It was a case of Jewish Santa Claus showing up on the last day of Hanukkah to save Christmas.
This is one of those feel-good stories that embraces the holiday spirit, one of hope, charity and goodwill among men.
It is also the story of a big developer going out of its way to help preserve the history and integrity of the community.
Mostly, however, it is a story of neighbors working together.
Three years ago, the Free Methodist Church of Culpeper found itself in a real predicament. Augustine Homes of Fredericksburg had purchased the 15-acre parcel next door and was getting a site plan approved to build 38 new homes.
The new subdivision about to be built next to the 85-year-old Sperryville Pike church was at first not a major concern of the 50-member congregation.
While checking out the survey map with project manager Byron Counsell, however, the elders discovered that most of church's parking lot was actually part of the Augustine's development.
"We realized that if we didn't have those spaces, there would be no place for our people to park," said Scott Rife, a trustee for Free Methodist.
The church elders approached Counsell and asked if there was any way Augustine could help. The project manager suggested that the congregation might construct a parking lot on a small strip of land it owned behind the church.
That land, however, was steep and would require a great deal of excavating and the construction of a retaining wall. Further, Culpeper town officials told the elders that if they built a lot out back, it would have to be paved to conform to building ordinances.
"We figured that would cost us about $10,000 per space," Rife said, an amount the small congregation knew it could not afford.
Now, the little church, whose founding was inspired by a May 7, 1921, revival held by the Rev. L.H. Kelley, knew it was in real trouble.
"At times, the problem seemed insurmountable," said Rife, recalling that a church women's group began regularly holding prayer sessions in the parking lot. "There were times when we just sat there at board meetings not knowing what to do."
With the prospect of losing its parking lot almost a certainty, the church turned to local commercial real-estate broker Laura Newman to help find another parcel on which to relocate.
"In the real-estate world, people were saying, 'Stay away from that!'" Newman said. She felt the need to help, however, and began searching for land for the congregation.
But try as she may, Newman could find nothing in a pricey Culpeper market that the church could afford. It was back to square one.
Or was it? Newman, who has many connections in the commercial real-estate market, came up with another possible solution. She called Bob Kaufman, Augustine's senior vice president, and asked if the developer would be willing to buy the church so the congregation would have enough money to build elsewhere.
By then, however, Augustine had already gone through the lengthy process of having the subdivision approved and it would have required too much time and money to reshape the plat.
It was then that Newman suggested that Kaufman's company, as a goodwill gesture, just give the church the land the congregation was using as a parking lot.
"Laura is a broker and sometimes I look to her for guidance," said Kaufman. "It was really her calling me and telling me this would be a good thing that made me consider it."
It was the church's attitude, however, that sealed the deal--both for Kaufman and the company's board of directors.
"Very often communities react out of sadness and fear when a developer comes in," said Kaufman. "They are sometimes very angry and when people take that position I respect and understand it."
Kaufman, who is Jewish, said the Free Methodist congregation came to him in a friendly and understanding manner and that he was impressed by the church's Christian attitude.
"That triggered it for me personally," he said, adding that he was also impressed by the small congregation's outreach ministry.
He said he was also touched by the parking-lot prayer services held by the ladies of the church.
"There is something universal about prayer," Kaufman said.
So, on the final day of Hanukkah, the Jewish developer played Santa Claus yesterday and presented the church with an early Christmas present--the title to .36 acres, the congregation's parking lot.
The congregation insisted on paying the closing costs.
The little church was saved, as were the stately old oak trees in the parking lot under which a Confederate cavalry unit once camped.
The developer lost the profits from one house site, but gained the respect of the Free Methodist Church and the community.
"It seemed almost certain that we would have to relocate," Rife said, "but Laura and God found another way."
To reach DONNIE JOHNSTON:
Email: djohnston@freelancestar.com