The Lutheran Church has been the catalyst for The Rev. Wayne and Pam Miller’s lives. It has shaped their values and how they support their community. The couple met, married, and baptized their son at Immanuel Lutheran Church, Chicago, not to mention Rev. Miller being ordained there. And together, they have supported all manner of causes.

LSSI will honor the Millers on Oct. 7, 2023, at its True Friend Celebration—Everyday Heroes, which benefits adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities served by LSSI. Annually, LSSI presents the True Friend Award to individuals or organizations that have made significant contributions to the human community.

Rev. Miller served as Bishop of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod of the ELCA from 2007 to 2019. Pam was a member of the Women’s Network of LSSI.

“I like to be helpful,” Pam said as the driving motivation behind her depth of volunteerism. She was Immanuel Lutheran’s lead volunteer for supporting refugees from Vietnam in the late 1970s and was highly involved with the church’s social and advocacy ministries. The church also provided offices for substance use counselors. She toured LSSI’s Addiction Treatment Center in Chicago, where she said she saw up close LSSI’s impact on the people it serves.

One of Rev. Miller’s first jobs after being ordained was chaplain for an LSSI program serving children with developmental disabilities. “It shaped my ministry in so many ways,” he said. A graduate of Augustana College and the Lutheran School of Theology Chicago, he served on LSSI’s Board of Directors. Rev Miller also was a founding member of Suicide Prevention Services of Fox Valley and as a trustee of Carthage College.

Currently, he serves as a member of the Council of Religious Leaders of Metropolitan Chicago. The Millers appreciate the value of Lutheran organizations to continuously respond to the needs of society. “Lutherans are good at answering questions no one else is asking,” Rev. Miller said. “Over time, if the answer changes, then they respond. It’s a hallmark of LSSI.”