $100.

But there's a catch; the cash is not for

them.

Along with various amounts of cash, the envelopes contained

instructions to "turn around and bless someone."

"The instructions were

simple, you can't give it back to the church and you can't spend it on you and your family," Associate Senior

Pastor Trey Taylor told WALA-TV. Taylor masterminded the plan to spread goodness and cash

during tough economic times.

The generous reverse-tithe took some

parishioners by surprise. Many in the congregation broke out their wallets, thinking that the 2,000 white envelopes

making their way down the pews were a request for extra tithing.

But

the cash in the envelopes was destined not for the clergy, nor for the parishioners themselves but for needy people

who likely don't belong to Bay Community.

"The reason behind it was

simple. We wanted our people to turn around and bless somebody," Taylor said.

It's not the first time something like this has been done. In 2007, an Ohio pastor made news by

handing $50 to each of his parishioners with the instruction to use their talents to double the

money.

The difference: the Ohio parishioners donated the over $30,000

they raised back to the church. Taylor just asks they spend it on others.