The Rev. Steve Miller, First Church in Jaffrey’s new pastor, will give his first sermon Sunday, Jan. 23, at the Congregational/United Church of Christ at 14 Laban Ainsworth Way in Jaffrey.
The service begins at 10:30 a.m. To protect against COVID, attendees must be fully vaccinated, wear a mask and adhere to socially distant seating.
“I am very excited about getting to know all the people in Jaffrey, the church and the wider Jaffrey community,” Miller stated. “I’ve met neighbors walking my dog – I’m a bit of a schmoozer – and I was playing in the snow and making a snowman with my two grandsons, who are ages 2 1/2 and nine months.”
His wife Jill will join him at the First Church parsonage after she retires in May as professor and chair of the University of South Dakota Communications Department. Miller comes to Jaffrey from Vermillion, S.D., where he was the pastor for 26 years at the United Church of Christ-Congregational.
Miller grew up in Worcester, Mass., and graduated from Springfield College in 1981. He served churches in Bethlehem, Conn., and Gilman, Iowa, before going to Vermillion in 1995.
He was honored by the Vermillion Community Theatre with a poster of six photos of him in community theater productions that was headlined “Actor, Playwright, Songwriter, Musician, Director of Spirit” in appreciation of his and the church’s support in helping the theater build a center for performing arts at the high school. He was also was a leader of the Vermillion Youth Baseball Association for players 5 to 12.