“She had a presence and an authority that made her quiet words deeply significant wherever she spoke them,” said Professor Emerita Dorothy Jean Weaver, who taught Miller at Eastern Mennonite Seminary (EMS) and worked alongside her on faculty for 19 years. “In her own way, she was a giant. She had a huge impact wherever she was, and certainly here at EMS.”

Miller served the seminary from 1991 to 2010 in roles including campus pastor and assistant professor of spiritual formation. She was committed to helping people discover their story within “God’s great story,” establishing EMS’ spiritual formation program, and founding training programs for spiritual directors within Mennonite Church USA and The United Methodist Church.

At EMS, she led the Summer Institute for Spiritual Formation and developed “Soul Space,” an online guide for scripture reading and prayer. Many of her lasting contributions, through the gifts she shared and the lives she touched, endure today.

In addition to her two decades on seminary faculty, she was an ordained minister in Mennonite Church USA’s Virginia Conference and was a leading author. Among her writings, Invitation to Presence: A Guide to Spiritual Disciplines (Upper Room Books, 1995) was translated into several languages. She maintained a private spiritual direction practice until entering hospice care last summer.

Formerly of Broadway, Virginia, Miller was living in West Chicago, Illinois, when she passed away on Oct. 8, 2025. She was 87. A memorial service celebrating her life, held on Dec. 6, can be viewed on YouTube . A full obituary is available at .

Her husband and partner in ministry of 65 years, the Rev. Edmond F. Miller, died in October 2024.

‘Her imprint remains’

Because of Miller’s “gentle and steady efforts” beginning when she joined the seminary faculty in 1991, said the Rev. Dr. Sarah Ann Bixler, dean of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, EMS centered spiritual formation in its curriculum “long before theological schools in general and Anabaptist schools in particular caught on to the importance of tending the inner life of ministerial leaders.”

“Today, hundreds of EMS graduates have been sustained in their ministerial vocations because of the ‘invitation to presence’ Rev. Miller modeled and extended to them,” wrote Bixler. “Her imprint remains on the EMS curriculum, and students today cite the contemplative attentiveness cultivated by EMS as a distinctive and transformative aspect of their theological education. They are more compassionate, discerning, and resilient because of Rev. Miller’s influence.”

Her influence also lives on in the touches and traditions that have become part of the fabric of the seminary.

As reported in a in the Daily News-Record, Miller was “the driving force behind getting the (prayer) labyrinth installed” on the EMU Hill above the Seminary Building. Dedicated in 2007, the labyrinth offers a unique way to connect with God.

Visitors to the Seminary Building might be familiar with the rectangular wooden “free table” just outside the second floor kitchen. It displays food and other items that people can leave or take. “That was Wendy’s idea,” said Weaver. “That’s how tangible and simple her ideas could be. She had a deep heart for the collective community.”

Another contribution she made to the seminary was the awareness that its faculty retreats should be held away from campus, Weaver said. For several decades, those retreats were held at Camp Overlook, a nearby United Methodist camp and retreat center. “She was someone who looked around and dreamed of things that could be,” Weaver said.

‘She saw potential in (us)’

One of Miller’s first students in the spiritual formation program, the Rev. Dr. Kevin Clark MA ’96 (church leadership) was trained and trusted to lead the program when she retired in 2010. “She was my teacher, my professor, my mentor, my friend, my spiritual director, and my colleague, all wrapped up in one relationship,” said Clark, a former campus pastor and retired assistant professor of spiritual formation at EMS.

“Wendy had this wisdom and insight into others that was unique,” he said. “Part of it was just rooted in who she was, as someone who paid attention to how God’s spirit was at work within others, and offering and evoking that in her quiet, questioning way. I was always amazed at how she would be in a classroom, we’d be in conversation, and she would have these wonderful little pauses, then come back with a question that was profound for a student to begin to think about. It opened up the whole classroom to a deeper understanding and awareness of their own spirituality.”

Les Horning ’86, MDiv ’98, director of admissions for EMS from 2012-18, also had Miller as a professor. He described her as “one of the most formative presences” of his MDiv experience.

“She saw potential in folks and would find ways to let them know,” he said. “Suddenly, you realized, Oh, she’s seeing my heart. I think that was one of her gifts, helping people dig beneath the surface and find out who they were.”

Horning graduated from EMU with bachelor’s degrees in biology and chemistry and worked as a research chemist for five years before feeling a call for ministry and enrolling at EMS. “For me to come to seminary was a huge change and Wendy was a key part of helping me see that it was a good and right thing,” said Horning, pastor at Stephens City Mennonite Church. “She was very good at pulling out folks’ unique contributions to the community and making people feel valued and accepted and wanted.”

