Pastor of Florida's Unique Drive-In Church Retires
It was the Rev. Larry Deitch's last Sunday as the pastor of a distinctive church by the seashore in Florida where worshippers park their cars – their personal pews – in front of his balcony – the "altar" – and tune their radios to a special FM frequency to listen to singing and a sermon every week.
Deitch, the 66-year-old pastor at the Daytona Beach Drive-In Christian Church for 17 years, officially retired Sunday, The Daytona Beach News-Journal reported. However, he will leave a month later, after assisting new Pastor Robert Kemp-Baird to take over his position.
"He's one of the most outstanding ministers in our denomination," Deitch, who lives in Port Orange with his wife, Cindy, said of the new minister, according to The Daytona Beach News-Journal. "He's an outstanding preacher, an A-plus personality. And one of the best musicians I've ever known."
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The outdoor church, which has 800-plus members, belongs to the Disciples of Christ denomination of churches.
The church's website features a quote by the outgoing pastor: "We like to worship outdoors by the seashore like Jesus did!" It was established in 1953 with Sunday services at the former Neptune Drive-In Theater, which the denomination finally bought five years later.
Deitch will be missed, the church says. "It's a great loss for our church, and a tremendous adjustment for our church," Steve Petrov, chairman of the church's board, said of the pastor's retirement. "But he believes that when one door closes another opens. Nothing stays the same." Petrov also said the church was blessed to have the new pastor. "He'll be a great asset to the church and community, like Larry was."
The retired pastor's wife has arranged for him to remain busy by buying him a horse – he raised horses as a kid – so he doesn't remain at home all the time.
