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Spiritual Transitions: Beyond the Serpents
It was Friday, September 1st, Labor Day weekend,
the unofficial end to summer and once again it was time to head down
into southern West Virginia to visit friends. The occasion would be the
annual homecoming for the “Church of the Lord Jesus”, a Pentecostal
“Signs Following” congregation in Jolo, which lies on the border between
the two Virginias.
Since January of 2000 I have been attending the
congregation services having been inspired by a friend and writer,
Shannon Bell. Their services are held on Saturday evening and Sunday
afternoons, excepting special occasions like homecoming. On this
weekend, the services and gathering in general has been one of the most
interesting, exciting, varied, and moving experiences one could have.
During this time, “Serpent Handlers” come from at least five or six
states to celebrate the faith at the world’s best known signs following
church. The occasion has also brought out the curiosity seekers and the
media, which has not been kind overall to the followers or faith. There
is much misunderstanding for those who come and extract a small piece of
the experience, generally to witness, photograph, or film the handling
of serpents. In the totality of the faith this is but a small aspect but
gets the most attention.
The “signs following” believers base their actions
on verses in the New Testament. Taken from Mark 16, versus 17 and 18
that says:
These signs shall follow them that believe;
“In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new
tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly
thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and
they shall recover.”
There is no shortage of documentation, stories, or
variety of other written articles surrounding the signs followers. Much
is focused on the handling of serpents but some of the books have
provided an insight into particular individuals within the faith,
families, or a simple historical overview, although that in itself has
many variations. Overall the photographic documentation has not been of
high quality and nor have I found in research has there been a concerted
effort to document a congregation over a consistent period of time other
than the congregants attempts, much of which is of poor quality. This is
part of what drives me to document this aspect of life here in
Appalachia, in as much as many would deny or push that away.
The unique aspect of the Church of the Lord Jesus
in Jolo is that it has been in existence for close to 60 years and had
one pastor, the Reverend Bob Elkins. Bob was coal miner for most his
life, doing the dangerous job of going deep into these coal-rich
Appalachian Mountains and working for an extractive industry that gave
little value to the miners or families who worked for low wages and few
if any benefits and were, in the end, left with land that was raped by
corporate greed and with no economic stability in the communities once
the mines were worked out. Bob ended up with Black Lung, the miner’s
disease that companies fought to deny or reimburse for the medical
consequences and death that it brought to individuals and the families
it devastated.
Over the past six years my involvement has provided
the opportunity to meet with the Signs Followers” most celebrated
serpent handlers. The most notable is Dewey Chafin. Dewey has been the
subject of numerous interviews, most notably on the Geraldo Rivera TV
show; on film by National Geographic and Sundance Films; and in print by
more journalists than can be recounted. Dewey has introduced me to Carl
Porter, Jimmy Morrow, Larry Muncy, Terry Morgan, Rayford Dunn, and a
host of others who have led the signs followers in their struggle to
practice their faith in midst of political and personal persecution in
many forms. A good internet search will lead you to many of the books
and other literature available on the faith.
So back to Friday and the journey. I first went to
Roderfield, WV where my friends Don and Connie live. In the first months
that we (speaking of Shannon, we worked together until 2004) began to
attend the church we ran into Don and Connie after one of the services.
We hit it off immediately and were and were invited to say with them
anytime that we were down for services. Soon afterwards they gave us a
key to their home in the event they were not there. These are incredibly
wonderful folks who have become very close friends and who have done
much to assist me. They are also very good friends with Bob Elkins and
have been very supportive of him personally.
Don and Connie were not at home and it had been
two weeks since we had spoken so I didn’t know where they were. I had
brought four keys that I thought might be the house key (I had never had
to use it so didn’t remember what it looked like). None of them worked.
I left a note and the fresh flowers that I always bring Connie and
headed to Jolo.
Upon arriving at the church, I found Dewey there.
Over the past several months he has been living in a small room at the
back of the church. It is simple and sparse, consisting of a single bed,
table, refrigerator, an old microwave and no running water. He uses the
bathroom in the church but there are no bathing/shower facilities. It
was good to see him and he looked to be in pretty fair health. He told
me that Bob was in the hospital and had been for the past few days. His
breathing had gotten worse and his congestive heart problems were
complicating his health. For the past two years Bob has been on 24 hours
a day and on more medication than anyone would care to take. I had also
brought a signed book of photographs for Dewey that had been sent to me
to deliver. It is called “Coal Hollow” with photographs by Ken Light and
narrative by Melanie Light his wife. It was recently published and has
beautiful black and white photography on individuals in McDowell County.
