How an Alexandria church that closed and sold its land blessed the community with $2M

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (7News) — Reporter's Notebook: The closing of a church can be devastating to its members. But Messiah Lutheran Church in Alexandria decided to leave a remarkable legacy to its broader community when it recently shuttered. We sat down with the president of the congregation, Charlotte Hicks, to talk about a stunning, spiritual windfall.

This is the moment Charlotte Hicks dreaded. One final look to savor her spiritual home before it closes for good.

“In this room is where we kept all the paraments and everything that belonged in the church," says Charlotte Hicks, President of Messiah Lutheran Church.

There was a time, in its nearly 70-year existence, when nearly 1,000 parishioners belonged to Messiah Lutheran Church in the Mount Vernon section of Fairfax County. Here families gathered in fellowship to care for each other over the generations.

“So, a lot of nice, fond memories here," recalls Hicks, a retired teacher and coach.

Hicks says her church’s membership dipped so low in recent years that the hardest of decisions was recently made. The church is closing. But not before leaving a jaw-dropping legacy.

“When you give something away you don’t brag about it," Hicks says with a smile. "You don’t boast. But, in this instance, we were blessed to get $2.17 million for the property.”

Helping others has always been a fundamental tenant of this faith community. So, when flush with cash from the sale of their land, they called the very organizations they’ve quietly supported for decades.

“We literally thought that in communicating with each other that somebody typed $500,000 and meant to type $50,000," says United Community food bank CEO Alison DeCourcey of a no-strings-attached gift of half-a-million dollars.

“In a few words this is allowing us to actualize a dream," says DeCourcey.

For United Community, it means buying more trucks to haul critically needed food up and down the Route 1 corridor in Fairfax County, among the hardest hit during the pandemic in terms of food insecurity and illness.

“The church had heart. They knew to give it to where it was needed, and it’s needed here," says United Community recipient Mabel Culley.

“Makes a big difference to me because I am to the point I am able to eat and eat healthy," Culley adds. "They give out healthy food, food that I would not be able to afford.”

Charlotte Hicks also called New Hope Housing, an agency that provides shelter to the homeless.

“Oh my God! What an awful year we’ve been through. Oh my God! Maybe it wasn’t so bad after all because we’ve got some new possibility which is really exciting," says recently retired New Hope Housing Executive Director Pamela Michell.

Budgets are always tight in the non-profit world. So $500,000 gives Michell's replacement room to breathe while the non-profit continues on with its important work with new leadership. New Hope Housing’s board of directors recently chose William W. Gorman as its interim executive director.

“It’s so heartwarming and tells me a lot about the community and the community’s commitment to help people who are not necessarily people they know," Michell adds.

The third and final $500,000 recipient shares a common bond with Messiah Lutheran Church: nearby Nativity Lutheran Church.

“My jaw dropped and my heart kind of leapt," admits Pastor Mitch Watney.

Pastor Watney says the congregation will take some time to think, pray and dream about how to properly glorify this gift.

“You’re humbled and you’re honored and then you feel a responsibility or an opportunity that you want to rise to," concludes Pastor Watney.

Messiah even found a way to extend their philanthropy beyond traditional borders. “You know you are supposed to love your neighbor as you love yourself," exclaims Hicks. In this case, a neighbor an ocean away.

“The one cherry that’s on top of this ice cream is the church in Liberia," Hicks adds.

Pews, the altar, stained glass windows and more are literally heading by cargo ship across the Atlantic Ocean to this church in West Africa that has outgrown its present space.

“So many of the elements of this sanctuary have already been shipped to Liberia and when they open their church up it’s going to be with belongings that came from this church," Hicks says. "So, we are closing one door here at Messiah, but we are opening up a church in Liberia. How much more blessed can you be? This is something that we didn’t plan on but God had a mission and therefore he took care of that.”

What more could Charlotte Hicks and Messiah’s congregation ask for in this life than to leave a lasting, faithful legacy?

“I look at it and I said God today is the last day I’m going to be here," Hicks concludes. "Thank you for blessing me for being able to be here to do the mission that you’ve given me to do.”

We should note that Messiah Luthern Church leaders also gave $250,000 to two additional organizations, Luthern World Relief and the Washington DC Synod. The Lutheran charity Orphan Grain Train shipped Messiah's items to the church in Liberia which begins construction in December.