'No, devil, you can't have my momma': Pastor saves choking elderly woman during church service

'No, devil, you can't have my momma': Pastor saves choking elderly woman during church service



A pastor in Alabama stopped a service to save a choking elderly woman who was worshipping when a piece of a mint sent her into a coughing fit.

Mt. Zion church in Cottonwood, Alabama, had a visiting pastor named Brandon Stewart come into town to perform a revival service. A revival service is a "reawakening of spiritual fervor. It is to revitalize the spiritual ardor of oneself," according to Christianity.com.

As the service was coming to an end, Pastor Stewart noticed that a church member named Lois Adams was coughing and thought that she might be sick.

"In the middle of the message and we were just kind of going, and we were getting ready to close, I heard coughing. I know it’s allergy season and colds were running around, so I was like it could be just that. And we were about to lay hands on her and heal her in the name of Jesus in a minute," Pastor Stewart explained, WTVY reported.

Churchgoers went into a moment of panic, however, as other worshippers started to become fearful for the elderly woman's life.

"I was praising the Lord like everybody else, but I had a piece of mint in my mouth because I get a dry mouth. I got choked on it," Adams recalled.

The woman said once she started choking, she immediately realized someone was lifting her off the floor.

"I went to coughing, and a little piece of it reckon went down my throat and I couldn’t breathe. Next thing I know, somebody has me in the air," she recalled.

The person lifting her into the air was Pastor Stewart, who had rushed over to perform the Heimlich maneuver.

"I picked her up off the ground. She treats us like her kids, so, no, devil, you can't have my momma," Stewart said of the incident.

"We jump in and Pastor Derrick comes up because he is backup. He’s like 'here we go.' He’s a first responder also and a great pastor of this church. And doing that, once she was clear and could talk, we all made a joke." Pastor Stewart added.

The pastor was adamant that once the woman's life was saved, it was time to get back to the church service.

"We did the business, now it’s time to get back to business," he declared. "It could have been anybody else in that position, it had nothing to do with me, but I’m honored and humbled that [God] used me in this position to be able to spread his gospel and to be able to help Miss Lois,” Pastor Stewart said.

Both the pastor and Adams stressed the importance of knowing how to perform the lifesaving technique.

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VIDEO: Reporter actually counts people exiting church, calls their actions 'bold breach' of Canadian COVID rules. Then reporter is compared to Hitler.



A journalist posted video of her counting people exiting a church Sunday in Chilliwack, British Columbia, and called their presence in the house of worship a "bold breach" of Canadian COVID restrictions.

What are the details?

Georgie Smyth — who's with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and covers the Vancouver area — appears to be sitting in a vehicle some distance from the church and can be heard on her video counting people as they exit:

I counted more than 60 people inside this church in Chilliwack, a bold breach of PHO orders to suspend gatherings d… https://t.co/tBiodNS2xl
— GeorginaSmyth (@GeorginaSmyth)1606694083.0

"I counted more than 60 people inside this church in Chilliwack, a bold breach of [Provincial Health Officer] orders to suspend gatherings due to record high COVID cases," she wrote. "Another church nearby was visited by [Royal Canadian Mounted Police]. Unfortunately both religious leaders decline to speak with us on camera." ⁦

How did folks react?

As you might imagine, some observers were appalled at Smyth's keen interest in the church's head count:

  • "You actually sat outside of a church...apparently with binoculars and a camera...to spy on people who are trying to worship?" one user asked. "Seriously?!?"
  • "I'm proud of your counting skills," one commenter wrote. "Now go use them usefully."
  • "National Socialist Alert," another user said.
  • "Stalking people at church," another commenter noted. "Our country is sliding into the pits of hell."
  • "And once again another proof that Canadian state-run media is not there to inform the public. It's there to inform the state. And that Canada is still NOT A FREE COUNTRY," another user declared.
  • "You should reevaluate your priorities if this is what you're choosing to report on," another observer said.

And another person left no doubt as to who the reporter reminded him of:

Image source: Twitter

Anything else?

Smyth was one of three reporters to contribute to a CBC story Sunday about two Chilliwack churches — Free Grace Baptist Church and Free Reformed Church — that are "continuing to offer in-person services despite orders from health officials to suspend the gatherings."

"Our constitution guarantees us the freedom of conscience and religion, which includes peacefully gathering together to worship our God," John Koopman, pastor of the Free Reformed Church, wrote in a statement shared with media this week, the outlet said. "Our constitution is the highest law in our land. Our convictions compel us to worship our God in the public gathering of his people and we must act in accordance with our conscience."

James P. Butler, pastor of Free Grace Baptist Church, in a statement rejected virtual-only worship services, the CBC reported, and argued that people continue to go to grocery stores even though they could shop online.

Butler said "online shopping does not provide everything that an 'in-person' shopping experience can provide," the outlet noted. "In a much greater way, the same is true for the church, especially in a time of pandemic when depression, drug and alcohol abuse, domestic abuse, and other mental health challenges are soaring."

Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry suspended all in-person faith-related gatherings earlier this month in order to slow the COVID-19 spread, the CBC reported, adding that worshippers were told not to attend services at their gurdwara, synagogue, church, mosque, or temple.