Texas Church: Pastor Died of Accidental Overdose
Family and friends will gather Tuesday afternoon to mourn the loss of a Frisco, Texas, pastor who died of an accidental overdose.
Barry Keldie, founding pastor of Providence Church, died Friday. He was 31.
According to a brief statement released by The Village Church in Highland Village, from where he was dispatched to plant Providence Church five years ago, Keldie had long suffered from insomnia and developed an addiction to prescription sleeping pills.
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He began taking Tylenol PM in an effort to overcome the addiction and still get the necessary sleep.
"Doctors suspect that as a side effect of the medication, he became disoriented and consumed more than the recommended dosage. Barry's death was a result of an accidental overdose of Tylenol PM," the statement reads.
When he was admitted into the Intensive Care Unit with liver and kidney damage, members of Providence Church gathered for a prayer service on Thursday. He died the following morning. Providence Church opened its doors for the community to mourn, pray, and talk about Keldie's life that day.
"We will be forever grateful for how God used him in the life of our body," the church expressed in a statement on its website following news of Keldie's death.
On his Twitter page, Keldie described himself as a Christian, a husband, dad and a pastor. "[A]nd those roles couldn't bring me more joy," he added.
Keldie was 15 when he accepted Christ and had been preaching for over a dozen years. His church belongs to the Acts 29 Network, a peer-to-peer association of churches dedicated to planting local, missional, Christ-centered communities.
The funeral for Keldie is being held at The Village Church.
Keldie is survived by his wife, Charity, and their two children, Will, 3, and Layla, 1. The family is currently setting up a care fund.
