OUR PASTOR
Reverend Doctor
Joy Carrington
Rev. Dr. Joy Denise Carrington is the younger of two children born to the late James Carrington and Carolyn Manley Carrington of Chesapeake, Virginia. She graduated with honors from Oscar Frommel Smith High School in Chesapeake, Virginia, in 1997. Rev. Carrington continued her education at Virginia Union University, where she earned an Associate of Arts degree in Religion and Philosophy and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology. She later attended Regent University, obtaining a Master of Arts in Human Services Counseling and a Master of Divinity in Practical Theology in 2004. Dr. Carrington also holds a Doctor of Ministry Degree from The Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University in Richmond, Virginia.
Rev. Carrington was ordained as an Elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. She felt called to preach at the age of sixteen and has since served as a youth pastor, assistant pastor, and senior pastor. Rev. Carrington has been granted the Privilege of Call by the United Church of Christ. In her thirtieth year of ministry, she serves as Senior Pastor and Teacher of The Great Awakening, United Church of Christ in Portsmouth, Virginia. Additionally, she is a reservist Chaplain (Captain) in the United States Air Force.
Rev. Carrington has worked at Saint Paul's College in Lawrenceville, Virginia, as a College Counselor and adjunct professor teaching Religion courses. She has traveled to India and Cambodia several times as a missionary. Her service includes work as a Staff Chaplain at St. Francis Medical Center in Midlothian, Virginia, and completion of 5.5 units of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) at Maryview Medical Center in Portsmouth, Virginia. This January marked twelve years for Pastor Joy as Director of Campus Ministry at the Wesley Westminster Foundation at Norfolk State University. Her ministry has earned recognition, including the 2016 NSU Program of the Year and the 2018 Group Excellence in Community Service Awards.
Above all, Rev. Carrington values her family, enjoys traveling, and is devoted to preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
