Our History
Joy Metropolitan Community Church was formed in the early years of the denomination. Joy MCC began in the living room of Rev. Arthur Fleschner with 22 people in attendance that evening in mid January 1979. After two months in March 18, 1979 Joy MCC achieved New Work status as a beginning church; this was followed by Commissioned Church status on June 9, 1981.
From the very beginning, Joy MCC has actively supported and been supported by the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. In June 1980, Joy MCC participated in its first Gay Pride Celebration, sponsored by Gay Social Services, with a worship service.
As the Orlando area and the congregation of Joy MCC grew at a rapid rate, the church began to prepare all of the documents in order to gain Chartered Church status. In December 13, 1982 the UFMCC Board of Elders granted the Chartered Church status to Joy MCC but it was not until March 13, 1983 when the official ceremony took place when Rev. Elder Troy D. Perry, founder and moderator of UFMCC and his mother the late Edith “Mom” Perry were the feature guests.
From Rev. Fleschner’s home the services were moved to a temporary location until a church could be found. The First Unitarian Church in Orlando assisted Joy MCC by providing their unused library as space for worship on Sunday evenings. By October 1982, Joy MCC had to move from the space at First Unitarian Church on Robinson Street to the New Age Center on Curry Ford Road. This move enabled the church to have its Sunday morning worship service and Thursday night program at the same location.
A building search committee looked at several pieces of property, but was unable to find the right one. When average Sunday attendance reached 91 in 1987, Rev. Jimmy Brock and the Board of Directors realized that to continue to grow the church would require an even larger space. In mid-1988, the church purchased a vacant lot and house at Ferncreek Avenue and Page Street. The house was used for the church office, Bible study and small group meetings while worship services continued to take place at the New Age Center.
By 1989 the church had 201 members and Sunday worship service attendance was averaging 135. Moving to a large space became an urgent priority. Calvary Missionary Baptist Church was across from Page House and it was for sale. The property including worship space, offices, a fellowship hall and a small house was purchased by Joy MCC. The commitment was started in 1997 by Rev. Brock as the Capital Funds Campaign with a series of dessert parties in his home. Additional funding was accomplished through members and friends pledging “Gold Bricks” for the mortgage payment. Over the latter part of the 1990s, several properties at the Ferncreek site were either sold or torn down to make room for the present building structure.
