Meet Our Interim Minister
Our interim minister, Rev. Joel Miller, came to us from Oregon, where he was interim minister for two years at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Corvallis. He grew up in the First UU Church of Columbus, Ohio, then came back to the church after college, joined the choir, served on the Board of Trustees, and met and married his wife, Wendy, surrounded by this beloved community.
Joel left Columbus to study at Thomas Starr King School for the Ministry in Berkeley, California. After graduating, Rev. Joel started the Mission Peak UU Congregation in Fremont, California, and then was appointed New Congregation Minister at Columbine UU Church in Littleton, Colorado. In 2000, Rev. Joel was called to serve the UU Church of Buffalo, New York, where he was the Senior Minister for 11 years.
Rev. Joel’s social justice work is focused on women’s reproductive rights, mental health access, and marriage equality. He is active with the oldest UU ministers’ study group – the Greenfield Group – and was a co-founder of the UU Trauma Response Ministry after his experiences with the shootings at Columbine High School in 1999.
Joel and Wendy have a son, Eric, who graduated from the University of Rochester and is pursing graduate work, and a daughter, Susan B., who is a student at Colgate University.
Joel can be reached by email at jmiller@uuma.org or by phone via the church office – 315-386-2498.