strange.

It is not very often that I preach at church. Generally, the pastor is there on Sundays. If he's not, either I will fill in, or we'll call one of our friends to come preach. In just under 2 years, I've preached 4 times, this coming Sunday being #4.

Last April, I preached on Youth Sunday. Sometime in the week just before that Sunday, a member of our church passed away. This is not a huge surprise, as many in our congregation are past retirement and are nearer to the end of life. In August, the pastor and his family were on vacation before their oldest son started college. Just days before he left, as I was preparing to preach on Sunday, another member of our church passed away. Twice seemed a bit strange.

Last weekend, the pastor and his wife left for a week vacation to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. I preached last Sunday, and am getting ready to preach again this Sunday. This morning, I found out another member of our congregation passed away.

After Sunday, I doubt they will ever want me to preach again. I'm not superstitious, but this is just strange.