A 103-year-old devout Christian woman who has spent most of her life, 92 years, attending and serving the Union Grove Baptist Church in Elberton, Georgia—even serving as the church's secretary for 40 years—got the shock of her life when she was suddenly banned from attending church services.
The reason: She disagreed with the preaching style of the church pastor.
Interviewed recently by Fox News, Genora Hamm Biggs said she has been a parishioner since she was 11 years old.
Not too long ago, she said she started having disagreements with Reverend Tim Mattox, a pastor who has been serving the church for six years.
Biggs said she objects to his preaching style, which she characterizes as a "Holiness style" that does not have any place in a Baptist church.
"At one point, he had a crew in here and they were hollering and falling out in the middle of the floor," Biggs told Fox News. "We don't do that in the Baptist Church."
Their dispute culminated when Biggs received a letter from Mattox stating that she could no longer attend church "for any reason whatsoever."
"This letter is to inform you that according to the by-laws of the Union Grove Baptist Church, and by vote of the active members, any membership or associations that you have had with this church are now officially revoked," read the letter, which was dated Aug. 2.
Biggs said the letter came as a big shock to her. "I wasn't expecting it. I'm not happy they're trying to put me out at that age," she told the Daily News.
However, Biggs decided to disregard the letter and still attended last Sunday's service anyway, much to the frustration of Mattox, who even sought the help of police authorities just to get Biggs out of the church.
But authorities said they could not do anything since the matter is a civil dispute between Biggs and the church.
Biggs said nothing can keep her away from the church, not even Mattox. "This is my church, I love this church, and he cannot stop me from going," she said.
