In April of this year, Joel Littlepage announced to his congregation that he would be leaving in the coming months. He wrote:
“I want to be clear that we came to this conclusion before Pastor Russ’ return from his sabbatical and communication about his departure. While the timing is surprising in many ways, it is nonetheless the truth. Once I learned of Pastor Russ’ imminent timeline, I had to discern whether or not to divulge this decision to Mosaic now. The timing is very painful (especially given current events in DC). I hate to cause pain to this congregation, and I wrestled with whether to continue for the next year(s) to offer pastoral stability. After hours of agony, prayer, and counsel from several wise advisors, I came to see that the most caring course was to make my journey known to you now so that Mosaic can discern its future of pastoral leadership without my long-term presence weighing on that decision.”
A few weeks later, in May, his wife Melissa posted “Habemus Papam!” (“We have a pope”) after the election of Pope Leo XIV.
Then, just last week, Littlepage said in his sermon:
“I want everyone to hear it from me as your pastor, because you’re going to hear it either way. What Melissa and I discerned in our journey seeking the Lord’s face is that our calling was to come into full communion and unity with the Catholic Church.”
After this declaration, he administered communion to the congregation—including Teaching Elder and current Mission to North America coordinator Irwyn Ince. At the close of the service, TE Ince prayed over them, saying:
“I’m gonna ask, uh, most particularly GMO’s elder shepherdesses, leaders, come surround them, and anyone else who wants to come on down to the front. Put your hands on our dear Littlepages, as we get to go before the Lord on their behalf, understanding that as said before the service, this is just see you soon, not full goodbye.”
The whole service was riddled with problems—and this is only scratching the surface.