Along with Clark and Horning, Weaver traveled on an overnight train to Chicago last month to attend the memorial service. She remembers Miller for her love of Winnie the Pooh, her delightful laugh, and whimsical sense of humor. 

“She was a blessed woman who shared blessing with everyone she came in contact with,” Weaver said. “I consider it a major gift of my life to have been a friend of hers.”

She grew up in England

The following is from an obituary printed in the :

Born in 1938 in Westham, England, Miller was a child in London during World War II and later lived in Eastbourne, East Sussex. She immigrated to the U.S. in 1959, settling in Chicago with her husband. They served as missionaries in Frankfurt, Germany, and pastored churches including Woodland (Basye) Mennonite, as well as across the Midwest and eastern U.S. Following retirement, they lived in Virginia, Texas, and North Carolina before returning to Illinois.

Rev. Miller earned a bachelor’s degree from Iowa Wesleyan University, a master’s degree in church leadership with a concentration in pastoral care and counseling from EMS, and a master of sacred theology in spiritual theology and spiritual direction from General Theological Seminary in New York City.

She leaves five children, Paul (David Selmer) of Maine, David (Julie) of Georgia, Mark (Wendy) of Kansas, Scott (Laura) of Illinois, and Heidi (Gary MacDonald) of Georgia; 14 grandchildren; six great-grandchildren, three brothers, and four sisters-in-law.

Professor Wendy Miller engages students in conversation about deepening faith during the Summer Institute for Spiritual Formation.

“I see and hear of so many people who are exhausted, befuddled and a little resentful as they sense a growing irrelevance in doing what they’ve always done,” said Barbara Smith-Morrison, transformational pastor at Bloomingdale (ON) Mennonite Church. Smith-Morrison felt this way four years ago as she began a six-month sabbatical from a pastoral role.

“I longed for a place where God might both soothe my soul and help me remember and discern my calling as a pastor again,” she continued. “Jan Steckley, a good friend and pastoral colleague, recommended that I look into the Summer Institute for Spiritual Formation at Eastern Mennonite Seminary.”

The Institute is a two-week summer program which offers classes, worship and experiential learning in the area of spiritual formation. It teaches spiritual directors and ministry leaders how to deepen their own faith and lead others in doing the same. Students can receive up to four seminary credits each summer and a certificate from the Institute after completing three summers.

“A part of the gift that the Summer Institute has offered me is simply remembering and orientation.,” continued Smith-Morrison, “I have often times fallen under the sneaky and incorrect perception that I am or we are responsible for the life, health, direction and ministries of the church.

“My myriad experiences at the Institute have helped me to remember that I am a regular woman who is not responsible for it all. It reminds me that I am created and loved immensely by God and am given grace upon grace in this life.”

Sandra Shantz, chair of the leadership council at St. Jacobs (ON) Mennonite Church, said, “The Summer Institute gave me the opportunity to explore spirituality on a very personal level while providing vocabulary and academic structure has allowed my heart and my head to communicate.

“It has helped me to push my comfort zone in spiritual conversations and to bring that piece to my leadership roles,” she added.

Six church leaders in Mennonite Church Eastern Canada (MCEC) are taking what they learned at the Summer Institute for Spiritual Formation and creating a program for spiritual growth in MCEC.

“Tending the Soul of Individuals and Congregations” is a two-year program involving six retreat weekends. Dr. Wendy Miller, a teacher in The Summer Institute, will lead these retreat weekends.

“We are very excited about our first of six weekend retreats Oct. 1-3,” said Shantz. “I believe there is a strong desire by many people to explore the depths of their own spiritual beings, and the Summer Institute equips people to do just that, and to help others, like those of us in MCEC, to tend to that longing.”

Eastern Mennonite Seminary offers three masters degree programs, including a master of divinity. The graduate school of theological education is located on the campus of ��ݮ���� in Harrisonburg, Va. For more information about the Summer Institute for Spiritual Formation or any of the programs at Eastern Mennonite Seminary, contact the office of seminary admission at semadmiss@emu.edu or 540-432-4257.

EMU senior Lisa N. King of Harrisonburg led a “prayer of remembrance” and lit a candle at the close of the chapel service Wednesday, Apr. 16, the one-year anniversary of the Virginia Tech shootings that left 33 people dead and more wounded.

Students, faculty and staff left the auditorium in silence as the chimes on the roof of Lehman Auditorium tolled for one minute.

Some students wore Hokie shirts or sweatshirts as a symbol of solidarity for the many people affected by the tragedy on the Blacksburg, Va., campus.

