Lightning knocks the cross off a Michigan church — again

What are the odds?

A cross that rests atop the First Congregational Church in Charlotte, Mich., was struck and destroyed by lightning Friday, news station WLNS reports. That same church lost its cross to lightning roughly 37 years ago.

Firefighters responded to a small fire on the church’s roof at 7:30 a.m. Friday, where a cross once stood. A bolt of lightning is believed to have knocked the holy symbol from its perch, sending it crashing to the ground below. There was no other serious damage to the building.

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Church officials said that in 1984, a lightning flash had struck a wooden cross that sat atop the same house of worship. That bolt was said to have caused more destruction to the church. The cross destroyed Friday was crafted from a composite of materials, church leader Dennis Cates told WLNS.

Cates joked maybe churchgoers should prepare themselves for another lightning strike in 25 years or so.

Construction of the First Congregational Church at its current location began in 1873, according to the church’s website. In 1993, is was added to the National Register of Historic Places.