THE SUICIDE THAT ROCKED THIS SMALL TIGHT KNIT COMMUNITY, THEN NEWS THAT QUICKLY SPREAD ACROSS THE WORLD

This post is breaking protocol in my mission here to spread good news and help people get out and about to find the free and ever accessible joy and peace of nature, while sustaining what we still have for the future.

Due in part to our fascination with social media, news of the initially questioned suicide of a thirty-year-old pastors wife, Mica Miller on April 24, 2024 quickly spread like a west coast wildfire in gusty winds.

Protesters spent this Fathers Day in South Carolina enduring sweltering heat to passionately chant and carry signs in front of the church where Mica and her husband, JP Miller worked and worshipped.   

Protestors chanted and angrily jabbed accusing fingers directly at the church near its signs on the church lawn which encouraged love and forgiveness.

Police officers stayed close to protesters the entire time to keep them safe and orderly, and kept traffic moving on the busy through-street that runs in front of the church.

Men were also protesting and shouting, "Justic for Mica" with some filming like one below wearing a YouTube cap.

 

Micas family hired Conway attorney Regina B. Ward to thoroughly investigate all aspects of this tangled web, including the alleged abuse and violence Mica, friends and family said she suffered by her pastor-husband, JP. Inside Edition reported that Attorney Ward has spoken out about the “coercive control” legislation that’s been stalled in South Carolina. She’s quoted as damning the abusive control as “psychological warfare,” and this new legislation would classify it as “abuse.” She’s proposed very publicly that it be raised from the dead and its contents be amended, expanded, and then renamed, “Micas Law.” https://www.insideedition.com/could-mica-miller-have-been-helped-if-stalled-south-carolina-bill-was-law-her-familys-lawyer-says. She believes victims of abuse could legally be better protected if such a law were passed and advised protesters to focus instead on “the potential of ‘Micas Law"' http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/news/local/article288727325 

Local News 13 reported that Attorney Ward said, “It (coercive control) will damage the very soul of a person. It will make them doubt and lose their self-confidence, and especially their self-worth so they’ll give up on being happy and they’ll trudge through every day. "Or maybe they won’t.”   https://www.wbtw.com/news/news13-investigates/law-buried-in-south-carolina-legislature-might-have-saved-mica-miller-attorney-says/

The church’s ministry includes an adjacent school, Faith First Academy and funds were raised and property purchased for an ambitious expansion plan. The plan included increasing the activities and size of the church and school including for it to expand to K-12 that were posted on its website and on Facebook.

A small but well-maintained playground sits behind the school on spacious, manicured land used for both church and school sports and activities. 

The church has a long history, going back to its days as the official Air Force multi-denominational chapel for this closely knit former military base. On New Years Eve 2023 Pastor JP Miller said they’d outgrown the current building and announced they planned to expand the church and school from its current 2 acres. Subsequently  14 acres nearby were purchased, https://ca.news.yahoo.com/notice-trees-cleared-along-highway-150019126.html, and included plans to expand their athletic programs. https://faithfirstacademy.org

Reverend Charles Randall, 72 has been acting as the church’s pastor since he released JP Miller from his official duties at the church in early May 2024.  A former Elder said in an interview that the church's membership of 700 had dwindled to about 50 since Mica's suicide. https://www.wbtw.com/news/news13-investigates/news13-exclusive-john-paul-millers-former-associate-says-hes-not-the-man-i-thought-he-was/. Randall was quoted as saying he helped JP set up the church in 2006. In his 2024 Sunday sermon on Mothers Day  to only about 30 people in attendance, Reverend Randall said, 

“We need to be stable, steadfast, unmovable while we go through this storm. Too many folks are being moved by lies and innuendos. I’m here for the duration, I’m not gonna be here forever. I want you to know I’m here because there’s a Christian brother that needs help. He (JP) needs help, I refuse to let this ministry die because I believe in it.”  

Randall added, (he, Randall) “was taking the sermon to ensure that the ‘seed God used Mica to plant’ continues to grow, and to take the church ‘forward’ despite the scandal.”  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13409933/Mica-Millers-disgraced-husband-allowed-pastor-suicide-reverend-friend-says-needs-guidance-counselling.html.

 

Posted at the bottom of news pages: To reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline dial 9-8-8, which is available in Spanish and English 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.