There is a piece on Dewey but the photo only shows his hands wit a
serpent and is artistically (?) out of focus. The narrative tells a
little of Dewey and a brief history of the signs followers. In it George
Hensley is attributed to beginning the serpent handling movement but
there is evidence that this was in existence prior to his bringing it to
prominence through his ministry.
Dewey Chafin
I found a note on the door and pointed it out to
Dewey. It was from Melissa, his niece and stated that he was to open up
the church for service that night as per “paw paws” request. It was
about six o’clock with service to begin at 7:30. Dewey and I had a great
talk over a variety of things and I photographed while we spoke. After
opening the church we found several lights burned out so I went off to
the small country store to rectify the need for better lighting as the
church has no windows. Unknown to us someone in the congregation had
spread the word by phone that homecoming was cancelled due to Bob’s
health. This spread to other individuals in the various states that
usually attend. By service time only two people showed, both from
Kentucky and whom I had met many times over the years.
At 8 pm we decided to travel to Richlands, Va. to
visit Bob. The trip was about forty minutes over the mountain on the
twisty roads that are the lifeline to the many homes and communities
that lie between and on these steep hillsides. When we arrived we found
family and congregation members consisting of Lydia (step-daughter to
Bob), Melissa (Lydia’s daughter) and her husband Richard, Hope (Aileen’s
daughter and Aileen is Bob’s wife), Booty a long-time congregation
member, and Michael and Brenda Lanham from the Scrabble Creek church in
Gauley Bridge.
Dewey and I went in to see Bob and Aileen was at
his side. He looked to be struggling for breath but was happy to see us.
We visited and talked on/off for an hour and Bob was continually looking
up and back at a monitor on the wall to check on his “numbers”. He was
on oxygen and had been given four pints of blood over the past few days
as his body was not producing enough. Aileen had not left his side since
admission. She has tended to Bob over these past few years and had it
not been for her love and caring he most likely would have not made it
this far.
Aileen
and Bob Elkins
Around 10 pm Dewey and I headed back to Jolo. We
stopped on the way at a convenience store and got sandwiches and drinks
and sat outside at a picnic table to enjoy the air and a break from the
car. Dewey was insistent that he pay for the food and tried to get me to
eat more. I later dropped him off at the church and he offered to let me
stay at the church for the night. I had tried to reach Don and Connie by
phone but without success. I decided to drive to the house and arrived
about midnight to find they were not there. It had been a long day and
there was nothing to do but crawl in the back seat and sleep for the
night. This was one of the few times I had not carried a sleeping bag on
my travels and only had a shirt for cover during the cool night.
After a night of tossing and turning due to the
cramped and cold conditions, I woke at 7:30. I went down the hill to a
small store and got coffee and a paper, pulled over by the road and came
into the morning. I traveled on to Jolo and went to Aileen and Bob’s
home and found Hope there. I asked for a shower and of course she
quickly invited me in. She was getting ready to return to the hospital.
Having a shower in the morning is one of the more refreshing things that
I enjoy and always brings me to life and new perspective. We talked
about Bob, Aileen, the church and her love of the past two years, Dale.
She asked if I would be available on 7-7-7 at 7 pm to photograph her
wedding and I said we would look at dates and her needs for the event. I
also checked email which mostly consists of deleting spam that has
gotten thru the filters.
About 11 I head to the church to pick up Dewey. We
are going back to the hospital. We talked on the way about the future of
the church which is uncertain with Bob not being the leader. One of the
things we agreed upon was that there is not a charismatic leader with
the vision and personality to step in and rejuvenate the congregation.
Over the past several years there has been a decline in attendance for a
variety of reasons. There has been difficulty in bringing youth into the
faith and so we have an aging congregation that lacks the energy to
replenish and lead itself into the future.
Before going to the hospital I took Dewey to
lunch. Given the sparse conditions in which he lives and not seeing food
around the place it was evident that he could use a hot meal. We ate
buffet style so there would be a variety of foods to choose from and he
ate well.
