Oasis of Praise Church in McCalla, rocked by controversy since the pastor’s grandson was charged last year with killing five people, has named a new pastor.

On Tuesday, Oasis of Praise announced on social media that longtime Associate Pastor Patrick Cooper was the new lead pastor, and his wife, Trista, will serve as co-lead pastor. Cooper did not immediately return calls requesting comment.

He succeeds former Oasis of Praise Pastor Allan Kendrick, whose grandson Brandon Kendrick was charged with killing five people last year at the pastor’s home. Allen Kendrick retired Feb. 5 from the church after 41 years and accepted a retirement package.

“I’m just tired,” Kendrick said in a Feb. 7 interview with AL.com. He and his wife, Gay, co-lead pastors, stepped down. “My wife’s tired.”

The McCalla church approved a $100,000 retirement package for the Kendricks. Kendrick said he had been on leave of absence from the church and hadn’t preached since Dec. 18.

Kendrick, 73, said he had been the target of what he claimed were relentless and mostly false social media accusations against him by people who believe he is responsible in some way for the murders that happened at his home on July 18. He and his wife had raised their grandson, Brandon, since age 12 because the boy’s father, now deceased, and his mother were on drugs, he said.

Brandon Allan Kendrick II, 32, is charged with five counts of capital murder. Charging documents against Brandon Kendrick say he shot his wife, Kelse Kendrick, 24, in the head with a handgun. Four children were also fatally shot: Kaleb Kendrick, 6, Kynli Kendrick, 2, Haley Daniels, 6, and Colton Daniels, 8.

“When this happened, I started getting accused of being responsible for the five murders that took place,” Allen Kendrick said.

Kendrick said his grandson was mentally ill and “it was only by the grace of God that my wife and I” were not killed also. He said his wife took the gun out of Brandon’s hand and as she did so, the gun went off, narrowly missing her.

Kelse Kendrick, her husband Brandon, and their two children lived in a garage apartment behind the pastor’s home in the West Blocton area in Bibb County. Kelce and the children had earlier been at the home of Bill Morrow, Kelse Kendrick’s grandfather, for a pool party to celebrate Colton’s upcoming 9th birthday.

After the murders happened in July, a group of critics of Kendrick started a Facebook page the following week which has been a forum for criticism of the pastor and the church. He said people he has never met have accused him of wrongdoing. He said he has received numerous threatening phone calls.

Kendrick became pastor of what was then known as Shades Crest Church of God in 1983, with only four members. The name changed to Pocahontas Road Church of God and then, in the late 1990s, Oasis of Praise.

Kendrick, who retired from U.S. Steel and construction work to be a full-time pastor, said he personally led the construction of the current church building and the one that preceded it, while overseeing growth to more than 1,200 members, with attendance of 600 to 700 on Sundays at its peak before the murders.

The Church of God, a denomination based in Cleveland, Tenn., hired an investigator to look into allegations against him on social media raised by participants in the Facebook group, he said. He was accused of sexual harassment, sexual abuse and of covering up sexual abuse, he said. He denies those accusations. If there is a continued investigation, he will surrender his preaching license, he said.

Church of God State Bishop Tim Brown and administrative liaison Alton Bristow did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the leadership transition at Oasis of Praise.