A PASTOR whose wife recently died was seen on video joking in his church just minutes before announcing her untimely death and asking his congregation to leave.
John-Paul Miller says his wife, Mica Miller, 30, died by suicide, but loved ones are questioning a recently released video and calling for a full investigation into what happened.
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Robeson County Sheriff’s Office police found Mica’s body late last month in Lumber River State Park in North Carolina — about two hours east of Charlotte and an hour and a half from Myrtle Beach, North Carolina. South, where the couple lived at the time of their death. .
The pastor shared the tragic news with his congregation at the end of his sermon at Solid Rock at Market Common Church in Myrtle Beach on Sunday.
John-Paul appears to be leading a typical homily in the first minute of a video shared online of last weekend’s gathering.
He even jokes about his appearance and character, eliciting scattered laughter from his congregation.
The pastor relates to the “tall, charming…humble” pastors who preached to the congregation’s ancestors over the centuries.
But then he gets more serious.
“We’re not going to do an altar call today, instead I’m going to make you stand up and make an announcement,” John-Paul says, changing his tone.
“After the announcement, I will ask you to leave the church in silence and not talk about the announcement here in the building”, he advises the congregants.
He pauses to ask listeners to continue attending services while he takes a sabbatical for an unknown period of time.
“My request to you is to keep coming to church… I’m taking a little break… it might be a few days, a few weeks, I don’t know,” he says.
She was probably the best wife anyone could ask for.
Pastor John-Paul Miller
Then he makes the shocking announcement as his voice begins to crack.
“I got a call last night that my wife just passed away. It was self-induced and happened in North Carolina,” he says.
“You knew that she was not well mentally and that she needed medicine that was difficult to get, so I’m sure more details will come.”
The short clip ends when John-Paul leaves the stage and hands the microphone to another pastor to lead the final prayer.
A DIFFICULT ROAD
Mica has thought about hurting herself in the past, her husband told the ABC affiliate WPDE shortly after he announced his death.
“She had struggled with suicide before. Every time we helped her and took her to the doctor, we got through it and everything was fine,” said John-Paul.
“She even gave some testimonies here at the church that we have on video. She struggled with suicide, but God took care of her and helped her get through it,” she added.
Mica was once a worship leader at Solid Rock, but has been absent from worship in recent weeks, friends and family said.
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And she shared song lyrics and snippets of her thoughts and mental state in online posts leading up to her death.
“When terrible, terrible, terrible things happen to you,” she wrote in a cryptic post on April 9, alongside a photo of herself smiling — her “resting face of peace,” as she called it.
She added that her followers knew what she was talking about.
Police said they do not believe there is an ongoing threat to the public at this time, but gave few details about the investigation or cause of death.
When US Sun reached out to the Robeson Sheriff’s Office for comment, deputies would only confirm that they were still investigating Mica’s death.
Some friends and family have called for an in-depth investigation into his death due to a lack of public information about what happened.
A COMMUNITY FIGHTS
“She was probably the best wife anyone could ask for,” John-Paul told WPDE.
He told his congregation during the announcement of his death that they could attend the funeral, which would be held on Sunday in Solid Rock.
“Mica was energetic, assertive, adventurous, faithful, loving, generous, forgiving, talented, cheerful, creative, assertive, bold, determined, authoritative, passionate, hardworking, a risk taker and much more,” her obituary said.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, please call or text 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org or text Crisis Text Line at 741741.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