Once at the hospital we found Aileen’s sister,
Phyllis. She and Aileen had already been through much these past two
weeks, having lost a brother and sister within a day of each other. Bob
looked better today but said that looks were deceiving. He was still
struggling for breath but wanted to be involved in the conversations. He
told short stories, was humorous and laughed, but at times spoke as if
he was somewhere else. He was spitting up blood at times which Aileen
would wipe from his mouth. His arms were discolored from the many needle
sticks which had failed to find a vein to insert the several IV’s he was
hooked up to. Our visit was cut short after two hours as he took a turn
for the worse and his oxygen began to decrease, his temperature rising
to 103 and blood pressure also rising. We were asked to leave as the
nurses began to try and stabilize his condition. We waited for a while
before saying goodbye to Aileen for the evening. Bob’s condition had not
improved.
On the way back to Jolo Dewey and I found out our
common interest in yard sales and flea markets. We stopped at a large
yard sale which unfortunately had mostly clothing, not one of my high
interests. There were three women/girls running the sale and one of them
stated that Dewey looked familiar. She asked if she might have seen him
on TV and he turns to me and asks if that could be true. I simply say
yes and allow her to explore her discovery of “The” Dewey Chafin. It
turns out that she had also been to a service quite a while ago and
remembered him from there also. One of the other women was a nurse’s aid
at a long term care facility in Welch and knew Betty Johnson, a former
congregation member and former girlfriend of Dewey’s. Betty’s husband
Ray had died of a snake bite he received at one of the services many
years ago. It was interesting watching Dewey converse with the women, he
is such a charmer but really quite humble about his infamy.
After this I drop Dewey off at the church and head
back to Aileen and Bob’s home. Hope is not there but her cousin Bobby
and her boyfriend Dale are there. I introduce myself and come in. Dale
is about 6’2’, pretty “healthy” looking man but is in extreme pain and
his body twisted as he had just thrown his back out. He headed to the
bedroom to rest. Bobby and I watched some of the WVU-Marshall much hyped
inter-state football game. It was never a contest and the “Herd” was
sent home with less thunder in the “We are Marshall” slogan.
At 6:30 I headed to the church to help Dewey open
up and get things ready. At this point we had found that afternoon about
the phone calls canceling the services. We didn’t know who to expect. It
turns out that there are only 10 of us altogether by 8 pm, only two of
which are congregation members, Dewey and Tyler Evans (11 years old) and
Melissa’s son. I have watched Tyler grow over these past six years. He
adores his father Richard, a very intense serpent handler. Tyler always
comes very well dressed and tonight he was in a blazer, tie, and
polished shoes.
The others had come expecting to see the signs
followers at this most celebrated event. After some discussion and
prodding Dewey is encouraged to open with a prayer. He apologizes for
the poor attendance, letting folks know of Bob’s health. Over the next
two hours it is awkward as there is no direction or flow to the service.
Tyler was encouraged by me to lead the service. He sang, played piano,
guitar and finally had someone read biblical passages as he provided his
interpretation and preaching between each. I had not seen Tyler in this
role but have known this is what he wanted to do. He was at times very
direct, animated, and confident. He did manage to engage some of us in
the service by getting someone to sing, I “played” drums and Marisha, a
photography student from NY strummed on the guitar. The service closed
at 10.
Tyler Evans
I had taken
time to speak with Marisha, the NY photography student before the
service began. Over the years I have met many photographers and
journalists who have come for many reasons. I am always interested to
know of their interest and intentions. She had heard of the church and
the homecoming and came without knowing anyone, what she would find or
how she would be perceived. I found that her interest was journalistic
and she had a leaning towards portraiture. I introduced her to Dewey and
got them together for some time before the service and also explained to
her the church “rules” for visitors.
Dewey Chafin and Marisha Camp
She was also
traveling on a limited budget as are most of us. I offered to help her
find housing for the evening. We gave Tyler a ride home and upon arrival
there spoke with his 16 year old brother Nathan. Tyler got his mom
Melissa out of bed to look at the short video that Marisha had taken of
his preaching. We also got to see Richard’s current collection of
serpents. This was the most extensive bunch of serpents that I had seen
him have and they were also the biggest and most colorful of both
rattlesnakes and copperheads. I also called Hope and asked about another
space for Marisha and that was not a problem.
One of Richard’s Timber Rattlesnakes
We headed to
Hope’s and got there about 11 pm. Hope stayed up with us for an hour
talking about her life and other general topics. Marisha and I stayed up
until three with her telling me about her experiences over 28 years. She
traveled the US for a year with her brother, worked as a carny,
landscaper, and had just spent a year in France and traveling around
Europe with her French boyfriend, also a photography student. I also
shared some of my life and touched on a variety of other subjects.
