Rev. Richard Miller

Richard Miller was called by vote of the congregation of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of San Jose, California, in 1989 to become its senior minister with the search committee, church board, and entire congregation first being fully informed that he is an openly gay man, would not be closeted, and would want the support of the congregation in working for full inclusion in the church of GLBTQ members and for social justice for the GLBTQ community. As far as anyone has been able to ascertain, this was the first time that a Disciples of Christ congregation called an openly gay person to a pastoral position. Of course, there were gay and lesbian closeted ministers serving churches as well as those who had been "outed" in the course of their service, but this was a "first" in terms of the process and call.

The congregation became an explicitly Open and Affirming congregation, and Miller wrote the Open and Affirming policy for the Northern California and Hawaii Disciple region. This was adopted by the region in the early 1990's and has been the policy ever since then.

Miller also founded the Northern California chapter of GLAD (Gay, Lesbian, and Affirming Disciples), now renamed as Disciple LGBTQ+Alliance, and also led in the formation of a GLBTQ group within the San Jose congregation. The congregation, located in downtown San Jose, became multicultural during his leadership and developed a major ministry with the downtown homeless population.

A 1964 graduate of Yale Divinity School where he also served as an assistant to Yale Chaplain William Sloane Coffin, Miller was in a heterosexual marriage and served churches on the East Coast before coming out as openly gay in 1982. He then ended his marriage and resigned from being pastor of a church in Silver Spring, Maryland, in 1982 and moved to the Castro district of San Francisco where he did gardening and garden design for a living. He resolved that he would not return to ministry unless he could do so as an openly gay man and in a church which would be affirming of GLBTQ persons. The San Jose Church made that possible in 1989. Later he also served another open and affirming, multicultural, interracial congregation in the Los Angeles area and organized and served as president of the Southern California Chapter of GLAD (Gay, Lesbian, and Affirming Disciples).

(This biographical statement was written by Richard Miller.)

Biography Date: July 2025

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