The Rev. Lee M. Miller

The newly elected Bishop, the Rev. Lee M. Miller II, will be the pulpit guest of First Lutheran Church and the Southwestern District of the Upstate New York Synod on Sunday, Oct. 3 at both the 9 a.m. Contemporary Worship and the 11 a.m. Traditional Worship. The Bishop will also be attending the Adult Sunday School at 10 a.m. in the Fellowship Room for a meet and greet with those in attendance.

The Rev. Lee M. Miller II was elected on June 5, by the Synod Assembly of the Upstate New York Synod to serve as the fifth bishop in the synod’s history. Bishop Miller began a six-year term on Sept. 1. Bishop Miller succeeds The Rev. John S. Macholz and Lee Miller, II is the son of the former synod bishop, The Rev. Lee Miller, Ed.D., (1992-2002). “I dream a church where love activates people to do justice and share the joy which we receive as a gift,” Bishop Miller says.

The Upstate New York Synod is a collaboration of 170 congregations and communities throughout the Upstate region. The synod is united in its proclamation of God’s grace for all people, the work of justice in each community and neighborhood, and the joy that is found connecting communities to one another.

At the time of his election, Bishop Miller served as the Senior Pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Buffalo where he served for nine years, connecting the congregation to the community through local and global partnerships, collaborations, accompaniment work in racial justice, and in support of local schools and organizations. Bishop Miller previously served as the lead pastor of St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Philadelphia, PA, and his first call was to Christus Evangelical Lutheran Church in Camden, NJ.

He holds a Master of Divinity degree from the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, and his Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the State University in Albany. He has served as a member of the synod councils and candidacy committees as well as serving as a voting member of the 2009 and 2016 ELCAA Churchwide Assemblies. Most recently Bishop Miller has served as the Dean of the Niagara Frontier conference and sits on the boards of VOICE Buffalo, and the Niagara Lutheran Health System.

Bishop Miller has a close relationship with the Jamestown First Lutheran Church where his father, the late Dr. Lee Miller, was an Assistant Pastor of First Lutheran Church from the 1960s through the early 1970s. Bishop Miller was born and baptized at the local church. His father, the Rev. Dr. Lee M. Miller, became Bishop of the Upstate New York Synod at the St. James Episcopal Cathedral in Syracuse on September 26, 1992. Bishop Miller had the Jamestown First Lutheran Choir and organist, Brian A. Bogey, Minister of Music, perform for this very significant and historic event. The public is welcome to attend and greet our newly elected Bishop Miller on Sunday, Oct. 3.