Instead of selling 300 letters to God that he found floating in the Atlantic ocean, a U.S. man said on Friday he will donate them to a church. The letters which had been sent to a deceased Baptist clergyman, ended up in a sealed plastic shopping bag near a beach in Atlantic City, N.J.

Bill Lacovara found the bag while on a fishing trip last week. The letters inside the bag were addressed to Rev. Grady Cooper of Jersey City, New Jersey, who died in 2004. The letters included one from a teen-age girl asking God to forgive her for having an abortion, one from a man who wanted God’s help winning the lottery, and one from a prisoner who said he was innocent and wanted to be at home with his family.

The letters could have been auctioned off on eBay for up to $15,000, and says Lacovara, he would have given the money to charity. He has withdrawn the letters from the online auction because he said the move offended some religious people.

“There were a lot of religious fanatics that were very insulted,” he told Reuters. “They said they were disappointed in me, and I didn’t want to do something that’s going to create bad vibes.” He was urged to burn the letters by some or even to throw them back in the ocean or give them to a church.

Lacovara said about a dozen clergymen have offered to take the letters, and he is evaluating the requests to make sure the letters don’t fall into the wrong hands.