A West Virginia pastor pays the price for his faith
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PHOTOS: Snake handling: A fading tradition
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Pastor Randy “Mack” Wolford, a defender of a serpent-handling faith known as Signs Following, died after being bitten by a rattlesnake during a worship service.
Pastor Randy "Mack" Wolford, second from right in green shirt, handles a rattlesnake after it bit him on the thigh at a worship service at West Virginia's Panther Wildlife Management Area. Surrounding him, from left, are Jamie Lloyd, of Sidney, Ohio; Wolford's mother, Vicie Haywood; and Donald Dover, of North Carolina. Lauren Pond/Lauren Pond for The Washington Post
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The photojournalist who documented the final hours of snake-handling pastor Mack Wolford asks: What role did I have in this tragedy, and what is it now, in the aftermath?
In struggling Jolo, W.Va., a small group of believers try to keep such expressions of faith from dying out.