PRESS RELEASE – A key religious figure in the worldwide movement for marriage equality is being initiated as the senior pastor at a Pensacola church congregation.

The Rev. Dr. Jim Merritt will be installed as senior pastor at Holy Cross Metropolitan Community Church during a special ceremony at 10 a.m. on Sept. 14. Merritt is the marriage equality director for the Global Justice Institute and Public Policy Team of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches, the denomination to which Holy Cross belongs.

Merritt, 52, will be installed in a ceremony that includes the Rev. Elder Nancy Wilson, the moderator and worldwide leader of UFMCC. Many other MCC clergy and other dignitaries are expected to attend.

Merritt, who was called to serve Holy Cross MCC following a prayerful and deliberative process to find a senior pastor for the church, said he is looking forward to leading the 200-member congregation.

“Holy Cross has a deep and vibrant history of providing a loving and welcoming place of worship for folks in this community, many of whom may have felt like other avenues of spiritual solace were not available to them,” he said. “I look forward to building on this foundation, to expanding our ministries and increasing our impact on Pensacola and the surrounding communities.”

Merritt’s arrival in Pensacola comes as courts in Florida and across the nation are affirming the rights of same-sex couples to legally marry.

“I believe the time when we will see lesbian and gay couples getting married in Florida is measured in weeks and months rather than years and decades,” Merritt said. “Like all MCCs, Holy Cross is proud to perform same-sex holy union ceremonies, but I am joyously anticipating the day very soon when I can perform the first legal gay marriage here.”

MCC is sometimes referred to as “the gay church” since it was started in 1968 by a defrocked gay minister with a special ministry toward making lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Christians feel welcome.

However, modern MCCs are inclusive of everyone who wishes to follow Jesus.

Merritt was born in Dothan, Ala., and raised in Auburndale, Fla. He was ordained at the age of 18 and has been in ministry for more than 30 years. He received his bachelor of music degree from Stetson University and Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees from Episcopal Divinity School.

He as previously served Metropolitan Community Churches in Gainesville, Sarasota, Jacksonville and Orlando in Florida, as well as an MCC in Boston, Mass.

Merritt brings his partner of nearly 20 years, Al Leach, to Pensacola. Leach is the owner of a commercial real estate business.

Holy Cross MCC was established in Pensacola in 1977. The congregation has met in several locations across Pensacola over the years. Currently, the church occupies an eight acre parcel 3130 W. Fairfield Drive, about a half mile west of W Street. Weekly services are at 10 a.m. every Sunday.

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