This story was first reported in Life Magazine, 1950, and we recently ran across it in Robert H. Hopcke’s There Are No Accidents. It’s a stunning example of…well, you’ll see.
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A church choir in Beatrice, Nebraska was due to practice at 7:20 PM on March 1. There were 15 people in the choir and all of them, for perfectly legitimate reasons, were late for practice. The minister and his family, for instance, were late because they were finishing up the laundry, another person had car trouble, someone else was finishing homework.
Due to a flaw in the church’s heating system, the church exploded at 7:25 PM.
The odds of all 15 choir members missing the opening of practice was later calculated at one in a million.
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Group karma? Plain ole synchronicity? Apparently the members of the choir believed a divine intervention was key. Given the earlier discussion in final destination about death calling, you have to wonder about this one. What happened to these people after this experience? Were their lives and belief systems radically changed? Did any of them die shortly afterward? What kind of spiritual lessons are learned from an experience like this? It reminds me of the Bridge of San Luis Rey – Thorton Wilder’s second novel – except that all the people in the book died. All the people in the choir survived.
It’s certainly one of the strangest synchronicities we’ve come across.
Thanks, anonymous. That's an interesting one, for sure.
– Trish
I heard a teaser for the following story yesterday and forgot to tune in last night. I thought your blog followers might appreciate it given the recent discussions here about dodging death. I think they blow some of the subject's "close calls" out of proportion but it is interesting none the less.
https://www.wcnc.com/news/topstories/stories/wcnc-070309-mw-cheating_death.4275bcf.html
May is right. Ie. sometimes the roof of the church collapses on the congregation. Hm, maybe that's how the 'fear of God' scenario began.
R
A starfish story. Now THAT would be a cool post.
Very strange. You always have to wonder how often our lives are on a collision course with death, only to have us turn a corner at the last minute, or walk in another direction.
fantastic story! and wouldn't it be great to track down any of the remaining survivors to help answer all those questions posed in this post?!! hmmmmm……
It was definitely attributed to god – church choir, 1950, nebraska.
Cool blog, check out mine if you ever get around to it. https://synchronize23.blogspot.com/
When did synchronicity become "plain ole"?
Too bad 1950 Nebraska wasn't a hot spot for Jung philosophy.
I'm sure this event was attributed to a God. Whether they thought it good or evil would be based solely on whether the local residents were glad to see the church explode or would have preferred the demise of the choir.
No telling what was involved here. Maybe at a soul level these 15 people decided to seize their own destinies and do something other than die. Fascinating.
Wow. Unbelievable/