US-RELIGION-PENTECOSTAL-SNAKES

Pastor Chris Wolford checks on a timber rattlesnake before a Pentecostal serpent handlers service at the House of the Lord Jesus church in Squire, West Virginia on May 26, 2018. - Pastor Chris Wolford held an extended memorial weekend service to honour his brother, Randy "Mack" Wolford, the previous pastor who died from a snake bite during a service 6 years ago. The church is one of the few of the Signs denomination, in which worshippers speak in tongues, drink poison, test themselves with fire, and handle serpents as a testimony of their faith. The Pentecostal Signs denomination is still found in the the Appalachian Mountains and other parts of the southeastern United States as they continue this century-old tradition, taking their scriptural mandate from the Bible's Gospel of Mark 16: 17-18. (Photo by Andrew CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP) (Photo credit should read ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)