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A funeral service in Rivers State took a tragic turn on Friday, October 2, when an RCCG pastor suddenly collapsed while preaching about d£.ath and was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
The incident happened in Aleto community, Eleme, where residents and members of the Redeemed Christian Church of God had gathered for the funeral service.
The pastor, identified as Deacon Steve Eyo, was the officiating minister at the service. He had taken the pulpit to deliver a sermon centred on death, eternity and the hope that follows it.
His message was titled “The Certainty of Death and Hope Beyond.”
P.M. News reports that Eyo had been speaking to the mourners about the fact that death is unavoidable. While explaining his message, he reportedly likened life and death to a trip to the market.
The pastor was quoted as telling those at the funeral that some people leave the market early, while others remain there until late. In the same way, he explained, some people die early while others live to an older age.
He also reminded the congregation that death does not always give warning before coming.
But while the sermon was still underway, the message took a disturbing turn.
About 15 minutes after he began preaching, Eyo suddenly collapsed.
His microphone fell to the ground with a loud sound, immediately attracting the attention of those present. Because the pastor had been talking about how unexpectedly death could happen, some people initially thought his fall was part of the illustration he was using during the sermon.
It quickly became obvious that this was not the case.
Those around him moved him away from the front of the gathering, while church ministers and choir members gathered to help. Prayers were said for him as attempts were made to revive him.
People at the service who had some medical knowledge also stepped in and administered first aid.
His condition, however, did not improve. A medical person later observed that the pastor was no longer breathing.
He was immediately taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. In a particularly unusual turn of events, the ambulance used to rush him to the hospital was the same ambulance that had earlier been hired to convey the remains of the deceased whose funeral had brought everyone together.
Despite the efforts to save him, the pastor was pronounced dead at the hospital.
His remains were subsequently taken to the mortuary.
The incident left the funeral service in an entirely different situation from what those present had expected when the pastor began his sermon. He had been speaking about the certainty of death and warning that nobody knows when it will come. Moments later, he himself had collapsed and d!ed.
His sermon, titled “The Certainty of D£ath and Hope Beyond,” had therefore taken on a deeply personal meaning for everyone who witnessed what happened.
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#NigeriaNews
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