CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- A member of a rural church whose members handle poisonous snakes to demonstrate their faith died Sunday after being bitten by a rattlesnake during worship services, officials said Monday.
Richard Barrett, 50, died about 9:15 p.m. after refusing medical treatment, Bartow County Coroner Howard Elrod said. Barrett was struck by the rattler about 2 p.m. during services at Wade's Chapel.
'The pastor believes the bite came from a rattlesnake. The victim had five snakes in his hands, so it could have been from a copperhead,' said Bartow County sheriff's deputy Billy Worthingtont.
James Wade, pastor of Wade's Chapel, refused comment.
'According to reports, an ambulance was called to the scene along with the sheriff's deputies,' Elrod said. 'They interviewed the man and he indicated he didn't want any medical treatment.
'His words to the deputy were, 'I put myself in the hands of the Lord. He'll take care of me,'' Worthington said. 'With about 10 to 15 of the congregation gathered around his bedside, he died.'
Barrett was carried to the pastor's home behind the church after being bitten by the rattler.
'The only thing he would say was, 'I'm tingling,'' Worthington said.
The deputy who responded to the call was initially refused admittance to the pastor's house, Worthington said, but he eventually convinced the pastor to admit him so he could hear Barrett refuse medical attention.
Members of the church interpret the Bible literally, including the passage in Mark that reads: 'They shall take up serpeants.'
Church members believe handling deadly snakes is a method of demonstrating faith in God. Other 'signs' of faith include drinking poison, authorities said.
'The pastor and them was talking about how many times they had been bit. The deputy talked to one man who had been bit 34 times,' Worthington said.
Snakes have been used in worship in the South since the early 1900s.
