Coincidence?

So Friday I worked with a staffing agency trainee who was a former member of Reverend Jeremiah Wright's congregation at Trinity United Church of Christ. Understand, we are a small operation and in my six years of employment at Brand X I have worked with fewer than one hundred people counting student interns, trainees, medical professionals, consultants, nursing students, nurse practicioner students and so on.
So what are the odds that from this small group I would meet someone who once ate dinner with George Obama and someone else who sat in the pews of Jeremiah Wright's church?

The odds are not really all that long. Turns out, Trinity United has 8,500 members. With a turnover of even five hundred members/year, over a thirty year period the members and former members would constitute a small city.  And the odds of meeting someone who dined with George Obama?

The George odds are a bit longer. Kenyans gravitate to health care so if one works in health care on the East Coast, one is likely to encounter a Kenyan nurse. I have not been to Kenya but I understand that there are low-priced but high quality restaurants who cater to urbanites who do not have cooking facilities. George Obama might get out on a regular basis.

 I also don't understand Kenyan culture but my friend was not pleased that George joined their dinner party. The original party consisted of three women and one man, who picked up the tab. Had the party consisted of the gentlemen and the three ladies, it would have been a pleasant gabfest. But when George joined the mix, the ladies were expected to dine in silence as the men conversed. George ordered fish by the way and my friend reported that George made it abundantly clear that he practices Islam.

My new acquaintance from Chicago held a lot respect for Jeremiah Wright. In his view, Wright has helped his congregation and the neighborhood. He chuckled when he mentioned the pastor's Porsche. He believes that Jeremiah Wright quotes have been taken out of context and that the pastor is a victim of character assassination.

Oddly, the Windy City transplant was critical of Barack Obama's community organizing efforts. I did not know that that profession had critics. I thought people took such jobs because to paraphrase a former Alaskan Governor, there are no actual responsibilities. "What did he (Obama) do?" my co-worker asked rhetorically.

My colleague did not see Oprah in the pews and of course I did ask if he knew Donald Young. He didn't seem to recognize that name so I did not pursue it further. First impressions were positive and I will put in a good word about this gentleman. He is the best temp we have used to date.

Back to the original question: Is it coincidence that I would meet both a former TUCC member and a George Obama dinner mate from such a small group (fewer than 100 but probably closer to 50) ? Coincidence maybe but not exactly synchronicity. Life is full of these sorts of improbable probabilities.