A noted Christian activist gave an “altar call” at ��ݮ���� Tuesday night, Feb. 21, for persons to bring a heightened moral sensitivity to the social and political arena.

In an address at EMU, Jim Wallis of Washington, D.C., drew from ideas in his latest book, “God’s Politics,” in calling persons to “get involved and make a difference where you are” because of their faith commitments.

Wallis is the founder and long-time editor of “Sojourners” magazine that covers issues of faith, politics and culture. In 1995, he was instrumental in forming “Call to Renewal,” a national federation of churches, denominations and faith-based organizations from across the theological and political spectrum working to overcome poverty.

“It’s easy to be confused about what it means to be a Christian these days,” Wallis said. “Being a Christian doesn’t automatically put you in a certain political camp. God is a public God. God is neither Republican nor Democrat. To be a Christian means to stand for what Jesus stood for.

“I’ve got some good news for you,” Wallis told his audience of EMU students, faculty and community persons. “I believe that the monologue of the Religious Right is fading in this country and a new dialog has begun. I sense a new hunger for finding a moral center that wants to dig deeper, to view what lies beneath our current social and political order.”

“Faith can’t and shouldn’t be narrowed down to addressing just two issues – abortion and gay marriage – as many are wont to do,” Wallis said. “I find more than 2,000 scripture verses in my Bible that convince me that poverty is a moral issue too.

“Nuclear weapons, AIDS, concern for the environment and the ethics of war are also moral issues,” he added.

In contrast to emphases on abortion or gay marriage, Wallis said in his travels and conversations he is meeting more people with “a desire to find common ground on the sacredness of life and the integrity of the family.”

The speaker said he is encountering “a new generation of young people who have been turned off by religion but are asking “what can I do,” and responding to a new altar call to “make a difference” in the world right where they are.

“What the world is waiting for is spiritual integrity and social justice, for people to come to Christ and to enlist in His program in the world,” Wallis said. “Discipleship follows conversion.

“People of faith have to make a choice between hope and cynicism. Cynicism is a buffer against commitment and leads to despair,” he said. “Rather, rise to the challenge of using your God-given gifts in the crushing needs around you – that’s what changes history.”

Wallis’s remarks were frequently interrupted by “amens” and audience applause in the nearly-full Lehman Auditorium (the facility seats around 1,000). He received a standing ovation at the close.

Wallis’ appearance at EMU was made possible by The Student Lecture Series, a student-initiated endeavor to bring well-known speakers on campus to address socially relevant issues. Sponsorship for this event comes in part from , and the .

The seminary is offering four evening classes during second (spring) semester.

• Kevin A. Clark, part-time instructor in spiritual formation, will teach “Formation in Personhood I,” 6:30-9:10 p.m. Mondays beginning Jan. 10-April 25.
• A “Spiritual Direction Seminar and Practicum II,” led by Wendy J. Miller, seminary campus pastor, will meet 6:30-9:10 p.m. on Tuesdays beginning Jan. 11-April 26.
• Nathan E. Yoder, associate professor of church history, will teach “Mennonite History” Tuesdays 6:30-9:10 p.m..
• Mark Thiessen Nation, associate professor of theology, will teach a class on the life and teachings of German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer 6:30-9:10 p.m. Wednesdays beginning Jan. 12-April 27.

In addition, the seminary has scheduled several weekend and special short courses during the semester. They are:

• “Ministry in the Workplace,” Feb. 11-12, Lonnie D. Yoder, professor of pastoral care and counseling, coordinator;
• “Psychology of Religious Experience,” 8 a.m.-4 p.m., Jan. 21-22, Feb. 18-19, and Mar. 18-19, Lonnie D. Yoder, professor of pastoral care and counselinbg, instructor;
• “Introduction to Conflict Transformation,” 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Jan. 14-15, Feb. 11-12 and Apr. 8-9, Ronald S. Kraybill, professor of conflict studies, instructor; and
• “” (Seminar on Trauma Awareness and Recovery) 8 a.m.-4 p.m., Feb. 4-5 and Feb. 25-26, Jayne S. Docherty and Carolyn E. Yoder, instructors.

These courses can be taken for academic credit or on an audit basis.

For more information on seminary evening and special courses coming up spring semester, call Don A. Yoder, (540) 432-4257, or e-mail: .

By Laura Lehman Amstutz

Wendy J. Miller, campus pastor and assistant professor of spiritual formation at Eastern Mennonite Seminary, has released her third book.

Published by Upper Room Books, “Jesus, Our Spiritual Director” grew out of Miller