Man Donates $3M Lottery Ticket to New York Church

Thursday, August 28, 2008 posted 09:20 AM EDT

Maybe it was divine intervention.

A Long Island church is $3 million richer - thanks to a generous parishioner who hit the lottery and donated his winning ticket.

"My first reaction was stunned silence," said Pastor Bertrand Crabbe of the True North Community Church in Port Jefferson. "After I picked my jaw up off the floor, I was just overwhelmed with joy and gratitude."

Crabbe said he was going to give some of the money to charity and use the rest to buy a bigger church.

"The church took off like a rocket [since opening three years ago]. A big problem for us has been space," Crabbe said.

"I said to the church, 'Unless God drops a couple million on us...' I think he heard us. God put that ticket in his hands."

Crabbe picked up his $3 million check - won from a $10 Bada-Bling scratchoff ticket - during a ceremony Wednesday with New York State Lottery officials.

He refused to name the miracle donor.

"The one condition of this gift was that they remain anonymous, and I want to honor that request," Crabbe said.

Crabbe said the donor called him to his house last month to tell him he was giving the church the winning ticket, bought on July 19 in Middle Island.

"At first, I was looking around for television cameras [thinking it was a prank]," he said. "But I know the integrity of this person, so I knew they weren't kidding."

The church will get at least $102,225 a year until 2028. That amount could be higher if taxes are refunded because of the church's nonprofit status.

In a case of one good deed deserves another, Crabbe said he's giving the first year's winnings to charity.

Most of that money will go to Love 146, a Connecticut-based charity that fights human trafficking in Southeast Asia, he said. The rest will be donated to two Long Island charities that feed the homeless and help troubled boys.

"It was the best hour of our life - trying to figure out how to divvy up that money," Crabbe said.

After that, the money will go toward finding a bigger church to accommodate its growing congregation.

"We were overwhelmed by the generosity of our donor, the only right response was to be overly generous back," he said.

"I hope it inspires other people to be generous to their churches and to charities everywhere - especially in light of the economy."

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