I woke around 9:30 to find Hope getting quickly
dressed. She had just gotten a call form Aileen that Bob has
deteriorated and was now on a ventilator, the only thing now keeping him
breathing. He was unconscious by this time. The family had been called
to gather at the hospital. Hope had fixed breakfast food for us before
she left.
After showers Marisha and I went to see if we could
catch Melissa and Richard. Nathan and Tyler were at home and just
sitting down to pizza/garlic bread and shared that with us. We talked to
both about their lives, laughing and joking and looking at Melissa’s
high school yearbooks. Tyler pulled out two albums filled with photos
from the past 10-15 years of the church filled with handling and the
numerous serpent bites that many had suffered. I called Melissa at the
hospital and asked about borrowing these to copy and she agreed. Richard
was on his way home to pick up the boys.
When Richard arrived Tyler asked him to show us
his serpents and possibly handle them. Richard explained that he would
do this for me but that he was not in church and that thus he was taking
a risk. He handled two large rattlers in the living room while we
photographed. Afterwards he took me aside and asked me to clarify with
Marisha about the use of the photos and/or writing about this. I told
him that I had already spoken with her about the use of photos and
writing, none could be used to shed negative implications. This was not
an issue for her, she came with good intentions.
Richard Evans Handling Serpent
Services
were called off for the day because of Bob’s condition. Before we left I
took photos of Nathan and Tyler next to Nathan’s truck which he was very
proud of. He took me for a short ride down the holler and back. I told
Marisha that if she wanted to go to the hospital and meet family and
congregation members that she should not photograph as she was not known
to them, again she was ahead of the curve and knew this.
Tyler and
Nathan Evans
We got to
the hospital around 2 pm. Bob’s condition had not improved. Lydia and
her husband Kirby were there as was Melissa, Richard and the boys;
Michael and Brenda, Phyllis, Dewey, Larry Muncy, and a couple from Kirby
and Lydia’s church in Grundy. As we arrived the physician was just
leaving a closed waiting room having advised the family of Bob’s
condition and options. Aileen as the wife has the ultimate decision of
care and Bob had indicated that he wanted staff to do everything to save
him. There was a discussion among those there (without Aileen present)
that should Aileen not be able to make a decision about Bob’s care then
Lydia and Melissa would do so. This I knew was a delicate matter and had
the potential to create intense family conflict, as with all families in
this situation.
Mellisa
Evans and her mother Lydia in background
We were there about two hours and I photographed
the family while they were talking. I did get to see Bob once more.
Aileen was at the foot of his bed, head resting on her hands and deep in
thought. Bob was hooked up the ventilator which kept his chest rising
and falling. Aileen and I talked, she asking me of my opinion on what
she should do, I shared that and it will remain between the two of us.
Prayers for Bob
I
photographed the scene from behind Aileen. I then said goodbye as I had
almost 4 ½ hours to travel. She said she loved me and thanked me for
being there.
Dewey had been brought to the hospital by Larry
Muncy (a very interesting and good natured fellow) but was tiring so I
offered to drop him at the church. Larry had taken Dewey to lunch,
bought him some tennis shoes, new socks and food. On the drive back
Dewey talked about his ownership with his brother of small coal mines in
the area which he pointed out on the drive. We also stopped a yard sale
but again it was mostly clothing so no purchases were made.
We arrived at the church close to six pm. Marisha
was going to continue her journey by driving some back roads on her way
to NY. She was due to be at school on Tuesday morning and was conflicted
in her time restraints. I told her that I would notify her about Bob’s
condition. She was extremely fortunate to have such access to the
experiences and family given the circumstances. It was fun to meet and
hang out with her, talk photography and see her enthusiasm and
appreciation of the Appalachian culture.
The drive out of southern WV was long. It was an
intense and emotionally filled weekend. I went expecting the homecoming
and found a deeper level of contact with family and others. My thoughts
were of what was to be with Bob, how will Aileen handle all that has
come her way with recent family losses, how will the family accept the
outcome and any issues that arise out of it, and will the congregation
survive. For me personally I am reflecting on what the past six years
has given me in learning about the signs following spiritual experience
and how has this changed my relationship with my own spiritual nature?
There is much to reflect upon and the story is still unfolding.
Chuck Conner
09/04/06
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