Can you believe this?! Church cuts sizable check to each parishioner, no strings attached

CHICAGO (WITI) -- Can you believe this? A Chicago pastor has decided to write sizeable checks to each and every member of her congregation! We're not talking $5 or $10 either. We're talking $500 per person!

WGN reports the LaSalle Street Church came into some money following a decades old real estate deal. What to do with the extra money weighed heavily on the pastor's mind -- and then she decided to do something crazy: give all of the $160,000 to her congregation.

Each member "actively engaged" in the church got a check for $500. That's $500 for parishioners to go forth and spend -- in any way they want. No strings attached.

"Some started to cry. Their mouths started to drop. I started to sweat because it sounded so crazy. I was worried this is stupid, silly. People will think I'm squandering $160,000. But this is a place of faith," Pastor Laura, as she's known, told WGN.

The church has already cut the checks. Parishioners have nine weeks for the checks to clear, according to WGN.

The church has a remaining $1.4 million to donate or invest in some way.

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