Pastor electrocuted during baptism [Texas]

Sydney Morning Herald ^ | October 31, 2005 | AP

[aculeus]

A US pastor performing a baptism was electrocuted inside his Texas church when he grabbed a microphone while partially submerged, a church employee said.

The Reverend Kyle Lake, 33, was standing in water up to his shoulder in a baptismal in front of 800 people at University Baptist Church when he was electrocuted yesterday, said Jamie Dudley, a church business administrator.

Doctors in the congregation unsuccessfully performed chest compressions for 40 minutes, Dudley said.

The woman Lake was baptising was not injured, Dudley said.

Pastors at University Baptist Church routinely use a microphone during baptisms, Dudley said.

"He was grabbing the microphone so everyone could hear," Dudley said.

"It's the only way you can be loud enough."

About 800 people attended the morning service, which was larger than normal because it was homecoming weekend at nearby Baylor University, Dudley said.

Lake, who had a wife and three children, had been at the church for nine years, the last seven as pastor, Dudley said.

AP

[durasell]

Ya gotta know your audience...

[Tall_Texan]

...or perhaps the baptismal pool was in the spin cycle.

[theDentist]

Nah, I'll respond to your "admonishment", because your are not my father, or THE Father. You're just frustrated because someone dares speak back to you. Perhaps you should seek help. :)

[theDentist]

Tell you what. I am sorry you took it all the wrong way. It was meant in dark humor. From here on, I'll only send replies via private message if warranted. No sense bickering publicly.

[GrandEagle]

Who knows how many souls decided not to wait any longer after witnessing this.
Very true. I wasn't questioning the event. Only commenting that I didn't see the humor.

Cordially,
GE

[twntaipan]

Usually they wear waders (like fly fishermen do), at least if they have a robe on. Churches like UBC, however, are much less formal than traditional churches. It is possible he was in shorts and a t-shirt (I don't know that with any certainty, though).

[Texas2step]

From a local print story, they reported that there were 800 in attendance (200 above the average attendance for some reason) and that those who were not involved in physically assisting did exactly that. They prayed for the pastor and his family until the EMS arrived and took him away.

[AxelPaulsenJr]

Tragic, just tragic.

[Texas2step]

From a local print article, the woman was not yet all the way in the baptismal and did receive a shock and was taken to the hospital for observation.

[Jeremiah Jr]

Was he a proponent of intelligent design?

[PAR35]

Update from today's Dallas Morning News - it may not have been the microphone after all:

"Others said it appeared that a piece of band equipment fell in the water in which he was standing."

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/110205dntexpastor.1b20e07a.html
(Registration required, or use Bugmenot)

Also, to the question from one poster as to why there was a large crowd, family and alumni were in town for Homecoming at Baylor.

I tried to ping most of the folks who expressed serious interest (apologies for any of those omitted), while leaving out the jerks.

[GrandEagle]

Thanks for the PING.

GE

[Cold Heat]

Hmmmmmm.....

Don't know for sure, but he may have pulled a small PA amp in with him. Hard to say if he got shocked first or after...

It really just tells us all that we are mortal and on borrowed time, so make the most of what you have and know that you may not get the chance to do it later.

A 19 year old friend of my son was killed over the weekend bu smoke inhalation after a fire started in his closet while he was sleeping. Prelim results of the investigation seem to indicate a light fixture, (fluorescent) as the culprit.

There are many pitfalls to living, and there is no such thing as a safe environment.

[N8VTXNinWV]

that was not nice. My mother knows this young man and his family. It was a freak accident, and to happen at Baylors Homecoming didn't help matters. His children are very young, including a set of 2 year old twins.

Prayers for his lovely wife and his children.

[diamond6]

What a horrible and evil thing to say. That man probably suffered a great deal.

All of us have done something stupid, it's what makes us human.

[Lx]

Thanks for the ping.
... Some of the more than 800 in the congregation, mostly Baylor University students and their families in town for homecoming weekend, said Lake cried out for help after adjusting a microphone. Others said it appeared that a piece of band equipment fell in the water in which he was standing...

If it was a piece of equipment then that is extreme carelessness on someone's part. OTOH, the mic story makes sense. I would expect a piece of equipment powered up and dropped in the water would blow a breaker before the Pastor and anyone else unlucky enough to be in the water was electrocuted. Of course it doesn't take much current to kill someone, far less than it would take to trip a 20 amp breaker so who knows. Horrible, horrible outcome either way.

[theDentist]

On the contrary, it was probably rather quick. yes yes, I've been taken to the woodshed already, and apologies are offered. The truth is, if this were an engineer at a bday party doing the same, a lot more "darwin nominee" postings would have appeared. And it was NOT a criticism of his being a Pastor, it's observant that a man who should know better still did something so utterly dumb.

[pamlet]

You must be all of 15 if you think 33 is a ripe old age.

While you may find it amusing - it isn't for most of society when a young man - with a young family loses his life.

[CindyDawg]

The humor doesn't bother me, coming from people who care but I was thinking today that I doubt he wanted to die. God gives us a strong will to live or we would be killing ourselves every time we have hardships. However, to die, glorifying the Lord....

[WildTurkey]

From a local print story, they reported that there were 800 in attendance (200 above the average attendance for some reason) and that those who were not involved in physically assisting did exactly that.

Doesn't say much for the power of prayer if several hundred in the Lord's house can't get a little favor from God.