Rev. John Middleton, senior pastor of Joy Metropolitan Community Church, is leaving his position this fall. Middleton has lived in Orlando for more than 20 years and has been employed by Joy MCC for 10 years. He’s moving to Jacksonville to care for his mother.
“I love the people here and this is really bittersweet for me,” Middleton said.” We’ve only got one family, my mother is 94 years old and I don’t want to look back and wish I’d made the choice to spend more time with her.”
His last Sunday with the church will be Oct. 24.
The church Board of Directors is working with a regional elder to identify an interim pastor.
“The timing will work out very well so the pastor will be in place when I leave,” he said.
Middleton said every effort is being made to make the transition as smooth as possible for the congregation.
“With every change, whether we choose it or change is imposed on us, there always is a sense of grief because every change entails loss,” Middleton said. “But there also is a sense of hope, because every change offers new possibilities, and so to be wise in a transition is not to let one outweigh other but to live in that tension between loss and hope.”
Joy MCC is an LGBT-inclusive church located on Ferncreek Ave. in Orlando.
